'There are downsides to looking this pretty':Why women hate me for being beautiful
By Samantha Brick
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2124246/Samantha-Brick-downsides-looking-pretty-Why-women-hate-beautiful.html
Shunned because of her looks? That’s what Samantha Brick believes. In this article, Brick explains why her looks
have been more of a hindrance than a blessing.
She often struggles to keep jobs because of jealous bosses, and struggles
to fit in with friends because her looks overshadows theirs. She explains how the women she encounters in
her life, whether they are friends, neighbors, or colleagues, dislike her
because she believes they are jealous of her beauty. Using clever diction, figurative language and
stylistic syntax, Samantha Brick creates a strong argument for why she thinks women
hate her for her appearance.
The
different uses of passive and active voice in this article helps emphasize the
different events in Brick’s life. When describing
all of the things that people do for her because of her looks, she uses passive
voice: “I was tapped on the shoulder and presented with a beautiful bunch of
flowers.” This use of passive voice
makes it seem like the nice things just mysteriously happen. The audience doesn’t know who gives her
flowers, just that she was given flowers.
It emphasizes the point that she doesn’t do anything to deserve these
nice things, except for the fact that she looks nice. Then, she uses active voice to show how she maintains
her good figure: “I work at mine-I don’t drink or smoke, I work out, even when
I don’t feel like it…” The active voice
allows Brick to sound like her good appearance is all a result of her
actions. She takes responsibility for
her good appearance, but the things that happen as a result are not her fault. This
helps her to portray herself as an innocent victim, one who is punished by the
actions of jealous women.
Samantha
Brick uses figurative language to show how her looks have been good and
bad. She uses the metaphor of an open
door to show that she has literally had people open the door for her, but has
also had many opportunities as a result of her looks. However, she says that many doors have been “metaphorically
slammed in [her] face.” This shows that her
looks have also caused people to scorn her and put her at a disadvantage. The metaphor makes it easy for the audience
to understand how her looks impact her opportunities in life.
The
diction in this article also helps Brick to convey her message. When describing the clothing that she wears
so as not to attract attention to herself, she uses the words “baggy” and “somber-coloured.” These words have a negative connotation,
which helps to emphasize the bad appearance of the clothes. They show the desperate actions she must take
to be accepted by the other women. She not
only has to wear clothes she doesn’t like, but she has to wear ugly clothes so
that the other women aren’t jealous of her looks.
This is a really unique choice of an article, and I have never seen anything like it. I thought you did a really good job of identifying diction and the use of passive and active voice to show how society treated her differently from most women. I might caution your use of figurative language, as just because she uses the word "metaphorical" does not mean there is really a metaphor, although the use of "slammed in her face" would still technically be figurative language. Just something to be careful of in the future, especially if it is your only example for figurative language. Another improvement might be that, although I would say that you did a great job of finding the literary techniques, you could better tie them into the main meaning of the piece. I infer from your writing that the meaning you get is that the author is trying to get the reader to sympathize with her over a condition (beauty) which is normally a positive.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, your analysis of active and passive voice is very good. For me this is a little difficult and after going over Harvey’s book again you have nailed the analysis on the voice. Your examples now jump out at me. I like the example you used of the shoulder tapping. I agree with your assessment of the mysterious feeling. For me it also said that good things sometimes happen to good looking people. If you look at the acting or modeling professions, nice things just happen. Also I thought you identified diction very well in this piece. As for improvements, I agree with John. By tying the literary techniques to the main piece, the essay will have a deeper meaning and may even better the flow of the passage.
ReplyDeleteNatalie, this post does a good job of neatly addressing each of the topics you chose to discuss. It is clear when you are writing about each, and your thoughts are organized very logically. You start your paragraphs out with statements like "Samantha Brick uses figurative language to show how her looks have been good and bad," which function as claims that refer back to or expand upon your thesis. You then present evidence to support those claims, talking specifically about how she uses metaphors or including examples of her diction. After that, it helps to relate the evidence back to the claim before moving on in order to make it clear you consciously know what you are trying to say, something you did well most of the time. I really don't know what to tell you that will help you improve; you did a great job!
ReplyDelete