Mirror by lucy grealy - Essay Example

Introduction: The paper deals with Grealy’s notion of society when she said, “society is no help; the images it gives us again and again want us only to believe that we can most be ourselves by looking like someone else.” Humans have evolved into having so many notions about the perceptions of good and evil, which ultimately construct their view of societal norms. It also has a purpose of the overall well being of the whole community rather than individuals. However, in the context of ultimate humaneness, it becomes a necessity for the society to be sympathetic to all humans irrespective of the traits they possess, by facilitating cooperation among its members attained through empathy, mutual respect, and honesty.

Society is an organization where people share common ideas as well as economic and social infrastructure. In a society people should support each other and they also have to maintain a good relationship. Usually, there is a social and emotional bond between the people of a society. But due to the harsh experiences in her life, Grealy forms a different concept of society. She accepts society and the nature of truth in her appearance because she accepts the correlation of her face and herself. She forms a repulsive image of the society where people are not cooperative and supportive.

She accepts the fact that her face is ugly but she internalizes this fact and continues to live on. She also understands that the image shown in a mirror or the social mirror is not real. She believes that the society lacks values and people do not take notice of any values. Nature did not give Lucy beauty, which was a popular social demand. This was due to the fact that she had to undergo chemotherapy from a very young age. The society in which Grealy existed, failed to show empathy towards her.

They were not able to accept Grealy as she was. They never bothered to help her. This is what happened in Grealy’s case, whereas a real society is the one, which helps people in need and support them to conquer their sufferings and inabilities. But Grealy had to endure a lot while she was in school and college. Later in her life, after many attempts to rise up to the standards of the society and failing in her endeavors, Lucy decides to accept the eternal truth that she is ugly. She even thinks of having a sexual relation with someone so that she can prove she is not ugly.

“I viewed sex as my salvation” (page. 58) (Lucy Grealy Mirrors 2011). Society should be designed in a way that people stop thinking about criticizing others. They should accept the individual disparities and live in cooperation with each other. Living in a society helps the people do develop the quality of mutual respect. All individuals have their own weaknesses and strengths. People should be able to identify this and respect each other. A society is good only when its people are good and they focus on the similarities they have and not their differences.

Grealy did not get respect from the society she lived in. She was only recognized for the difference in her physical appearance. The people never took notice of her good qualities, like her courage to face challenges or her intelligence. In her college, she was insulted brutally by her college mates “they yelled when they saw me, and I felt such shame” (page 54) (Lucy Grealy Mirrors 2011). From this it is clearly understood what kind of respect the society gives to an unfortunate person who was struggling to find out her identity.

In a society, all should respect their friends; at the same time they should respect their enemies too for their abilities. Respecting each other is hence a very important aspect in a society and without this we are merely uncivilized barbarians or simply animals. In a society all should be honest, that is, everyone should accept that they are perfect just the way they are. One should accept oneself for who he or she is and should let others also accept their nature. This makes people feel better because they get the valor to accept their negative aspects.

No one should try to change themselves for the sake of others. If people cannot accept themselves for who they are then they are better off without the criticism the society wants to offer them. If all are honest they start helping each other out because everyone has their own weaknesses and the weakness of one person might be the strength of the other. This way they are able to help others in their difficulties. Once an individual gets this quality in a society he will be able to live in cooperation with others.

Lucy was honest and she started realizing her flaws. But still she feels perfect in the way she is. Thus, Lucy Grealy is accepting the fact that even if she is ugly, she is warm and smart and, thus, resolves to move on the way she is. “I looked at the man as he spoke; my entire life I had been giving my negative image to people, handing it to them and watching the negative way it was reflected back to me. But now, because I had no idea what I was giving him, the only thing I had to judge by was what he was giving me, which, as reluctant as I was to admit it, was positive.

”(Page 60). Society is thus not the one we see today. When Grealy says, “society is no help…” (Page 60). It means that the society in which she lived offered her neither any help nor support. They were not showing any signs of understanding she was suffering but they were more interested in insulting her and they did not even show a bit of respect for the her qualities. Society means an organized group where people live in cooperation with each other. But the society that is presented in Lucy Grealy’s autobiography is self-centered and does not consider the feelings of other people living with them.

People should be able to understand each other and live in harmony so that the society can create an atmosphere of well being for all its members. Works Cited Lucy Grealy Mirrors. Lucy Grealy Mirrors-Document Transcript. 2011. Web. 6 Apr. 2011. .