Trying
to Change
Author's Note:This piece is for the District writing assessment and I wrote it for a score in text analysis.
Changing
is a curse. But why do we try to change? People change to feel better about themselves. People change to
impress others around them. Bernice does both of these. In “Bernice Bobs her
Hair”, Bernice changes for popularity, like in our society today and in different stories.
The whole
transformation of change started when Marjorie started criticizing Bernice. “No; for instance, you never take care of your eyebrows. They're
black and lustrous, but by leaving them straggly they're a blemish. They'd be
beautiful if you'd take care of them in one-tenth the time you take doing
nothing.” In our society today, there are these kinds of girls. The “popular”
girls. The ones that have evolved to new heights of perfection and always look
at themselves as what the rest of us wish we could be. Marjorie tries to put
herself above everyone else, by taking advantage of people and insulting them.
Like when Bernice asks if her dress was ok, Marjorie just says “I didn't hint
anything," said Marjorie succinctly. "I said, as I remember, that it
was better to wear a becoming dress three times straight than to alternate it
with two frights." Sadly this is what really happens today. Bernice
changes because she sees herself with many flaws.
Fitzgerald does a
fantastic job of showing both viewpoints. For example, when Bernice first
started to change, she’s not really sure about the idea. Later, she realizes
that people like the way she’s changed and are beginning to accept her. But
from Marjorie’s view of things, this is all a game. Find the “sad birds” in the
crowd and dance with them to spark some attention. But isn’t this what people
do today? Try to get attention? Of course! People just like having the
spotlight on them, to feel like everyone is focused on them. But Bernice’s main
way of attracting attention is saying that she’s considering bobbing her hair.
“Do you think I ought to bob my hair, Mr. Charley Paulson?... Because I'm
considering it. It's such a sure and easy way of attracting attention." is
a frequently used quote of hers. And she even admits that she's just doing it
for the attention. As the story progresses, Bernice seeks for popularity almost
as much as Marjorie does.
This sort of
seeking for attention occurs in other stories like Stargirl and Ten miles past Normal. In Stargirl, Leo changes Stargirl
to make her look cooler and fit in more. But soon she really tries to gain back
her popularity. At one point, she's not even Stargirl anymore, she's completely
different. In Ten miles past
Normal, Janie has
always been a farm girl. She seems to slip into the background. When she
decides to join the rock band, her reputation completely changes. Soon she
realizes that her friend Monster is making her get attention. Both of these
stories have someone who is trying to change for the attention.
No comments:
Post a Comment