An evident theme in Lamb to the Slaughter is that one’s individuality is shaped by the expectations that society holds. Mary Maloney portrays the typical, conventional American Housewife: ready to provide and cater for her family’s every requirements and desires. Mary has melted into the role of subservient wife: at the service of her husband and household. Civilization always has an undeniable social ranking and back then, women were below men and were expected to look up to and serve men. This was what the world required of Mary Maloney and that’s what she became. Being vexed or enervated with the man in her life was just about inconceivable, so when her husband indifferently declared that he would leave her, rage was not the emotion Mary seemed to manifest. Society's expectations had turned her into an acquiescent, docile wife with no real opinion whatsoever. The clichéd American Housewife nirvana in which Mary lived was entirely devastated. At first she remained in her good-wife stupor but was soon awakened when her husband announced he wouldn't eat her supper and once more destroyed her cycle. That was when, against all odds, Mary Maloney bashed him on the head with a leg of lamb. It was an impromptu, scandalous move that was completely incongruous with her personality and character. Brutality, anger and well... cunning, was never part of what she was perceived as. This point of climax was when she deserted her prior personality and found her true identity. The self that had been formed by society wasn't genuine but it was prominent and entirely shadowed the true self and it was strong enough that it made Mary Maloney believe and accept that this was who she was.
In this article about anorexia, we can see the same theme reappearing. Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder (medical condition) where the patient/person abstains from eating and/or restrict their calorific intake drastically. Anorexic people also experience remorse and self-reproach whenever they do eat. So many teens are prone to getting this hazardous condition, as almost 80 percent of 13 year-old girls are not content with their body image or weight. Teens are easily impacted and influenced by what our civilization imposes upon them as “appealing.” Many people, even outside of the teen group, fall into this murky tunnel whilst in the quest in getting the ideal figure. Thin, light, lean, petite: all of the words we currently use (and have used) to describe a beautiful or alluring person. Society pressures us to be skinny or have a good body (which fundamentally means skinny); we are persuaded to think that being that way will render us good-looking and attractive. On occasion, we traverse the line and end up taking a dark path down the road of the other extreme. In the endeavor to conform to what society considers good-looking we end up hurting or cheating ourselves into believing we are someone we aren’t and accepting this fake persona. Anorexia Nervosa sucks out your individuality and replaces it with someone you aren’t. An irrational, compulsive, restricted person, ensnared in a world of food she is depriving herself of. Most of the people touched by anorexia nervosa don’t even really know who they are until they are cured from it. Take Elyssa Philips for example: as an actress, she felt pressured to lose weight and look good and developed anorexia nervosaafter which she dropped down to a frightening 105 pounds. She wasn’t even fully aware of what was going on because she was so fixated by the notion of losing more weight. In this article, she quotes: "When I lost my period, that should have been a red flag, but I was excited, I kept getting thinner and thinner, and everyone was telling me how good I looked. I was even getting more parts.” She didn’t comprehend what was really going on and how it had been affecting her up until she had recovered. Anorexia has severe consequences and can alter someone in inconceivable ways. Anorexia makes its victims convinced that this is who they are they and have always been. It’s only the few who take a leap and recuperate that unearth their true identity.
Finding your true identity signifies having an absolute awareness about yourself: knowing your qualities, personality and conduct. Knowing who you truly are indicates that you have a thorough knowledge about yourself: the unadulterated, unchanged, unforced self. In Lamb to the Slaughter, Mary Maloney was the stereotypical American housewife who conformed to every possible expectation of a good wife that society held back in the 1950’s. She became this person that society pressured her to become and wasn’t even conscious of her genuine character traits up until she left this housewife likeness and slaughtered her husband. It was only then, when she ceased being this person she had been turned into that she uncovered her true identity. Elyssa Philips from the article fell into the trend of controlling what she ate until she developed anorexia nervosa and it was a downward spiral from then on. After seeking help and consulting professionals about her condition, she was able to convalesce and recognize that this wasn’t who she was. People occupied filling in the character of someone they aren’t just because society has made them, cannot honestly understand themselves. The knowledge of you is essential in becoming a self-assured, confident individual. It is only by coming out of our fake society-created shells and exploring our authentic, unfeigned selves that we can become conscientious and mature beings and actually take a step towards knowing how to be ourselves and still survive in the world.
In this article about anorexia, we can see the same theme reappearing. Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder (medical condition) where the patient/person abstains from eating and/or restrict their calorific intake drastically. Anorexic people also experience remorse and self-reproach whenever they do eat. So many teens are prone to getting this hazardous condition, as almost 80 percent of 13 year-old girls are not content with their body image or weight. Teens are easily impacted and influenced by what our civilization imposes upon them as “appealing.” Many people, even outside of the teen group, fall into this murky tunnel whilst in the quest in getting the ideal figure. Thin, light, lean, petite: all of the words we currently use (and have used) to describe a beautiful or alluring person. Society pressures us to be skinny or have a good body (which fundamentally means skinny); we are persuaded to think that being that way will render us good-looking and attractive. On occasion, we traverse the line and end up taking a dark path down the road of the other extreme. In the endeavor to conform to what society considers good-looking we end up hurting or cheating ourselves into believing we are someone we aren’t and accepting this fake persona. Anorexia Nervosa sucks out your individuality and replaces it with someone you aren’t. An irrational, compulsive, restricted person, ensnared in a world of food she is depriving herself of. Most of the people touched by anorexia nervosa don’t even really know who they are until they are cured from it. Take Elyssa Philips for example: as an actress, she felt pressured to lose weight and look good and developed anorexia nervosaafter which she dropped down to a frightening 105 pounds. She wasn’t even fully aware of what was going on because she was so fixated by the notion of losing more weight. In this article, she quotes: "When I lost my period, that should have been a red flag, but I was excited, I kept getting thinner and thinner, and everyone was telling me how good I looked. I was even getting more parts.” She didn’t comprehend what was really going on and how it had been affecting her up until she had recovered. Anorexia has severe consequences and can alter someone in inconceivable ways. Anorexia makes its victims convinced that this is who they are they and have always been. It’s only the few who take a leap and recuperate that unearth their true identity.
Finding your true identity signifies having an absolute awareness about yourself: knowing your qualities, personality and conduct. Knowing who you truly are indicates that you have a thorough knowledge about yourself: the unadulterated, unchanged, unforced self. In Lamb to the Slaughter, Mary Maloney was the stereotypical American housewife who conformed to every possible expectation of a good wife that society held back in the 1950’s. She became this person that society pressured her to become and wasn’t even conscious of her genuine character traits up until she left this housewife likeness and slaughtered her husband. It was only then, when she ceased being this person she had been turned into that she uncovered her true identity. Elyssa Philips from the article fell into the trend of controlling what she ate until she developed anorexia nervosa and it was a downward spiral from then on. After seeking help and consulting professionals about her condition, she was able to convalesce and recognize that this wasn’t who she was. People occupied filling in the character of someone they aren’t just because society has made them, cannot honestly understand themselves. The knowledge of you is essential in becoming a self-assured, confident individual. It is only by coming out of our fake society-created shells and exploring our authentic, unfeigned selves that we can become conscientious and mature beings and actually take a step towards knowing how to be ourselves and still survive in the world.
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