The Imagery of Grealy’s Face
Grealy explains, “It was only when I got home from the hospital that I permitted myself to look more closely at my new face. It was still extremely swollen (It would be months before it went down), and a long thin scar ran the length of it. In the middle of the scar was the island of pale skin from my hip. Placing my hand over the swollen and discoloured parts, I tried to imagine how my face might look once it was “better.” ” Grealy anticipates that her treatment would improve her facial appearances. Swelling and scars are attributed to surgery. She explores her face because it is at the centre of her existence; her imaginations regarding a better face accentuate a yearning for a standard face which would make her feel gorgeous.
Childhood versus Adulthood
Grealy elucidates, “Earlier in my childhood, when my father came home late at night, he would shout greetings to everybody as he came through the door, Sarah and the dogs and I would go running to greet him. But as we got older we were less interested in this ritual, and eventually only the dogs would get up to greet him, while Sarah and I tossed off distracted greetings from our seats in front of the television set.” Grealy and Sarah’s bond with their father is stronger during childhood than their adulthood. The custom of welcoming their father jovially and lovingly becomes uninteresting eventually. The change in greetings demonstrates that family bonds could wan with time if they are not nurtured adequately.
“Plastic Surgery Photographs”
Grealy writes, “I went upstairs (of the library) to the nonfiction department and secretly looked up books on plastic surgery. In the middle of giant, outdated tomes, I found photographs of the pedestal procedure. The people in the photographs looked like freaks. With their own skin and muscle sewn to disjointed parts of their anatomy, they looked like illustrations of some brilliant medieval torture device. Worst of all, the final outcome made them look exactly like what they were: people with alien bits of flesh sewn to them.” The photographs are discouraging because they do not improve the patients' looks. After analyzing the photos, Grealy recognizes that plastic surgery does not guarantee absolutely stunning looks. Comparing the individuals’ looks to freaks affirms that in some cases plastic surgery could result in worse outcomes.
