Dumplin By Julie Murphy: Chapter Analysis

“The word fat makes people uncomfortable. But when you see me, the first thing you notice is my body… [And] that’s me. I’m fat. It’s not a cuss word. It’s not an insult. At least not when I say it.” (9).This is the closing line in chapter 1 of the novel Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy. This novel delves into the topic of accepting oneself and the skin they are in and not letting others tell you differently, as shown by Willow’s relationships and experiences in the novel. Through her relationships and experiences Willow’s character develops from someone who just accepts how she looks and but not truly feeling beautiful to someone who sees the beauty in everyone regardless of their outward appearance. This really depicts the theme of the novel, self-acceptance,

In the beginning of the novel Willow is very uncomfortable with the pageant and does not approve of it. This becomes apparent when she is asked if her mom runs the pageant and the first thing she thinks is “If I could change one thing about my mom it would be the pageant… my whole life would fall together…if I could delete that one annual event frim my life.” After this one of the pageant girls makes a remark about how Willow obviously wouldn’t be entering the pageant and it is assumed that the pageant girl is pointing out Willows weight and it makes Willow very uncomfortable, enough so for her to run from the conversation (31). In this exchange it is shown that Willow’s confidence is just an act she puts on and that she is actually sensitive about her weight and is hurt by people making rude and hurtful comments about it. This really reflects what we see happen quite often in today’s society, people make seemingly harmless comments to and about people without knowing what the full situation is and can end up really hurting someone’s feelings. When Willow first enters the pageant she sees it as a kind of revolution and she doesn’t want her best friend to enter with her because she could actually win and that would defeat the purpose of the “revolution” (163-164). This shows how Willow’s confidence is improving, she is taking a huge

Ellen and Willow’s fight begins when Willow doesn’t want Ellen to enter the pageant as described above, this fight causes the friends to not talk to one another for the last half of the novel. This allows Willow to make friends with some other girls who needed a leader of sorts to guide them. Sometimes when someone is forced into a leadership role it can really help them come out of their shell. When the person sees the effect their leadership is having on others it can really boost their confidence. At the end of the novel Willow and Ellen make up and repair their friendship but Willow still takes her experiences she gained away from Ellen and uses them to continue helping the other not typical pageant girls compete (354-371). Sometimes all it takes is a change in surrounding for a person to reach their full potential. Seeing how being separated from what makes you comfortable can be so beneficial could help someone who is struggling with body image start on the road to truly accepting themselves. Overall Willow having that separation from Ellen pushed her out of her comfort zone and helped her reach new heights with her