Lori Gottlieb Stick Figure Analysis

Relationships provide positive and negative learning experiences that can shape and alter one’s attitude and perspective. A relationship could be defined as the connection between oneself and others. The diary-style biography Stick Figure by Lori Gottlieb follows her journey as an eleven-year-old with anorexia in 1970’s Beverly Hills. The main influences on this young girl’s perspective of herself are her conceited cousin Kate, her high maintenance mother, and her classmate Leslie. First of all, parents are often our biggest influencers. Both Gottlieb and her mother didn't consider her to be like most of the girls in her school. Her mother was bothered by the fact Gottlieb would rather do math problems and play sports then play with makeup

A big influencer in many people's lives are who they see are admired by others, making them want to be like them . For example, Gottlieb’s cousin Kate, or in her view “Miss. Perfect”. While at a dinner Gottlieb was already forced to go to, all her relatives were practically praising her cousin Kate. They kept going on and on about how pretty, popular, mature, and thin she is, making Gottlieb feel inadequate. She wrote, “I didn't want to be in any of the pictures because I felt ugly standing next to Kate. Kates so much taller and thinner than me… I found out that I also eat much more than Kate does… Mom said I could learn a lot from Kate” (Gottlieb 61-62). After this dinner is when Gottlieb decided to change everything about her diet, and start “eating like a lady, so she could look more like Kate. The next day is when she started skipping meals, and argueing her way through not eating. Finally sometimes the things that influence us the most are what we read. When Gottlieb arrived home from her vacation the first thing she did was buy some diet and calorie counting books. That was when she became