Symbolism In Lucy Grealy's Autobiography Of A Face

In Lucy Grealy’s Autobiography of a Face, there are many literary symbols that help to convey the author’s overall theme of confidence and physical beauty in today’s society. The story is about a young woman who undergoes multiple surgeries in order to become healthy again. In the meantime, the chemotherapy and radiation cause her hair to fall out and surgeries have some of her jaw removed. Unfortunately, this takes a lot more than just physical appearance away from Lucy. This is a key component to one of the major signs in the novel. Lucy begins to wear wigs and hats when her hair starts to fall out. In Lucy Grealy’s Autobiography of a Face, hair symbolizes physical beauty in today’s society, acceptance, rejection, self-confidence, and the

This was important to the novel because it takes her back to when she was “normal” and not struck with sickness or a disfigured face. Although it is taken for granted by many, the time when Lucy had hair is significant because it was a time when she was worry free and without pain. It was a time of true acceptance of her own self, as well as her peers of herself. Lucy’s hair was long, which meant it took a long time to grow. When Lucy’s hair started falling out, it felt like she had something that was a major part of who she was taken from her in shame. Lucy said, “I was sitting in the car with my mother when I first noticed it, and I started to cry. At a loss to say anything that would truly comfort me or stop my hair from falling out, my mother reminded me that I had known this would happen, that I shouldn’t get so upset -- as if foreknowledge of an event could somehow buffer you from its reverberations. Feeling, again, that I had failed simply by being upset made me cry harder” (103). And after the surgeries on her face, Lucy felt embarrassed of what she had become on the outside. Although this was not true, when the physical appearance of Lucy changed, so did her overall

Being in public and having to hide your face and changing all of your personal ways can be difficult. When having confidence in yourself and friends that build it up and help you through your low points in life are the key. Lucy had that one friend and did not understand how to cope with it. Lucy said, “One day when I had a full three or four inches of hair, I was leaving the house with Susie. At the last minute I turned and ran back up the stairs, calling out, “Just a minute while I get my hat.” “You don’t need it anymore, Lucy, your hair is fine, come on already,” she called back to me, frustrated that we were going to be late. I stopped in the middle of the stairs and , genuinely surprised, considered what she said. Running my fingers through my hair, I had to admit she was more or less right. … I went out with her into the world, bareheaded for the first time in years” (140). Experiencing that made Lucy think that it was a mistake but in the long run it helped her get over her fear and made the other kids realize that they were wrong to make fun of