Ireland Horan
Mrs. Contreas/ Ms. Karten
English 10, Period 1
November 2nd, 2015 It’s okay to be YOUnique
In The Twilight Zone episode “The Eye of the Beholder”, and the short stories, “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan and “Initiation” by Sylvia Plath, the protagonist desire to fit in leads them to sacrifice part of themselves.
The female protagonist, Janet Tyler, in “Eye of the Beholder” is willing to undergo numerous surgeries in order to look like everyone else since she doesn’t look “normal”. The nurses and doctors comment that Janet’s face is like a"pitiful twisted lump of flesh" In the beginning of the story, it is revealed that this surgery is Janet’s 11th treatment which demonstrates that in order to fit in, she must sacrifice part of…show more content… Amy Tan is distinctive from her immediate society because she is Chinese. The only thing Amy desires is that her family would be more American so she could be no longer an outcast. When she found out that her family invited her crush, Robert, and his family for a Chinese Christmas Eve dinner, she is completely mortified. During Christmas dinner, Amy felt more and more ashamed of her family and their culture. For example, “belching loudly” after a meal is “a polite Chinese custom to show you are satisfied”. Even though Amy knows she custom is apart of her heritage it makes her extremely uneasy. Later that night Amy’s mom said to Amy,“You want to be the same as American girls on the outside. But inside you must always be Chinese. You must be proud you are different. Your only shame is to have shame." Amy Tan eventually comes to be proud of her…show more content… Millicent wants to join a sorority because most of her life she has been an outcast and she feels that if she becomes one of the elects, she will finally fit in with society. In the beginning of the story she said, “ What girl would not want to be one of the elect, no matter if it did mean five days of initiation before and after school”. It seems like Millicent is willing to give up anything to be in this exclusive group since she is willing to devote five days, morning and night, all to be apart of a sorority. Soon Millicent is no longer fond of the idea of being part of the elect since some events trigger her to feel this way. Bev, Millicents “big sister”, ordered her to not talk to Herb Dalton, the boy Millicent secretly likes. Millicent followed these orders but just because Herb and Millicent exchanged glances one day at lunch, Bev is not happy and takes it out on Millicent. Millicent is very annoyed and frustrated because she followed the orders. Another event that occurs is when Louise, one of the elect, talks badly about Millicent’s best friend, Tracy. Louise says that she could never be part of the elect since she is “different”. It makes Millicent very upset that they are making fun of her best friend. Millicent soon realizes that being herself can offer more than the sorority ever