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“We were a pairing out of an Aesop’s fable…They were the ones who brought the truth and beauty to the party,” (Patchett 20).

This passage in Ann Patchett’s novel illustrates the difference between the two different groups in society, the popular/idolized and those not. The first would be represented by the grasshopper and hare, while the latter would be represented by the ant and tortoise. The grasshopper/hare type of individual is the one who is idolized, and yet the ant/tortoise may have truth and beauty that goes largely unnoticed by people. Ann shows us how she is the tortoise or ant in society making a journey in a world where the grasshopper/hare people, such as Lucy, soak up all the attention. Patchett is not entirely one-sided in her view though, as she pays due to the idea that both types of individual need each other very much to survive.

“What surgery meant to Lucy and what it meant to almost anyone else…then the pain and inconvenience of more surgery was not an unconscionable price to pay” (Patchett 57).

Lucy believes that her unfortunate condition is what is holding her back. She, in her mind, believes that the reason she is not living life like everyone else is because her face is not “fixed.” According to her implicit behavior and whatever she may tell Patchett, she is too busy with surgeries and the fixing of her condition to find any real love. Unfortunately, this is an excuse that most people use in their lives in order to dismiss concerns as to why they are not achieving their goals. This excuse of Lucy’s is short lived, though, and as soon as it goes away, she becomes consumed with depression and drug abuse.

“In the course of most lifetimes, few people are capable…on deciding who she would be, her philosophy and approach to her life” (Patchett 109).

Since Lucy Grealy is one individual who struggles to find herself and find her love, she changes many times in her desperation to attain this objective. In many ways, she can be seen as drawing a parallel to many typical teenagers. This is because like a teen, she has trouble finding love and does not know who she is to become. It is the mental chains she allows to be placed on her from her condition, though, that hold her back, and so she continues to be locked in this state of continuous change. Her perpetuity in this teen-like emotional state is what, unfortunately for her, leads to her depression.

“Lucy knew which cat wanted…understanding of the logic of the world” (Patchett 151).

Lucy has a very intimate relationship with animals, which she herself even discusses in her own autobiography. Getting to the root of it, Lucy claims it has to do with the fact that animals do not judge her based on her appearance since they are a different species. Her childhood history of being with animals for such reason is why she has such a deep understanding of them. The animals, for Lucy, provide her with an escape, and for however instantaneously, they provide a substitute for her desire for love. Being around animals, Lucy can sort of live in a simulated reality, or so she believes, of what joy she would have if she did not have her problem and other human beings could actually understand and maybe love her.

“Sometimes I worried that Lucy saw me as the ant I was, unglamorous…with loads of character that needed fixing up” (Patchett 203).

Once again, Ann Patchett uses the grasshopper-ant metaphor to define the relationship between her and Lucy. Ann is the ant who is responsible and does the preparation and hard work, while Lucy is the grasshopper who is largely irresponsible (ex. her unpaid bills). The ant is mediocre and goes largely unnoticed by society for such reason. However, a grasshopper, however much a drag on others it is, gets idolized for the reason that it stands out and is unique. Lucy is a perfect example of a grasshopper in society, and Ann and her share the ant-grasshopper relationship.

“But the game had a funny hold on him. The elemental savagery of it…as if the whole world expected you to do one thing and one thing only and that was play football” (Bissinger 10).

This passage from the novel depicts the addicting nature of football. It seems odd that football behaves like a drug that has chemicals that will physiologically and psychologically make one dependent on it. However, the metaphorical ‘drug’ of football has no addicting chemicals except maybe that of adrenaline and the like that operate during intense periods of time known as the football game. Like a drug, there is ‘peer pressure’ involved as “the whole world expected you to…play football.” Football, however, is not a hobby for players to be ashamed of, as it builds self-esteem and is also good exercise.

“Twenty years earlier, Charlie Billingsley himself had worn the black and white of Permian…it seemed impossible not to look down on the field and see his own reflection” (Bissinger 79).

H. G. Bissinger gives us good insight into the mind of a father looking down onto his son being what he once was at his age. The memories of the excitement and the thrill ride come back to Charlie as he sees his son experiencing just that for himself at that moment. This is significant because it shows why parents often will want to see their children grow up to be just like them. It is because parents takes joy in witnessing their child experiencing the good times and bringing back the memories for them. This is exactly what happens to Billingsley Sr. as there is that special father-son moment when he is happy for Don out on the field.

“But that was the reality, and it seemed unlikely to change…it did not evoke any particular feelings of pride one way or another” (Bissinger 147).

As the author describes, the values of Odessa (and perhaps much of Texas) can be considered as backwards to many. Odessians place an unusually high value on their high school football. Likewise, their emphasis on academics in high school is lacking compared to in most American schools. The Odessians, after suffering the wrath of an oil bust, are in need of focusing all their energy not into the competition for fortunes, but into football pride and victories. What the population of Odessa fails to realize is that there is no sustainable way to create money or happiness by concentrating vast amounts of their efforts into a tiny teenage football elite.

“And then it had ended. Just like that. Not with a warning, not in a way so that those who got caught had only themselves to blame. One day the lights were on; the next day they were off” (Bissinger 222).

Odessa is not only volatile in its football morale, but also in its pursuit of oil riches. It rides from boom to bust in its oil-based economy in much the same way as a team of football players will ride from high spirits to low spirits in the football season. The high-to-low, boom-to-bust mentality of the people of Odessa (and even Texas) is a culture for them. They are ones to ride from high to low on what would be the simplest of occurrences for most Americans. It is perhaps why the people of this region have evolved so differently in culture and in thinking than much the rest of America.

“A crisis was developing, not because Gary Edwards was having desperate trouble in algebra II…he would no longer be eligible for football once he received his grade for the six-week period” (Bissinger 298).

This passage, once again, is Bissinger showing us how backwards some of the priorities are in Texas, this time in Dallas. This primarily black high school in Dallas is also overly concerned with its football team, and the effects of such a priority are the same here as in Odessa–lack of concern for academics. It is weird how, rather than punishing the student for failing to meet a certain standard, they decide to focus all their controversy on the ‘inept teacher.’ Since it is the very policy of the state of Texas for athletes to adhere to this academic standard, that is why there is such a conflict of interests. This goes to show the reader how the mentality of Texas at this time is ever so strange.

“Oh, people like to say when they hear this part of the story, this is why you and Lucy are so close. You went through the same thing. But nothing could be farther from the truth” (Patchett 10).

This passage makes me think about Ann and Lucy at a deeper level. I understand Ann’s point of view, but I can not seem to grasp it. They both have gone through facial problems, awkward glances, and disgust at their appearances. Those experiences alone should have created a special bond. She does go on to say that Lucy has more to deal with, and has more book smarts, but I still believe that their lives are extremely alike. Maybe my point of view will change as I progress through the novel, but now I still see a whole world of challenges that these young women have to face together. I am anxious to see what all they will go “through”, and determine a more educated “truth” for myself.

This passage also makes me believe Ann is in denial. It almost seems like she doesn’t want to relate her life to Lucy’s at times. If people can’t recognize their differences, AND SIMILARITIES, they can’t have friends. People need to be more frank and open in order to obtain a deeper understanding.

Response to Skyler’s quote from page 20- Truth and Beauty.

Your words make it seem like the grasshopper and the hare can’t have truth and beauty. I strongly disagree if that’s the case. When a person gathers a lot of attention, that person isn’t always a lie and ugly on the inside. A grasshopper could be a giving person who helps the world. I do comprehend the comparison that Ann makes between a hare and a tortoise, or a grasshopper and an ant, but I believe that comparison is completely flawed. I know many “idolized” individuals who are extremely kind and beautiful on the inside, while I also know some people who are “shunned” from a society who are crude and mean.
Just a thought- Aditya

Response to Aditya’s comment (above):

I never exactly said that the grasshopper and the hare do NOT have truth and beauty. In fact, I think it is because I only mentioned it to be so with the ant and the tortoise that you may have assumed that I was implying the opposite with the grasshopper and the hare, but I was not.

What I think about people is that most of them (although this varies with the person) have about the same amount of truth and beauty. But what I think is that certain people’s truth and beauty goes more recognized than that of others. People tend to idolize more often the grasshopper and hare type than the ant and tortoise type for the same amount of experience or work.

“Does something which exists on the edge have no true relevance to the stable center, or does it, by being on the edge, become a part of the edge and thus a part of the boundary, the definition which gives the whole it’s shape?” (Patchett 37).

In this letter to Ann, Lucy describes her fascination with the complexity of art. However, this is also a metaphorical description of Ann and Lucy’s relationship. Lucy lives always in the moment, rarely giving heed to consequence. Ann is the stronghold and the anchor of the relationship. She is safe, reliable, and sensible, often concerning herself with Lucy’s life and actions more than she needs to. It would appear that she is the one chiefly holding Lucy together while receiving little or no benefit from Lucy, who at times is more of a troublesome burden than a friend. On the contrary, the two women depend on each other. Lucy’s reckless existence on the edge supplements Ann’s careful existence in the center, and so their differences sustain and strengthen the “whole” of their friendship.

All right. It feels like it’s time to start this wonderful summer with a blog on Truth and Beauty! After all, what better way to break open the summer than with a book?

I see remarkable juxtapositions between Truth and Beauty and Autobiography of a Face. In the latter, Lucy begins to feel ostracised because of her looks. Her isolation does not fade, but she begins to get used to it and finds ways to overcome it. She strives to become famous, or even infamous, in order to be a “somebody.” She makes herself the centre of attention in a crowd and combats her difficulties by getting involved in everything she possibly can. She seems not to be a shy person, but she still naively lives in insecurity of her looks. While she surrounds herself with circles of classmates, she shares no intimacy with any of them. This changes only when she meets Ann. For the first time, somebody else can empathise with her. Through their similar experiences, they develop a steadfast and life-long bond, the likes of which neither Ann or Lucy have undergone to this point.

A particular passage in Chapter 2 especially drew my interest. On page 26, we are told that she finds it hardest to accept the fact that she is flat-chested. However, when she decides to get implants, she decides to get the smallest size they have. This makes her feel special because her desires are accomodated towards. For this reason, she strives to be different, no matter the consequence of being so.

A general note:

“Truth” and “Beauty”, when used in the context we are using them, should be capitalised because they are proper nouns and characterisations.

Skyler:

You propose that “[most people] have about the same amount of truth and beauty.” From what I understood from your comment, you seem to claim that, at least for the most part, people have the same amount of Truth and Beauty throughout their life, and they just express different amounts in different scenarios. I disagree with this statement. Truth and Beauty are innately interwoven with one’s innocence, which fades with age. My belief is that a child is born pure and saturated with Truth and Beauty. With every experience he has, he is corrupted and loses more of his innocence. I disagree with the idea that a man holds the same amount of Truth and Beauty throughout his life. I believe that age is indirectly proportional to the innocence of a man.

“The only avenue she had with B— was sex, and she tried frantically to use it to make him love her. It was a bad habit she established, and it stayed with her for the rest of her life, long, long after B— was gone.” (Patchett 13)

This passage illustrates the impact Lucy’s relationship with B— had on her life. Lucy’s ideals about the role of sex in a relationship were established from her encounters with B—. B— was cruel to Lucy, he made it clear he would never love her and that it was because he did not care for “who she was as a person”. Still, Lucy at heart was a romantic and believed she could make B— love her by pleasing him sexually. Lucy’s low self-esteem clouded her from seeing the truth in her relationship and kept her from learning from her mistake. She believed sex would eventually lead to love. The relationship with B— habituated Lucy to believing sex could be used to make someone love her.

“The drama of her life, combined with her reputation for being the smartest student in all her classes, made her the campus mascot, the favorite pet in her dirty jeans and oversized Irish sweaters.” (Patchett, 2)

This quote illustrates the attraction of intellectuals to human suffering, the suffering of Lucy. Throughout school, Lucy was surrounded by clouds of admirers and gawking people. These people provided both emotional support and mental anguish, as some drew hope from her achievements and others an ego boost from being better off than her. With all her hardship Lucy developed a magnetic personality, and people were drawn to that and her past like moths to the flame. It is interesting, and a central theme of Truth and Beauty, that hardship can make a person a human novelty.

I find Joe’s quote (above) very interesting and agreeable for me.

In fact, this relates to a thought I had while reading the book. Compared to Lucy’s negative portrayal of her life, Ann does a much better job of making Lucy look like she has a much better life and that people give her much more attention. Lucy casts a significant amount of darkness and gloom over her life in her own autobiography than Ann does writing about her as a third person. This shows that in judgment of Lucy Grealy’s life, Lucy herself has a much more pessimistic view on it than her friend Ann does.

“‘You’ve got to stop for people,’ he said, punctuating every word. ‘That’s what you owe me for this ride. You have to pick somebody else up. Do you understand me? Pick them up no matter what they look like’” (31).

I chose this quote because it shows a life lesson. From that conversation in the car, that tiny moment in her life, Ann sees the importance of helping others and understanding people from their point of view. The man in the car talked about how nobody helped him in a time of need because of the way he looked. He knew how it felt to be ignored and, knowing this, he decided to help other hitchhikers and pass along the lesson. This lesson sticks out to me because people just don’t think enough about how other people feel. In general, people don’t help people that are ugly or fat or unattractive because they can’t bother helping people they find “lower” than them, or they think their own needs are so much more important, but if those people actually stopped to consider what the “lower” people are going through, maybe they’d take a moment of their time to help them. This lesson doesn’t just apply to hitchhiking, it applies everywhere in life, with everyone that one meets.
I thought this part of the book seemed kind of random, but after thinking about it a bit more, I think it might connect with Lucy and the way people treated her because of her face. Lucy was the hitchhiker, always looking for a true friend, and Ann was the person with the car who picked Lucy up and wanted to be friends with her, and this is how their friendship began.

Response to “Cat Chows” interpretation above

I want to disagree with the idea of helping everyone lower than you because of social Darwinism. It may sound cruel but my parents have instilled the idea that no matter who you are, or what your standing in the economical caste system is, you have the chance to succeed (some more than others but succeed none the less). I guess my mom has this ideology due to the fact that she was born on a casello in Sicily and now has a six figure salary. My point is that I believe everyone has choices to change the position they are in. I do agree however with your metaphor of Lucy’s life, hitchhiking for a true friend.

Casello- literal translation means toll both, but it was described to me as a small house near train tracks that the city would give tax deductions to if people lived and worked there.

“”That’s why she was in the front seat. Because she had more grace, she was allowed to endure more pain’” (10)

Upon reflection of this quote, more and more questions arise and some memories of Saturday morning televangelists telling us how 9/11 was our fault for being superficial. Anyways the first question is if god was looking out for them enough to make sure they were in correct seats why didn’t he prevent the crash altogether? And I always questioned the churches paganist belief that god has a plan for everything. This idea bothers me for the simple fact that if I have a glass of water must I drink it because god planned for me to drink it or can I decide to drink it or not. It comes down to do I do something because I’m going through the motions of gods will or do I make choices, decisions, do I collect experience throughout life or is my mind censored like a communist government. Am I human or am I a puppet to live to worship to die not even making a difference in this nationalized boulder we call earth. Anyway I find it annoying when god is used as an excuse for coincidences. Why can’t god fearing men accept that events are a result of accumulated decisions and past actions?

Before I had even opened the book, I found symbols. The egg on the cover represents truthfulness, untainted truth, or purity to me. The egg is actually placed inside what appears to be a jewelry box. The jewelry box tells me that the truthfulness of one can be sold or traded for beauty. Just like how jewelry is purchased by someone to make them feel beautiful.

“I imagined Lucy balancing the weight of such epic suffering on her shoulders in order to press her own suffering down. It isn’t possible to use the death of six million to make oneself feel lucky, because after a while the enormity of that pain simply replaces your own, making it different and in no way better’’ (Patchett 93).

What Patchett is presenting is that Lucy feels guilty for only worrying about her own suffering. When she reads Survival in Auschwitz, Lucy thinks she needs to feel fortunate enough that she isn’t in a war-torn country or concentration camp. She also realizes that no matter how bad her pain is, there is suffering in the world that is worse than what she has endured. Patchett makes the connection between two girls from different circumstances that left them both feeble, bald, and sickly. One girl is sick from cancer, with veins full of radiation, while the other is from a concentration camp. Patchett implies that Lucy is suffering as much as a victim who was in the holocaust.

Hey Everybody:

You’re all doing a nice job on the thematic elements of the boo, but you also need to look at how Patchett is accomplishing her ends. Remember, as our text says, “everthing’s an argument.” If that’s true, and let’s assume that it is, then what is Patchett’s argument? What is she trying to prove to us? How does she present her evidence? Look closely at the writing itself. How would you describe Patchett’s style?
Since this is a memoir rather than a straight journalistic report of her friendship with Lucy Greely Patchett’s not bound by anything other than her own recollections of the relationship yet her readers are expected to believe her. Do you?

Peace,
RK

“Finally got up her nerve to ask me the question she had been wondering all along: How I could stand to look at Lucy every day? “Lucy’s great,” she said, “but I’d find it too upsetting. I’d always be thinking about her face.” I told her I had no idea what she was talking about…I had stopped noticing Lucy’s face years before…”
This little section of dialogue between another student and Ann shows me that people will see you for who you are, not what you look like. If you are just yourself people can do nothing but see who you really are, there are no false conclusions. Also I am a strong believer in that if they really care for you, they’ll see the good in you no matter how you’re physically look. It’s not a runway show. You’re not putting on cloths to model. Which means you’re not changing you’re out side appearance to get a preferred outcome.
Also Mr. Kreinbring, I purchased a copy of the 50 essay’s text, by Sam Cohen, second edition it was published in 2007 is that ok, or do we need the 2004 version?

In response to Butch’s comment:

Yes, I do agree that people’s general levels of Truth and Beauty change with their age, but particularly in how much of it is expressed. While you might say that it is lost, I believe that it goes back onto a dusty shelf in the minds of most individuals and can be easily restored at a different point of life.

I disagree, however, with your theory that it continuously decreases with age. I just believe that during times of rapid change and instability it tends to not show through (teenage years to twenties generally). What makes me think that idea is incorrect is that there is much truth and beauty to be seen in elderly people.

And just to respond to a general belief that most people hold, I do NOT necessarily believe that babies are born in a purely good state. When I think about little kids, I realize that most of them are not naturally inclined to do simple things like share, and may often show lack of concern for others’ feelings. Now this is largely due to ignorance and a lack of discipline, but it leads me to believe that young babies are born into a state of neutrality. They are largely good in their earliest stages of life because the concept of doing ‘good’ things is engrained and brainwashed into their heads (I do NOT mean that in a derogatory way) at this early age. But as they become more rebellious and aware of parental hypocracy, this is often lost, but regained as they become more mentally stable and intelligent adults.

I partially agree with the comments of both Cat and Mario. While I agree with the idea of lending the helping hand occasionally, I also agree that helping the unfortunately circumstanced in excess has its negative consequences as well. It is essential that human society strives for the stance in the middle that is the most effective and remains weary of adhering to any extreme position. If something is going to be done, it is best to be done in moderation, and it is necessary to stay away from either extreme.

(just for the record I’m not calling either of your ideas extreme)

“I do not remember our love unfolding, that we got to know one another and in time became friends. I only remember that she came through the door and it was there, huge and permanent and first. I felt I had been chosen by Lucy and I was thrilled. I was twenty-one years old and very strong. She had a habit of pitching herself into my arms like a softball without any notice. She liked to be carried” (Patchett 7).

This illustrates the deep and intimate bond that develops between Ann and Lucy. Already, the reader develops an understanding of the significance of this profound friendship on both women. This relationship grows into a meaningful, lifelong commitment as shown by the immediate impact already had upon Ann. She feels that this friendship is destined to occur and now she has a duty to both herself and Lucy to make sure that she puts all of her devotion into it. This quote also gives readers a glimpse into the character of Lucy Grealy. “She liked to be carried” (7). Throughout her bumpy road, she always turns to Ann to lift her up and help her realize how beautiful she really is. This proves to have a significant role on their relationship as Ann serves as the person Lucy needs most. Patchett epitomizes the way that her devotion is often tested by Lucy’s growing need for attention and love.

“The world is saved through deeds, not prayer, because what is prayer but a kind of worry? I decided then that my love for Lucy would have to manifest in deeds” (Patchett 43).

Even when Lucy is most damaged and difficult as her life spirals downward, Ann manages to find for her the person she knows best and is most comfortable with, a friend like no other who would hold her up as her world turned upside down. The only way Ann sees it possible to show her never ending devotion for Lucy is to express this through actions. She never fails to come rushing to Lucy’s side when she is broken and devastated after another surgery fails to have the anticipated result. Ann is always willing to do everything in her power to make Lucy feel secure and make her world right for her, no matter what it took. Ann’s argument here is that prayer isn’t enough to fix the brokenness in her friend. This shows her strong faith in her ability to help Lucy, through actions, believe in herself and feel like a strong woman for the first time in her life.

“People made an effort to find out the details of her life. They knew her story and mistook that for actually knowing her, exactly as I had done. So many people thought Lucy was rude because she made no effort to return all the familiarity that poured down on her” (Patchett 48).

This passage depicts the feelings and attitudes of other people toward Lucy. Others always have a difficult time being able to accept the person she is without taking into account the condition of her face. Because of this, Lucy struggles internally to accept that she is indeed beautiful despite her outward state. Her battle to come to grips with her inability to sustain any romantic relationships affects the way she lives her life. As she constantly repeats how ugly she is, Ann searches for ways to make her believe otherwise. Lucy makes this the basis of her life as she continuously finds ways to bring herself down. Ann describes how people Lucy doesn’t even recognize knew her well. This bothers her as she struggles to accept the fact that she could never escape the constant stares that follow her every day. Patchett is trying to reveal society’s strong impact on a person’s attitude and beliefs. She is admonishing readers that if certain words and actions aren’t contained, people like Lucy Grealy will also struggle to determine their place in society.

“She was absolutely committed to the idea that writing would be her salvation and that she was obligated to pull herself out of all her present miseries with the sheer strength of her will and talent” (Patchett 61).

Lucy’s struggle with her illness and her own body shapes the way she deals with life and the people around her. She is an enormously talented writer, so she uses this gift as a way to make sense of life. Ann even quotes that, “Without writing, Lucy was just another patient in the surgical ward, waiting for her tissue expander to fill with the saline and stretch out her skin” (62). Ann argues that it is the one skill that gives them both any hope at all because it is the perfect escape from reality. “Writing is a job, a talent, but it’s also the place to go in your head” (62). Writing also serves as Lucy’s way of coping with her loneliness. Sometimes, writing is the only way she can feel safe and secure. Without it, she would completely drown in her sorrows.

“We were impossibly rich in time, and we lavished the excess on one another,” (21).

This quote made me take a moment or two to not think, but analyze what time really is. We live our lives in it, sometimes focusing on it and sometimes forgetting it is even there. In other words, Lucy and Ann could not have wished for time to go by faster while they were at work, yet while they were talking with friends or ordering drinks from the bar time was going by without them noticing. In this quote though, Ann does not explain time as “flying by.” She knows there is more than enough time to get everything done. Whatever time is left she wants to spend with Lucy to further more grow in their unique friendship.

“She loved Christ for His suffering, for what they had in common. With all His strength, even Christ had asked if this burden could be lifted from Him. The idea that pain was not a random thing but a punishment of the evil upon the good, the powerful upon the weak, gave her something to rage against” (Patchett 92).

Lucy is content knowing that she isn’t the only person who is suffering. The times when she realizes there are other people out there in just as much pain as she is in, allows her to pull herself out of her current depression. Patchett argues that in many ways Christ’s suffering is equivalent to Lucy’s suffering. This can be a very debatable topic. In most ways, Christ’s anguish is not even comparable to Lucy’s. Christ is our model of how to triumph through suffering. Unlike Lucy, he taught us that suffering is to be a time of victory and triumph for us. Lucy doesn’t really accomplish this in her suffering. In fact, she does the opposite. She only finds misery in her anguish. She fails to search for any triumph in the face of despair. Ann alludes to Christ to more notably illustrate this state of feeling she is often in regarding the condition of her affliction. Lucy believes that her pain is possibly a punishment upon her. Her inability to affectively cope with her agony leads to her unfortunate death.

I think Ann Patchett is trying to prove that it is difficult for truth and beauty to coexist in most people, because what makes a person beautiful sometimes contradicts with who the person really is. Then, I guess, it depends on what is meant by the word beauty. Does it refer to the person’s true beauty, the attributes that make her attractive, genuine, or admirable? Does it refer to solely how others see the person, what makes her beautiful in the eyes of other people?

Instead of her physical features, people love and are attracted to Lucy because of her personality and the way she carries herself. She is sociable and engaging, and she cares about others. However, because of the mental and emotionally scars of her childhood, she constantly seeks approval and companionship and relies on things or other people to fill the void within herself. Lucy’s close friends continue to stand by her despite knowing the whole of who she is, so maybe the proposed relationship between truth and beauty is merely a matter of opinion and relative to the people a situation concerns.

Perhaps the statement about the coexistence of truth and beauty is only true when one is not honest with herself, or does not portray herself honestly to other people. Even until death Lucy makes excuses for why she is alone, or why she is depressed, or why she has a drug problem, often blaming her appearance or abandonment by others. She never really understands why her life has become what it is, and after reading the novel I almost pity her more than I hold onto what is beautiful about her.

In my opinion, by being and accepting all of who she is one is inherently beautiful. Pure truth in a person allows for pure beauty to exist. In agreement with Skyler and Butch, I believe some amount of beauty exists in everyone, but I wonder if the realities of who a person is can undermine this.

“I told her constantly that those were things she should in no way be ashamed of, that shame should be reserved for the things we choose to do, not the circumstances that life puts on us” (138).

Because of her insecurities, Lucy constantly feels ashamed of everything that she does. She always questions every move she makes, as if every wrong thing would result in more punishment. Her insecurities come as a result of this belief that there is nothing right in her life. She is an emotional mess. Therefore, at times, she would fail to realize that many things in her life were just right, such as her writing talent and her friendships. Whenever she is around her friends, Lucy never fails to bring up the topic of her ugliness or lack of love life in the future. Ann is arguing that Lucy’s problem is that she doesn’t understand that you should not feel shame for the circumstances that life puts on you because those things can in no way be prevented. The only time you should feel shame is in the mistakes that you choose to make.

“They told her she was the most remarkable case they had seen and made promises of how they would shepherd her through to a better life. The surgeons stroked her deepest dreams of repair like coal men shoveling fuel into a roaring furnace” (Patchett 146).

This illustrates how Lucy has high hopes because of promises made to her by professionals. This idea of a better life is placed upon her and becomes the basis of her dreams. However, each surgery does not bring about the desired outcome causing her to lose some of these hopes. She is always left broken and devastated after each surgery. This gives insight into the emotions that run through Lucy’s mind before and after each surgery she endures. She tries to be hopeful going in, but always winds up disappointed afterwards. Whatever hopefulness was once there always seems to be destroyed in the end for Lucy.

“She was trapped in a room full of mirrors, and every direction she looked in she saw herself, her face, her loneliness. She couldn’t see that no one else was perfect either, and that so much of love was the work of it. She had worked on everything else. Love would have to be charmed” (171).

The imagery here provides insight into the reality of Lucy’s situation. It is difficult to comprehend the magnitude of Lucy’s state of being. She deals with a lot and greatly struggles to keep her emotions in check. Her loneliness is caused by her belief that she is completely alone in her situation. Sometimes it is difficult to remember that she has friends who greatly support her. Also, she honestly believes that she is the only person who isn’t perfect, failing to realize that no one lives a flawless life. She struggles with this throughout the course of her life, being one of the main reasons for slipping into a depression and turning to drugs as the only escape. Patchett argues here that one of the main reasons for Lucy’s misery is her inability to identify others of having imperfect lives as well.

“It takes a certain amount of effort to be miserable and another kind of effort to be happy, and I was willing to do the work of happiness. I figured even if I couldn’t make Lucy deeply happy, I could very likely make her cheaply and immediately happy. I could provide the kind of happiness that would seem hollow if we had had the money or the time to stay in it too long” (Patchett 213).

Throughout their friendship and Lucy’s battle with cancer, Ann is the person who provides all the motivation, optimism, and support. These are all things that Lucy greatly lacks. Because of Ann’s ability to be all of these things for Lucy when she greatly needs them, their friendship consists of a deep and intimate bond. This bond lasts throughout their entire adulthood and is hugely significant throughout all of Lucy’s weakest moments. This passage exemplifies the part Ann plays in their friendship. She does the “work of happiness” in their friendship, serving as the backbone of their relationship.

“She was realizing that the enormous sadness of her life had possible come from a source other than her face and that she had never been able to get completely well because she had always been trying to fix the wrong thing” (Patchett 236).

Lucy spends her entire life believing that the cause of her unhappiness is the condition of her face. She believes the only way to make herself feel better is to change her outward appearance. She goes through lots of plastic surgeries to try to achieve a more satisfying look. However, the result is never quite what she anticipated. Ann represents Lucy as a woman who devotes so much of her time and life to trying to make herself be more appealing and less repulsive to other people. She eventually begins to realize that this is a mistake because it never really changes the way she feels inside. Ann’s argument is that If anything, this only makes Lucy emptier. We see this through the way Lucy begins to separate herself from the world.

“Oh, people like to say when they hear this part of the story, this is why you and Lucy are so close. You went through the same thing. But nothing could be farther from the truth” (Patchett 10).

When I read this sentence, I was already thinking that Ann and Lucy’s relationship came from their abnormal faces. Ann’s way of understanding and relating to what a reader thinks when reading a book like this surprised me. I understand that their friendship is beyond the similarity of their faces, and more a result of each other’s presence. Ann’s face was messed up early in her life and only taught her to be more confident and intimidating. Lucy had her faced messed up the majority of her life and completely lowered her self-esteem. The two had different results of having a scarred face, and their friendship did not stem from this. Lucy needed a person to talk to and voice her emotions with. When she found that Ann could be that special person, she was immediately attached to her. Ann and Lucy are friends because their personalities match, and they enjoy each other’s presence. Their faces and other physical characteristics did not have a large role in the formation of their friendship.

“The world is saved through deeds, not prayer, because what is prayer but a kind of worry? I decided then that my love for Lucy would have to manifest in deeds” (Patchett 43).

I agree that the world is saved through deeds, but prayer is a place people go to relieve of their pains and grievances. Prayer is not an act of worrying, but a relaxing call for a blessing. I do agree that the world cannot be saved from just praying, but from doing physical acts of kindness. Ann believes that she cannot just keep hoping that Lucy will find good luck, but will have to physically help her find it. This is true because Lucy is having troubles with her life and individuality and needs someone to help guide her. A person wishing for Lucy to be happy and confident won’t come true without external factors. Ann is saying that she can only help her friend in deeds, which may be to help her find love, or give her the support she needs to fight through her situation.

“The process of putting the thing you value most in the world out for the assessment of strangers is a confidence-shaking business even in the best of times” (Patchett 63).

I chose this quote because it is mostly false, but it really depends on what a person values most in his or her world. It only applies to the rare cases where there is something a person cares more about than his or her family. Most people value their families the most, and any assessment of them by strangers should not mean anything at all. If a stranger were to make a poor judgment of my family, his or her opinion would not mean anything to me, and I would ignore him. However, if there are some people who value something else in their life that they are somewhat insecure about, then it can be confidence shaking. For example, one of Lucy’s main concerns in her life is her face, and if one were to criticize it, her confidence would become lower. Lucy already has a lower self-esteem, and any criticizing of her face would bring it down even more. I can understand why people would disagree with me and fully agree with this quote, but those people probably care what other people have to say. I personally don’t give a crap what strangers have to say about my deepest values, unless they are worthy of recognition.

“Lucy and I both had a place to be, and we had won that place on the strength of our work. I believed there had never been such luck in all the world” (Patchett 89).

I decided to write about this quote because it represents how hard work translates into luck. No one can have so much useful luck without working hard at something. I strongly agree with this quote. Everyone who works hard will get rewarded in the long run, regardless of their circumstances. This is the first time we see Lucy and Ann truly work toward their goal in a productive way, and it pays off coincidentally. This is the point where Lucy and Ann are both in separate places and doing their own work independently for the first time. They find that since they are having good fortune, they are strong due to their work ethics. Ann believes that she is experiencing the luck that never existed, and this may be the first time she is being rewarded due to her hard work. This is her time to enjoy the luck that has finally been unleashed. This quote applies to everyday life, and can be seen with any successful people.

“I read the manuscript sitting at my dining room table in Murray, Kentucky, and I felt like Lucy had just slipped a knife into the ground and sliced open a diamond mine” (Patchett 105).

This quote stood out to me because it shows how Ann reads Lucy’s situation and realizes that Lucy is about to reach the climax of her career. Lucy is about to make a lot of money selling her works to magazines, and is preparing for her novel. Ann realizes that this is a turning point to Lucy’s life and her career, and that she should make the best of it. She was equipped with luck and talent, and that combination got her to this point in her life. I like how Patchett compared Lucy’s career to a diamond mine. Diamonds are full of money and so are Lucy’s writings at this time. The metaphor she used symbolizes both luck, as in throwing a knife into the ground, and wealth, as in the diamond mine. We see a reversal of fortune in Lucy’s life, and it symbolizes hope and determination.

“The surgeons stoked her deepest dreams of repair like coal men shoveling fuel into a roaring furnace” (Patchett 146).

This quote contains a very well used simile that I find interesting. Patchett shows how Lucy feels excited about having a better face, and how the surgeons are doing whatever they can to make Lucy feel better. It signifies the most important thing in Lucy’s life, her face, and how there is new hope to make it look better. The coal men put coal into the furnace to make the fire last longer, like making Lucy’s dream of having a repaired face prolonged and hopeful. The furnace represents Lucy’s dream, and the coal symbolizes her surgeries. Each surgery offers a new chance to have a repaired face. I find this quote very accurate in the way it depicts Lucy’s life. Lucy needs the motivation to keep hoping her face turns back into a normal one, and the surgeries bring that to her. The surgeries keep Lucy going, and give her the hope that good things can come in the future. The quote shows how well Patchett understands the life of Lucy by displaying how the chance for a new face keeps Lucy very excited.

“She also had the proof she needed that she wasn’t alone, and that everybody loved her” (Patchett 226).

This quote is significant because it shows how Lucy had many friends that cared about her, and her feeling of loneliness was not legitimate. It shows how Lucy was greedy for love from a man, while she had all the love a person could want from other people. I believe that Lucy’s loneliness stemmed from the fact that she dated too many men, and did not let any relationships grow. Her self-esteem was way too low, and she used her face as a reason for why she did not have a man who loved her. This quote represents the point at which Lucy realizes that a lot of people care about her, and her loneliness was not real. Patchett bashes the idea that Lucy is lonely, and sends the message that the support for Lucy from other people overrules the love any man would give her.

Alright, I think it’s time for me to start blogging away because I’ve been slacking. Anyway, I’d like to agree with Danielle’s comment about beauty. She says, and tell me if I’m wrong, that there is beauty in everybody, but sometimes it’s hard for others to see it. The beauty doesn’t necessarily have to exist on the physical features of somebody, which in this case is Lucy Grealy. Anybody who sees Lucy for the first time would most likely do a double take, not because of her physical beauty, but because of her messed up face, and people are curious. See, that’s the beauty of Lucy Grealy. The beauty of a person is on the inside. Lucy is unique and that’s her beauty. Ann Patchett sees Lucy for who she really is; unique. I say she is unique because despite the fact that she has had numerous sergeries and she’s not as attractive as some women, she still lives life to the fullest. Ann sees her personality, not her face. The beauty inside Lucy makes Ann love her so much. Lucy Grealy’s inner beauty forces people to disregard her face.

“Lucy would have banged on every door. She would have led all twenty writers and visual artists down Commercial Street in a conga line to the Governor BBradford and talked the bartender into buying every last one of them a drink.” (Patchett 80-81)

This passage illustrates Lucy’s character, pride, and personality. Lucy could be scared of what people will think of her because of her face. But she isn’t scared. She has the courage to talk to people and has the ability to make friends with them immediately. Ann thought about what Lucy would do in this situation, which is, of course, knock on every door on the street. This motivated Ann to get up and make friends. In the end, she met Elizabeth, one of her closest friends that she made at Provincetown.

“As much as Lucy liked my friends, it was important for her to know at every moment that she was my uncontested favorite.” (Patchett84)

This passage illustrates Lucy’s need to be the most important person in Ann’s kufe. Lucy viewed Ann’s friends as competition. Lucy had a constant need to feel important. This need can be traced back to the satisfaction she got as a hospitalized child when doctors said her case was “unlike anything they had seen before”. Knowing that she was Ann’s “uncontested favorite” made her feel special. Whenever Lucy felt her position in Ann’s life was in jeopardy she would crave reassurance from Ann. Lucy had no regard for the embarrassment she would cause Ann by hurling herself in Ann’s lap while they were at dinner with Elizabeth. Lucy’s lack of self-assurance in her relationship with Ann led to these periods of jealousy.

“She would have seen the whole thing as a ridiculous adventure, an opportunity ripe for the taking. She’d be halfway to Tanzania now, having managed to ditch the philanthropists’ adviser at Kennedy Airport, while I stood there wringing my parochial hands, feeling cheapened.” (Patchett124)

This quote is significant because it shows how Ann admired certain traits about Lucy. This is one of the moments in the book that we see Ann is a bit jealous of Lucy. Lucy was very eccentric where as Ann is ordinary, Lucy could make awkward situations into creative opportunities. When Ann hides in the bathroom during the meeting with the philanthropists’ adviser she is disappointed in her reaction, she images that Lucy would have used the situation to her advantage. I found this passage so intriguing because many time in the book we see Lucy struggling with periods of depression and self loathing but in this passage Ann reminds us of Lucy’s positive traits.

“My brave and heroic Lucy made it clear to the audience that she had no interest in being anybody’s inspiration….Lucy refused to let the evening digress into a litany of battle stories.” (Patchett141)

I chose this passage because it shows Lucy in a light I had not seen her in before. This shows Lucy as a serious writer struggling with the way readers are viewing her novel, Autobiography of a Face. Last year when I read Autobiography of a Face I imagined Lucy wrote the novel so the world could see the pain she went through but after reading Truth and Beauty I don’t think she wanted that at all. Autobiography of a Face was the opportunity she was looking for to show the world her talent as a writer. Yet Lucy’s readers were so caught up in relating the novel to their own struggles that they, in many cases overlooked its literary merit. Lucy did not want to forever be known as the women who struggled with cancer, she wanted to be known as the woman who was truly a talented author. Lucy made no effort to hide this either. While many people may have taken her lack of sensitivity toward the cancer patients at her book signing as cruelty, Lucy felt that drifting into battle stories would take away from her actual writing. This is just another example of how Lucy did not want to be defined by her childhood cancer, the idea of not letting the past define you is something that I feel a lot of people can relate.

“We shared our ideas like sweaters, with easy exchange and lack of ownership.” (Patchett 21)

Not only do Ann and Lucy possess a friendship with one another, but they also have a deeper understanding of how they each think. Here, I believe that Patchett illustrates that when it comes to her and Lucy’s camaraderie they are unselfish, both physically and psychologically. Using a well-worded simile, Patchett gives us the idea that Lucy and she spend countless hours together speaking their minds, and holding conversations that could ultimately better the other with the ideas that they embrace. Both being writers, they were able to feed off each other’s knowledge and ideas, helping both with the compositions that they wished to complete. This pair uses communication as a key part of their companionship.

What I made an interesting connection to was the irony of Lucy’s statement “I’ll get over this…We’ll look back and call these the heroin years” (Patchett 248). When I read this, I remembered when Lucy says, “Someday we’ll look back on all of this” and Ann replies, “We’ll say, ‘That happened during the Iowa years’’’ (Patchett 44). What I made a connection to is that the statements are similar, yet complete opposites. For example, I associate “The Iowa Years’’ with innocence. The Iowa Years, to me, are about friendship, love, and Lucy and Ann’s newly budding relationship. Both girls are young and have their whole life ahead of them. However, The Heroin Years are the exact opposite. The girls are aging and Lucy’s life is ending as her physical and mental health worsens. Lucy’s depression and dependence on drugs leads her into a downwards spiral. Ann is fed up with Lucy for the first time in their relationship. Lucy, in the end, dies from a heroin overdose. To sum up: The Iowa Years are the beginning of Ann and Lucy; while in contrast, The Heroin Years were the ultimate end.

I agree with Kaitlen on her contrasting of the “Iowa Years” with the “Heroin Years.” However, it brings up for me another interesting point.

Sometimes people think that they can enter into an experience (ex. friendship or drugs), having an emotional (or physiological) “high” at its beginning, but with little to no consequence when it is departed. While I am talking about a completely good thing as well as a completely bad thing in the same analogy, the same basic principle is applied: what goes up must come down. Lucy, as well as people in general, think they can experience some sort of euphoria while entering into an experience but come right out of it feeling absolutely fine. For certain things like those mentioned above, it is inevitable that there will be a downfall when they are departed, whether it be the friendship or the drug. If Lucy were to stop being friends with Ann, it would be a tragic loss, and whenever Lucy leaves heroin, it is always extremely painful.

Maybe on that note it is perhaps possible to call the past 30 years of America “the debt years,” and so the same idea occurs there as well: like the two instances already discussed, it will be hard to leave. But the question must be asked of whether the national debt phenomenon is the friendship or the heroin of America. Most common people will tell you it is the heroin, but politicians treat it like a friend.

In response to Butch’s response to Skyler’s response

I fail to see why either of you would be right, as truth and beauty are two completely different entities. First of all, Truth and Beauty is a misleading title; an appropriate title to this book should be Truth IN Beauty because this book directly leads with points of view and how people deal with the ideas of beauty and ugliness. I agree with Skyler in that all people have a certain amount of truth and beauty and that if all aspects and points of views are taken into account, all people have the same capabilities of expressing truth and/or beauty. It may not be displayed at all times and it would be impossible to measure a person’s beauty (internally and externally), but all people have the propensity to show the same amount of compassion or honesty (beauty and truth). However, the truth is that beauty can not be tied to innocence as innocence is only one facet of beauty. Innocence in itself is beautiful and maybe described as that, but it’s not the essence of beauty. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and thus an opinion. A flower may be considered beautiful but to be considered innocent would be idiotic unless it is being personified as a symbol of beauty. Also, even if something has lost its innocence, it may not have lost its beauty as the person may be blinded by affection never to see it as ugly. Truth, beauty and innocence are different ideas that can’t be bound to form one element simply because of the innumerable definitions we have for them.

“We had written in college and graduate school and had our small successes, but we were writing to impress our friends, our teachers, possibly ourselves. Now writing meant something else entirely.” (Patchett 62)

This passage stood out to me because I believe it has a great message. While they were in school, writing was something Ann and Lucy did for other people. They might have been passionate about it, but they weren’t doing it for themselves, they were writing for others. Now, when writing is all they have, Lucy and Ann realize the importance writing because they want to. Because of this realization, they are more passionate about their novels and poems that they are writing. I think everyone struggles with this at one point or another in their lives. Whether it’s for their college resume, for their parents, or even for friends, everyone does something to impress other people. When something is done for other people, the passion is lost from the work being done. In order for something to be done to the absolute best of your ability, I believe passion must be present; you must want it.

“She told me that she often had a couple of drinks and a couple of Percosets before getting in her car after midnight in Vermont and driving a hundred miles an hour over the icy back roads to New York. She said that she wanted to temp fate.” (Patchett 206)

This quote illustrates the begging of the end for Lucy. Lucy toward the end of her life began to engage in reckless behavior that illustrated her lack of respect for her own life. By drinking and driving, with dangerous road conditions, Lucy puts her own life as well as the lives of others in danger. Even Ann, who is Lucy’s closest friend, cannot understand her irresponsible behavior. It is almost as if Lucy, having been through so much in her life, began to get a rush out of tempting fate. Lucy would put herself in dangerous situations because she began to feel invincible. The feeling of invincibility was what Lucy used to get high before she ever thought about using heroin.

“Lucy was having the great love affair she had always dreamed of. It was dangerous and rocky, violently depleting, but in the few minutes that it was sweet it made her feel all the encompassing heat of love.” (Patchett 235)

This passage stuck out to me because I find it to be truly sincere and heat wrenching. The passage made me reflect on and really think about Lucy’s life. Looking at Lucy’s life one will see that she had many vices. Lucy engaged in drug use, sex with men she barely knew, and battled with periods of severe depression. Many of us whose lives have been touched by tragic deaths cannot find the words to explain why this death has occurred. Ann however, has the ability to explain the effect heroin gave Lucy, in an articulate way. She says it provided Lucy with the “great love affair she had always dreamed of”. In reality Lucy would never have the hopelessly romantic relationship she always wanted because she always got involved with things that were not good for her. Whether the relationship be with a man, like the degrading B—-, or heroin, Lucy only got temporary happiness out of the relationship. Eventually Lucy’s needed to feel the “encompassing heat of love”, even if only for a moment, led to her death.

This passage reminds me that Lucy’s death was a tragedy. It was tragic in the fact that it was not Lucy’s time to die. At the age of 39 Lucy had a lot of life ahead of her but she could not escape herself. She was a woman who needed help, she needed to be supported and loved. When Lucy did not get that help she fell deeper into her depression. Many depressed people turn to self-medication, whether it is through alcohol, sex or drugs. This is what Lucy did, she self medicated.

“What surgery meant to Lucy and what it meant to almost anyone else were two different things entirely.” (Patchett 57)

This passage is incredibly true. To someone who does not suffer from an ailment of some sort or a deformity that has to be repeatedly confronted by medical procedures think of surgery as a one-time ordeal. They deem that after going under the knife, their tribulations will be easily fixed, and the problems they once had demise. It’s usually a one step process that has no procedure having to follow. However, in the case of Lucy, surgery is not just a simple method of attaining what you yearn for. Surgery is just one piece to the puzzle. Lucy looks at surgery as just something that she must go through in order to make it to the big picture, the final destination if you will. Everything in our world has a different meaning to each person. Some of us might have a more simplistic meaning of something, while others have a whole book of what that something means to them.

“She never gave up believing that there would be a final moment, a last surgery, a point at which her “real life” would begin.”(57)

This quote was interesting to me because, not only do I disagree, but I feel many people hit by recession have adopted this passive optimism that one day everything will be better. People will get their jobs, homes, and lives back and everything will be fine. I’m all for the optimistic aspect but it seems like people are just waiting which is the passive side. You can’t just wait for the best you have to act to survive the present. Pardon me for sounding redundant but everyone has the power to change the position that their in.

“They knew her story and mistook that for actually knowing her, exactly as I had done” (Patchett 48).
This quote reminds me of so many situations that exist today. The kid with the peanut allergy is the main thing I see a connection with. First off, we all know his story. He is deathly allergic to peanuts and nut products via the air and touch. Yet, many people I talk too assume he is a rotten kid who makes fun of others, and taunts people regarding food. Frankly, most people don’t know the kid personally. I sure don’t. Do we have the right to judge a person and act like we know them completely? I’m not saying that I’m against peanuts, or really believe that peanut-free is the way to go, but I do believe that we need to give the kid a chance. Lucy will always have people who think they “know” her, but they just know her story. They don’t know everything she goes through. Before more criticism is tossed at the “peanut boy”, remember Lucy. I have a feeling that the kid with the peanut allergy can relate more to Lucy than anyone in the AP Language and Composition Class. What a joke, I don’t even know his name. Shows you how far I know him myself.

Just a thought- Aditya Rengaswamy

To the general public:

I would highly suggest that you run your postings through a word document to avoid somewhat misleading spelling and grammatical errors.

Skyler:

I like your insights. They’re a great point to bring into play! However, that just brings a new aspect into play that we did not previously consider: experience. Truth and Beauty are unrecoverable characteristics that are easily and naturally lost. Children lose their Truth and Beauty while dealing with experiences they are unfamiliar and uncomfortable in; when children do what is aesthetically pleasing or commonly accepted, they become morally corrupted. When this happens, their sense of right and wrong is morphed as well. When these children grow and mature, they realise how they have been influenced, and they learn to distinguish between Yang and Yin. Therefore, though the elderly have lost their innocence, they are still good people who can do deeds of pure intention. Do not get me wrong; I mean not to say that sans innate Beauty or Truth, one cannot be a good person.

Your second point is also a good point that made me question myself. However, I stick firmly with the belief that children are influenced by the hand of God, and they are shaped by the way society influences them. The pure innocence and vulnerability of children is what makes them so Beautiful.

On the aspect of Truth:
An infant does not know how to lie, and it is not naturally inclined to do so. Unless it is acted on by external environment, it will remain inevitably Truthful.

An example of this can be found in a baby’s cry; it knows not how to handle itself in public, nor does it care. The baby is too young to understand there are rules to follow, and it expresses itself freely to make itself heard. Eternal Truth and liberation, in my opinion, follows when one is apathetic to the way he is perceived by society.

Mr. Latona:

I beg to differ on your rebuttal against Cathy’s comment. Social Darwinism makes sense to a certain extent in a society as prominent as ours. However, it is ridiculous when we cynically interpret it to say not to help ANYBODY. It is understandable that you have been raised to believe so strongly in this by parents who came from such unfortunate circumstance. However, while your mother may have become successful from a deprived childhood, that does not imply that everybody should, or even is able to, do so. We should extend a hand to those who need it under the condition that they help themselves as well. I understand what you’re saying, but keep in mind McCandless in Krakauer’s Into the Wild. He had an honourable passion and strove to make it a reality. However, he ran into problems and had to depend on friends and even total strangers in order to strive for his dream.

I also disagree when you say “everyone has choices to change the position they are in.” Even though your mother did, not everybody else has the opportunity to change their caste. For example, a paraplegic may not have the ability to extend his contributions to the world. He would, unfortunately, also have to work thrice as hard to hold the same job that an otherwise healthy person would. If he is trying his hardest and still failing to succeed, we cannot blame him for his circumstance at all, but we must rather support him in his efforts to succeed.

Hah. I think I’m spending way too much time on this blog; I get addicted way too easily.

Aditya:

‘The kid with the peanut allergy’ that you speak of is named Chandler.

People who have majour problems can obviously feel with Lucy more effectively than can people who are relatively “normal” because, while we can sympathize with Lucy, people like Chandler can empathize. It is an inevitable and unfortunate reality of our generation that we cannot accept people who make our lives more difficult. We grow accustomed to things that we have, and we are left aghast when they are denied from us. Since we are some of the brightest students in our school, I hope that we will not judge people according to their disabilities.

Mario -
I think you may have misinterpreted my last response. My point was that if people thought from other people’s points of view, they may be more inclined to help them. I never said that we MUST help those that are “lower,” just that it would be nice to. Also, when I wrote my last response, I was referring to simple acts of kindness when I used the word “help,” and I didn’t necessarily use “lower,” to mean poor. I used it in an effort to describe how some people think when they decide not to help others. I’m sorry if I was unclear. Thanks for pointing this out so I could clarify it.
I think it’s very nice that your parents have told you that everybody has a chance to be successful, though I disagree with the statement. The main reason is because I’m sure there’s one person that didn’t have a chance to succeed, and if there is, then I can’t agree 100% with the statement. For example, if I baby was born, but died right after, did he have a chance to succeed in life? No, he never had the chance to because his life was cut short. I’m not trying to be nitpicky by saying this. It’s just I don’t usually agree with “all” or “never” statements. If you had said that MOST people have a chance to succeed, then I would agree with you Just be careful how you word things.

To Cat Butch and Skyler

I feel like I’m slightly coming under attack due to the misunderstandings of my comment but after reflection I will agree with skyler and say yes neither extreme is right. We shouldn’t baby those less fortunate nor should we ignore them. What I meant but didn’t specify is that the government has is responsibilities to poverty as do we it’s a problem we all must tackle together.

To Aditya

Your extreme generalization offends me. I had not taken any particular feeling towards chandler. The people who you “talk to” about the subject obviously have no sympathy to assume he is a brat.

On Patchett’s argument -
Patchett is arguing that there is a different side to everybody. Patchett tries to prove this by writing about her friendship with Lucy and pointing out what people thought Lucy was and what Ann KNEW Lucy was. In college, people knew her as the cancer girl with the odd face. Ann reveals that this isn’t the whole story; there is another side. Lucy was a person, not just a cancer patient. She had insecurities and she struggled to write, something that most people didn’t know about her.

Supplemental to my comment yesterday regarding the “debt” analogy:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/MOUNTAIN-OF-DEBT-Rising-debt-apf-140105975.html?x=0

The sky-high national debt threatens to devastate the US just as heroin did to Lucy Grealy.

Mario:

I didn’t mean to be so offensive to you; I simply wanted to make my position on your opinion known.

Also, it is obvious that Aditya is making a generalisation. I don’t feel that way toward Chandler, either. However, I’m not offended by his seemingly “huge generalisation” because it is, for the most part, true. How many positive things have you heard about Chandler during the schoolyear and how many good things have you heard? People lose their respect for him and deny him the chance to popularise himself. It shouldn’t offend you because Aditya isn’t saying EVERY SINGLE person in our school is prejudice against him; he’s simply saying that the vast majourity of people he has seen have centred on Chandler’s nut allergy.

I’m pretty sure this entry is going to create controversy, but bear with me here. I’m going to draw a comparison between Lucy Grealy and Michael Jackson.

While I was at work today, I saw the news playing on a nearby television set. I think most of you can agree with me when I say that Michael Jackson’s death has been a bit overplayed by the media. As soon as I heard Michael Jackson’s song, Bad, for the millionth time this week, my first impulse was to switch it off. I was trying to think of what to write for my next blog, but MJ’s songs were polluting my thought process, so this is where I came to my conclusion. I wanted to touch down on something besides the obvious similarities, (they both lived and died in the same relative era, they were both artists, etc.) and connect the book to a current event we can relate to. I did a bit of research before I fully responded, just so I could make this as correct as possible. To the best of my knowledge, this information is accurate, but in I missed something or said something out of context, feel free to respond back.

While Ann and Lucy never actually met in college, Ann knew about Lucy, whether it was intimate details of her life, such as her childhood cancer, or where she partied. Ann tells the readers, “We knew things about Lucy the way one knows things about the private lives of movie stars, by a kind of osmosis of information” (Patchett 3). As Ann knew Lucy, or rather, knew OF Lucy, Lucy had no idea who she was. Much in the same manner as Michael Jackson, many people know discreet information about his life. Just as Lucy didn’t have a clue to who Patchett was, Michael Jackson couldn’t tell the difference between me and a can of Spaghettios.

Lucy Grealy, like Michael Jackson, was well known for her odd-looking face. This brings me to my next point, the countless amounts of surgeries both Lucy and Michael went through, and their ever-changing appearances. Jackson had his first surgery in 1979 when he was practicing a dance move and he fell on his face, breaking his nose. He had to have it fixed, and in the process, asked for it to be shaped smaller. After the surgery, he had trouble breathing so he had to have the inside reconstructed, and asked again to make his nose smaller, for purely cosmetic reasons. In addition, he wanted a cleft in his chin, so he had it done. In 1986, Michael was diagnosed with Vitiligo. To sum up, Vitiligo is a disease where the pigment-making cells are destroyed, leaving the skin-tone uneven. When this happened, controversies arose that Jackson was bleaching his skin. Anyone can argue that Lucy and Michael’s reasons for surgery differ, because Lucy NEEDED the operations, while Michael WANTED them. Nevertheless, Lucy had cosmetic surgeries, as well, including breast implants and facial shaping surgeries.

The last connection I made was the influence of drugs upon both of them. Lucy died from an accidental overdose of heroin, while Michael was taking antidepressants, anxiety pills, painkillers, and stimulants upon the time of his death.

In conclusion, Lucy and Michael are alike for several reasons. They both had facial surgeries, and their appearances were always altering in some way. They both were artists; Michael was a performer, and Lucy was a poet. Their births and deaths were only several years apart. Lucy’s fame and Michael’s infamy led people to believe that they knew the two on a personal level.

This was just a connection I made between Lucy Grealy and Michael Jackson. I wanted to connect the book to a current event, something we all know about and can relate to. I find it is a very interesting comparison. Feel free to comment or add anything I missed.

I agree strongly with most of the points made by Kaitlen above.

The idea that Lucy is a sort of celebrity figure similar to Michael Jackson is an idea I covered in my very first blog post, which I believe is also the very first on this page if you want to scroll up and read it. I used a quote in which Ann Patchett used the analogy of tortoise/hare and also grasshopper/ant to contrast the different lives that she and Lucy lead. Lucy is the small-scale superstar, while Ann goes unnoticed. There are more details to my thought given in my original blog post so I will just leave it at that.

Commenting on Aditya’s “The Peanut Kid”:

I like how you used Patchett’s quote to describe Chandler Swink, or as you know him, The Peanut Kid. I can see how he could empathize with Lucy. I’m sure he has felt alienated and ostracized throughout his life due to his extreme allergies. However, I disagree with your statement that he’s a rotten kid. He lives in my neighborhood and our parents are friends, so I’ve met him once or twice in chance encounters. That doesn’t necessarily mean anything, perhaps I’m make a sweeping assumption that I know him, much like people generalize that they know Lucy. I think these people you’ve been talking to about Chandler are probably just bummed he is coming to our school as a freshman because of his allergies, so they make up rumors to compensate disliking him. It makes it easier to dislike him if he is made out to be somewhat of a villain. I’ve heard conversations, as well, in which people say he should be forced out of public schools and home-schooled instead. Which incidentally, goes back to Mario’s discussion of equal chances to succeed. If Chandler was forced out of public schools due to his allergies, how is that an equal chance to succeed in life?

” Lucy had the pull of celebrity, and while she had always ignored me, I was flattered to be asked for help.” (5)

WHile reading this passage I came to realize that during Lucy´s highschool career people only wanted to be friends with her because of what happened to her and all that she experienced that they didnt care how she actually was deep down. Ann was apart of that group as well, she would try to talk to Lucy in the hallways and say hi and Lucy would ignore because she didn´t know her, just like she didnt know anyone else that tried talking to her. Ann could have been pushed down to the ground by Lucy and still would have done anything to be her friend. Once they bought an apartment to share in college, Lucy was the most loving person to Ann. There was such a different connection between them and this led them to become best friends. Now Ann would do anything for Lucy but in a true and loving way. She doesn´t have to try and get Lucy´s attention. She admires Lucy the real way friends should admire each other and does not even pay attention to the outer part of Lucy.

“Lucy assessed the pain of the body by the standards of her own experience and found that just about everyone else came up short, especially those on whom the ravages of illness could not be seen.” (Patchett 91)

This quote really got me contemplating whether I knew what actual pain felt like. I have had my fair share of broken bones and scraped knees, but compared to someone who has gone through chemotherapy or an agonizing surgery, my pain seems to be minute. Just today, I complained to my mother that I have been having cramps and stomachaches and I wanted to visit a doctor to stop the pain from reoccurring. She responded by telling me that I did not need to go to a doctor, and asked me “Mac Killewald is battling cancer, going through chemotherapy and other serious procedures, and you’re complaining to me about cramps?” She is right. I have no indication of what real pain is. If I were Lucy, I would look at the people around me that grumble about being sick and call them wimps. The experiences that Lucy had in her lifetime were both joyous and ghastly. Reflecting over everything that I have ever ached about, I have come to the realization that I am a wimp. I cannot imagine going through radiation, or going under the knife multiple times and the pain that it entails.

Although Lucy has gone through both of these situations, she still has the will to keep living. She didn’t complain about the pain, but rather how she looked. I give Lucy my utmost respect for what she had to endure, and how she was able to navigate through the negative, to get to the positive.

“The world is saved through deeds, not prayer, because what is prayer but a kind of worry? I decided then that my love for Lucy would have to manifest in deeds” (Patchett, 43).

When I read this passage in the book, I literally stopped and thought about it for a second. This idea that the world would not be successful if no one acted out what they believed in (whether good or bad) is very true. If people spend the whole time praying that things will happen, then the things most likely will not happen. You can’t expect things to change if you don’t put the effort into changing them. For example, (this is kind of a bad example, but it makes my point…) say someone really wants to get better at a sport they’re playing. They pray, asking for help in getting better. But then, when they go to practices and the games, they put in a minimal effort. That person will probably be angry that they did not get their wish, but they must realize that they didn’t receive it because they didn’t put in the effort to make themself better. This can relate to so many different circumstances.

In Ann’s case, her circumstance is a bit tougher. Because she can’t physically make Lucy’s face look better, she of course prays and wishes that the doctor will. But that’s not all she can do. She knows she has to help Lucy by supporting her with everything and helping her through her toughest times, not just worrying about her and praying for her. Ann can make a difference in Lucy’s life, even if it’s not changing the way her face looks. And the only way she can do that it by preforming deeds, just just praying that good deeds will happen. I’m not saying praying or wishing for something is a bad thing, because believe me, I do it all the time. But I do agree that you can’t just wish on things all the time; you must put some effort in to receive what you want.

Ms. Nault:

I completely disagree with your above philosophy. Just because people have it worse than you does not mean you must deprive yourself of luxuries that you have. I may be exaggerating your point a few stretches when I say this, but according to you, it is wrong to complain of hunger because there are children who have it worse in Africa and India. There are different circumstances that impose different consquences upon different people (if that made any sense). However, I don’t think successful pathos necessarily includes depriving oneself of luxuries that one has. For example, while I feel bad for Mac, I think it is foolish to ignore any medical problems that I have. I’m not one to judge whether you’re a wimp or not, but if you are basing your self-assessment solely on experiences others underwent and how you acted in comparison, it is an inaccurate analysis.

I strongly agree with taylor’s posting about pain. I have to remind myself time and time again that pain is just apart of being human, and is unavoidable. Lucy toughed it out, simply because it can only get better. The experiences I have had don’t come anywhere close to Lucy’s, but I know that our pain is similar. Not physically, but mentally I can somewhat relate to Lucy. I am one of those people who will not use luxuries as an excuse for my health or anything like that. I know that healthcare in my family might not be there tomorrow if I happen to get injured so I go on through life acting as if it is not there. In other words, I will think about people around the world who are starving to death and immediately stop complaining that I am hungry. I refuse to take luxuries for granted. Reading the above passages, Taylor did not make an inaccurate analysis, in my mind. Experiences are the soul of each individual. Character in a person can only come from experiences. For example, Lucy may not have learned to be so independent had it not been for her long hospital stays for surgery. She can turn people away from staring at her because she knows that, more than likely, she has endured more than anyone could imagine.
Experiences in an individual is the best way to compare yourself to others is the meaning of this post.

“The world is saved through deeds, not prayer, because what is prayer but a kind of worry? I decided then that my love for Lucy would have to manifest in deeds,” (43).

This quote shows Ann’s commitment to her friendship with Lucy in a religious way. Growing up in a catholic school, it makes certain that Ann believes in God’s power to change anything. Yet in this quote she does not find prayer as God’s power. She feels that actions speak louder than words, and prayer is not going to help Lucy. It is almost as if Ann is turning her back on the Lord for not helping Lucy in bringing her some kind of success in the countless surgeries. This could possibly be a test for Ann to step up, and be strong for Lucy since the Lord already is. Ann just might not feel like God is there.

Another twist on Cady Z’s quote: The world is saved through deeds, not prayer, because what is prayer but a kind of worry? I decided then that my love for Lucy would have to manifest in deeds” (Patchett, 43).

Ann mentions a few lines above that if she were to worry about Lucy, she would be overwhelmed. Instead, she puts her worries aside and does what she can to help Lucy out. To me, this speaks to huge strength of character. Under the same circumstances, many of us may be unsure of what to do or how to help. Instead, we choose to do nothing and worry, as if worrying will help in some way. Ann chooses to act on her concerns, and in doing so, has to put some of her feelings for Lucy aside. Sometimes we have to steel ourselves against emotion in order to help those we care about the most. That’s the part that takes character. It may feel like you care about the person more if you just worry about them, but in fact, by putting your feelings toward them aside, you’re showing how much you care.

I hope you can recognize my point in the following comparison, because to me it is quite similar to Ann’s predicament.

In the movie Reign of Fire, there is a point where the two protagonists get in a fight. One of them is ruthless, while the other is slightly more reserved in fighting. When they are finally split up, someone comes up to our more reserved fighter and says “He would have killed you. He feels nothing; it’s the only way he can do what he does.” What is meant by that is that in order to protect the ones he loves, the ruthless fighter had to lose all emotion, including the love he had for his family. Ann does the same thing , but to a lesser extent. She has to put aside her concern for her dearest friend in order to actually help her.

“ ‘You don’t pay off what you borrow. You cut some kind of a deal with them. You tell them what you’re going to give them and they take what they can get’” (Patchett 28)

This quote fully emphasizes the credit crisis that Americans are experiencing. Students are face with the challenge of financing their education and thus seek out loans to pay for it. However, most students aren’t able to pay off their loans for several years and may default on them and create a cycle of debt they never escape. Grealy not only had to pay for school, she also had the medical bills of all the costly operations she had to deal with. From a financial point of view, it’s very hard to understand why Grealy would spend so much money on a “boob job”. Really, if she is so ugly right now, why should she care whether or not she has a flat chest? We usually connect the idea of breast augmentation with Hollywood and the extremely vain ways they use their money. Lucy, similarly, is spending money which she doesn’t have on something she doesn’t need. However, one has to remember that Lucy always lived life from operation to operation and that she’d never stop until she was perfectly content with her face. So she saw this as her best chance to get back what she lost as a youth. She feels she needs to get a breast augmentation to gain some normalcy and for her to feel beautiful. Will it make her beautiful on the inside? Probably not. But in our materialistic society, beauty on the inside is often ignored and Patchett really hits the heart of the matter of beauty. Patchett demonstrates that Lucy is trying to make up for lost years of experience and events with surgeries on her body. Her adolescence is marred by surgeries on her face and with this surgery she can get back something Patchett is able to effectively contrast how the way society looks down on a person can influence them to spend money in ways “normal” people would otherwise not.

“Butch” -

In my defense, what I am trying to convey here is that I would rather be troubled by the pains that I currently go through rather then having to endure much harsher problems. I do not take my “luxuries” for granted, and I will never hold them against someone who doesn’t have the same as mine. I am not depriving myself of anything that you say I am. You may not agree with how I feel, but to me I feel fortunate enough to have the life that I was given, and I shall continue to reflect on how much I was gifted with not having to endure the daily struggles that Lucy and now Mac have to undergo.

“What she wanted now were people to go out to lunch with . Her need to surround herself with friends was enormous . . .” (104).

I see this as misdiagnoses, a temporary fix of sorts. Lucy doesn’t need more friends in her life she needs to be loved. The evidence is in her obsession with hearing the words from Ann and her obsession with sex. Lucy has had a hard life of relationships that have shaped her into an over sensitive little girl who rushes relationships to the point where she is left scarred and lonely. Even her psychiatrist has told her this. More friends would only momentarily relive the twinge of loneliness.

“By then she would wave to the audience as they screamed for her. She would bow from the waist…We could see her face clearly. It was always changing, swollen after a surgery or sinking in on itself after a surgery had failed.” (Patchett 3)

I believe a continuing theme throughout this book is courage. Lucy through all of her surgeries has had the courage to even walk out her door to face the faces and voices that ridicule her whenever she walks by. In this passage we see Lucy becomes starts to become comfortable with who she is. The students at the movie nights she holds know her for someone who has put up a fight all her life. When she would take the stage to announce the movie they would scream her name and Lucy would even bow for them. Since Lucy has always been the butt of all jokes, so when she can feel wanted and loved for even the shortest time it has a huge impact on here. Even though Lucy’s face changed all the time in College, she tried her best to keep on doing what she loved, that being poetry.

Ms. Nault,

I think I comprehended your experience with your mum in a different way than you did; you seem to mean that you are simply grateful to God not to put you in a worse situation. This is very true and I feel the same way that you do. However, I disagree when you say that when you ‘reflect[ed] over everything that [you] have ever ached about, [you] have come to the realization that [you are] a wimp.’ It makes you no less of a person when you compare your pain tolerance to that of others who are in worse positions than you. While I also sympathise with Ms. Grealy, Mac, and Chandler, I don’t quite think it is prudent to assess myself as a ‘wimp’ because I couldn’t imagine the position that they are in.

The only thing that I felt you were depriving yourself of was the doctor’s visit. I think this is inappropriate; there is always going to exist somebody who is in a worse predicament than we are. Therefore, we shouldn’t let the plight of others affect our own lifestyle and the choices we make.

By the way, I think you misunderstood me when I talked about the starving children of India and Africa. I wasn’t implying that you starve yourself; I was just trying to provide an example of my point that we cannot deprive ourselves of things we think of as luxuries for the reason that other people may not have it.

I hope this clarifies my points,
‘Butch’

“We were a pairing out of an Aesop’s fable, the grasshopper and the ant, the tortoise and the hare. And sure, maybe the ant was warmer in the winter and the tortoise won the race, but everyone knows that the grasshopper and the hare were infinitely more appealing animals in all their leggy beauty, their music and interesting side trips. What the story didn’t tell you is that the ant relented at the eleventh hour and took in the grasshopper when the weather was hard, fed him on his tenderest store of grass all winter. The tortoise, being uninterested in such things gave over his medal to the hare. Grasshoppers and hares find the ants and the tortoises. They need us to survive, but we need them as well. They were the ones who brought the truth and beauty to the party, which Lucy could tell you as she recited her Keats over breakfast, was better than food any day,” (Patchett 20).

This passage really helped me to understand how Ann sees her relationship with Lucy. Ann feels as though her actions go unnoticed because she is not extravagant like Lucy. However, Ann takes care of Lucy. She cooks for her, cleans up after her and comforts her when she is upset. I believe that without Ann, Lucy couldn’t be the person that she wants to be. Lucy needs Ann to consol her when she is depressed because if she wasn’t there to do that then Lucy wouldn’t be able to get up in the morning. Ann helps Lucy to stay positive and keep moving forward. I think Ann is saying that people don’t understand that the “grasshoppers and hares” need help and they don’t do it all themselves, without “the ants and the tortoises” they would be lost and they wouldn’t act the way they do. I know it seems as if Ann is upset with all of this but if she didn’t have Lucy to comfort then she would be lost as well. I believe that feels unappreciated sometimes but she knows that she needs Lucy just as much as Lucy needs her.

“None of the varsity coaches made a move to stop him: it was clear that Boobie had become expendable property. If he wanted to quit, let him go and good riddance.” (Bissinger 17)

I chose this quote because it illustrates how much American athletes are treated like property. This is because sports have a huge impact on American society. For example our athletes are valued so highly that the average pro football player makes more money a year than the average doctor. Athletic ability plays a huge role in university acceptance as well as scholarship distribution. In many cases a skilled athlete is accepted into a school that his or her grades don’t qualify for. Many high school students build their lives around the sport they play. In a country, like America, where sports have such a large role in society there is a lot of pressure on athletes. Athletes feel they have to be the best because when their number one they are rewarded with scholarships, opportunities, and overall praise. However sports can lead to injuries and it is when a player is injured, much like Boobie Miles, that they see their hopes and dreams vanish before their eyes. Whether the athlete is pro or high school junior varsity they are treated like “expendable property” once they are injured. Coaches, scouts, and spectators easily forget about the player. I find it sad that at one moment an athlete will be celebrated and praised for his or her wins and at the next moment completely disregarded.

These common practices of using athletes while their healthy and then completely forgetting about them when their injured is not good for the athletes’ mental health. The feeling that you are expendable can lead to an array of emotions. Some athletes, battling long-term injuries, become extremely depressed. This depression is because the athlete feels everything they have worked for is gone. A crowed no longer is cheering them on and they are no longer receiving letters from colleges. In Boobie Mile’s case he is so upset over his injury that he wants to give up on the sport all together because he has lost all his support (except for the one coach who works to convince him not to quit the team).

The way injured athletes are treated in this country is very similar to the way child stars are treated. Child actors can go for years being cast in major films and going from magazine cover to magazine cover. However, as soon as that child grows up and loses his or her cute baby face they lose their place in American cinema. Many of these child stars then go on to lead troubled adult lives. This has been seen in child actors such as Danny Bonaduce, who became a drug addict, and Dustin Diamond, who after losing his childhood fame made an adult film. Child actors and injured athletes are similar in the fact that they both have their moment in the sun and are then disregarded by society.

I feel Boobie Miles situation is very similar to that of my cousins’. My cousin dreamed of serving his country in the army. He grew up with a plan to stay focused in school and stay in shape so that upon turning 18 he could join the army. So that’s what he did. However because of an injury to his knee he was discharged from the army during basic training. In that moment he lost both his dream and his GI bill. He felt alone and as though he had failed. Much like Boobie my cousin, in that moment, just wanted to give up.

I had quite an amazing coincidence today. While I last revisited Mrs. Patchett’s book, I was also doing two other things: I was watching Michael Jackson’s memorial and commemoration service and listening to Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying.” Simultaneously, I heard Paris claiming her “daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine,” listened to Timmy singing “Like tomorrow was the end/ And you got eternity to think about what you’d do with it,” and read the following passage in Truth and Beauty: “[The Lost Pilot] is about the advantages… of his father’s early death, how now as an adult he realizes his father would already be dead, or very old and decrepit” (34).

Somehow, I made an instantaneous connection between these three events. Mr. McGraw tells us to live every moment like it’s our last. I believe that Michael Jackson lived his life to his fullest, and, though he was under appreciated and ridiculed, he made his own significant contribution to the world. However, I am not sure as to what his purpose in life was, saying as he had already become the most successful artist in history twenty-five years ago. When one does not purpose, he is more susceptible to corruption. This pattern is prominent in our society as we see people who are spoiled and uncertain with their motives get entranced by the pressures of their environment. I believe this is the best explanation for the course of Michael’s life in the 1990s.

Coming to this conclusion, I wonder whether it was advantageous for Michael to die at this point or not. I loved his music and I loved his natural inclination to charity, yet he had become so aloof and extemporaneous that it eventually became his downfall. However well he was as a father, and however honourably he served his community and the music industry, he had began to lose his interest or indulgence in music. By doing so, he corrupted himself. If he had achieved his maximum potential, is it fair to say that he had no purpose for living? Was he just old and purposeless? Did he stop “living his life like he were dying”?

All arguments aside, may the late and great Michael Jackson rest in peace.

“How does anyone on that day decide that instead of eating they will read fifty pages of a book about French cinema, or write four pages of a novel, or type a cover letter for a poetry contest that will almost certainly be lost? How does anyone pull themselves up over and over again?” (Patchett 69)

This passage proved to me that Lucy has some faith in herself as a person. Regardless of her whining and her negative outlook, she puts forth some effort to succeed. If a person with as many difficulties as she has can do it, why can’t I? I suppose this passage was more of an inspirational passage for myself. It reminded me to be a bit more humble and thankful. Surgery after surgery, failure after failure, you can still succeed.

Just for bringing back memories- Aditya Rengaswamy

“In the course of most lifetimes, few people are capable of the kind of enormous change that Lucy seemed to manage every year” (Patchett 109).

I’m not to fond of change, and I’m sure most people don’t like change all the time. Lucy went through drastic change in her appearance and personality year after year. I don’t understand or accept such drastic change in a short amount of time. I’m not saying that I’m against change, but I believe change must be gradual in order for it to be a success. I have always felt that all animals, including humans, must slowly change their ways in order to accomplish more. I understand Lucy’s circumstances, but I still think she went to fast. She didn’t needed many surgeries back to back. My advice would be to slow down. Change can be your ally in small doses. Don’t overdo it and end up not recognizing who you are.

Just a thought- Aditya Rengaswamy

“We knew things about Lucy the way one knows about the private lives of movie stars, by a kind of osmosis of information. I do not remember asking or being told. It was simply passed through the air”(Patchett 3).

Kaitlen brifly talked about this, but i would like to cover this more.

Ann says this about Lucy and I think this statement can relate to many people. The truth is everyone likes to talk about other people, they like to gossip. People always want to be know what’s going on and be in the know. Lucy was a very unique case because you could tell there was something different about her just by looking at her. She didn’t look normal because her jaw was deformed and she was constantly getting reconstructive surgeries. But just by looking at her you didn’t know why she looked like that, so people talk would talk about her. This caused everyone to know who Lucy was, but Lucy didn’t necessarily know who they were.

This happens a lot in life today. When people know someone they automatically assume that person knows them too. A lot of times this is not the case. Just because people you know don’t always go out of their way to be nice to you doesn’t mean they don’t like you, it could simply be they don’t even know who you are.

“I mean there was a definite physical side to it, but I saw that as a rather easy compared to the sort of emotional assault of guilt and shame that I was continuously throwing upon myself” (Patchett 136).

It’s amazing how Lucy can admit that her emotional pain surpassed her physical pain. It sounds like she was torturing herself. I have seen people go through cancer. It always looked like the disease was starving them to death. How can any emotional pain surpass that!? I might not know what goes through her
mind, but it must be horrific. The least someone can do when they have physical pain is watch a comedy or something. I am going to hope that I never have to experience a sever disease or injury, but if I do I will try my best to be mentally happy. It still amazes me that Lucy emotionally hurts herself.

-Aditya Rengaswamy

I agree with Amanda’s comment about the quote “The world is saved through deeds, not prayer, because what is prayer but a kind of worry? I decided then that my love for Lucy would have to manifest in deeds” (Patchett 43).

At this point Ann realizes that worrying about Lucy won’t do either of them any good. The only way to help Lucy was to actually do something. For Ann, praying will not help Lucy get better or feel better and worrying would be useless. She feels that it is her time to step up and actually do something. She knows if she takes the action to help Lucy, God will help her along the way. But she knows God isn’t going to help if there is not effort on other people’s part.

“Lucy thought all she needed was one person, the right person, and all the empty space would be taken away from her” (Patchett 171).

I respect Lucy’s pursuit for love, but this passage makes it seem like she neglects her friends. She keeps complaining about being lonely when she has so many allies. Friends make life a much richer experience. If all she searches for is love, she cant appreciate friendship. I don’t like the fact that love is so important to her. I’m not saying love is a bad thing or something, but if it is the only thing you appreciate, you have issues. There are so many wonderful things in life that are overlooked. Friends, moments, smiles to name a few. Those things should fill the “empty space”. This is the main thing I find frustrating with Lucy, but due to her circumstances I guess I have to be more understanding.

-Aditya Rengaswamy

“Lucy went through all the characters in detail and each one was more despicable than the one who came before” (Patchett 214).

This passage gave me a deeper understanding of authors. This passage proved to me that the life of an author influences their stories. Whether it was drugs or chaos, evils seemed to leech into Lucy’s writing. She wrote with her experiences in her mind. Writing then becomes a form of release almost. Its the best way for Lucy to relax. This is a consistent theme I have noticed in many artforms. One’s mood affects the outcome of a situation. It was something interesting I picked out.
-Aditya Rengaswamy

“Death destroys a man but the Idea of Death can save him” (Patchett 238).

I completely agree with this quote. When people have a feeling they are going to die, they tend to try to save themselves. Yet, I don’t view the act of death as a negative thing. In a few scenarios death can be a positive one. Especially if one has to choose between months of suffering and death. Is it possible for the act of dying and the idea of death to be positive? I don’t want to start a huge euthanasia debate, but I suppose that is what this quote made me think of. Death has many interesting facets and this quote made me contemplate those facets further.
-Aditya Rengaswamy

“Poetry defined her, saved her. There were times it seemed to be the only thing around that made perfect sense“(Patchett 36)

Lucy’s face was in a constant state of change which often confused her. It made it hard for her to keep hold of her identity. Her poetry helped strengthen her hold on said identity. Without it Lucy felt as if she would forget who she was. She used the poetry to define her and make sense of her confusion. It helped her stay in reality and stay strong despite her hardships. Poetry helped her to define her existence.

Aditya that was an interesting quote you chose. “Death destroys a man but the Idea of Death can save him” (Patchett 238). Death is an important part of life. If people never died life would mean very little. Nothing would really matter if there wasn’t an end. There would be no once in a lifetime chances; no single moment that would never happen again, nothing would ever last. Because of death, each moment of life is important, precious. Life can’t be wasted but if there was no death it would be. There would always be a chance to do everything so there would be nothing. Nothing important, nothing at all.

“When Lucy beleived that there were actually things in the world that were worse than what had happened to her, she could pull herself up on this knowledge like a rope. When she lost sight of it, she sank” (Patchett 92).

Lucy’s entire childhood was filled with pain, suffering, and disappointment far beyond what most people ever feel in their entire lives. Yet, all around her, she heard people complaining about comparatively insignificant issues in their own lives. She was constantly reminded that her life was far more difficult than any of those around her.

Using the thought process that every child uses, she comes to a conclusion: since my life is the worst in my little piece of the world, it’s the worst in the entire world. This idea that she is the worst off out of everyone continues to depress her even further. When she gets older, Lucy learns that there are people who lead lives with more suffering than hers. The thought that she isn’t at the bottom of the ladder greatly boosts her self-confidence. Patchett mentions that Lucy gravitated toward stories about the Holocaust and the Vietnam War because those people had suffered much more greatly than she.

“No matter how anyone argued for the virtues of her talent and her friendships, the many jewels of her life, there was no denying the fact that what she had been through and what was still ahead of her seemed insurmountable.” (Patchett 73)

THis quote plays a dual role, it surmises the content of “Truth and Beauty”, as Ann Patchett likes to do, and it shows insight into Lucy’s troubles. This insight is needed, since many people reading it are like me, where their worst problems are sunburn and having to leave the beach long enough to eat. Lucy’s troubles are brought to the forefront again and again, like in Zach’s quote above, because in Patchett’s life they ever made themselves present. It seems that the friendship between Lucy and Ann was more about Lucy, a majority of the content of the book is about Ann comforting Lucy in her troubles and adventures, yet Lucy also seems to focus on Ann instead of herself, when she is not dealing with the fall-outs of cancer. Patchett had a great friendship, good enough that the book written about it didn’t become an autobiography.

“Maybe my family was upstairs, taking a shower, and I was walking into a party of lovely strangers” (155).

(I’m typing on a handheld so this may not be my best blog but I’ll try)

This was an interesting quote because it brings up the old question “what makes family”. Her real family cares for her but she spent so much time away from home that she lost her connection with them. Lucy also cares for her and was there for her through all her bad times and Ann was there for Lucy as well. So what makes family? Friendship or blood?

“She was absolutely committed to the idea that writing would be her salvation and that she was obligated to pull herself out of her present miseries with the sheer strength of her will and talent” (Patchett 61)

I chose this quote because it shows that Lucy had one thing she had to hold on to during all her struggles. Writing for her was her escape and she gets to the point that it is the only thing she can hang on to for a hope of making something of her life. When Lucy is in Europe she tries extremely hard to get grants for writing or have her poems be printed. But when each and every one has came back denied she has nowhere to turn because she has put her heart and sole into writing.

“I was a little embarrassed, but only because I was afraid that Elizabeth might not understand Lucy, or understand me for letting her get away with it. I was used to Lucy’s behavior, but when I had the chance to see it from the fresh eyes of a stranger, it looked fairly questionable,” (84).

This quote is an example of Ann’s actions towards Lucy in their friendship. Over time Ann and Lucy grew to each other’s needs and knew what to expect. By seeing it through other perspectives, Ann notices that reactions in people around her could turn negative if taken the wrong way. Elizabeth does not seem to mind though, because Lucy accepts Ann’s kind actions and returns them later on. To Lucy, Ann is like a big sister. Constantly looking out for her, and having her back, Ann is taking action to helping Lucy without even knowing it. For a long period of time, both remain loyal. That is the glue that holds the frame work of their friendship together.

“When Lucy believed that there were actually things in the world that were worse than what had happened to her, she could pull herself up on this knowledge like a rope. When she lost sight of it, she sank” (Patchett 92).

I chose this quote because almost everybody can relate to this. Knowing someone is doing worse off than you always makes a person feel like there is some hope and they know at least they’re better than at least one other person. When a person knows they are worse off than anyone else, it is hard to get through life. They wonder why it is them that is the worst and they dwell on this negativity.

Lucy went through this exact thing. There were points in her life where her face looked terrible and she was told nothing could be done to make it look any better. It was at these points when Lucy turned to things like drinking and drugs to try to make herself feel better. However, when Lucy’s face was looking better than usual, she was happy with life and didn’t even care that her face looked a little bit different.

“But how can you operate on the face without understanding what the face means to the girl? How can the meaning of kissing, swallowing, speaking, be completely ignored in favor of mechanics” (Patchett 146)?

I found this quote very interesting because the truth is doctors don’t really get to know the patient. They don’t want to get too attached in case something goes wrong and the patient doesn’t make it. If a doctor got to know every patient and cared for each and every one of them, they would be miserable every time one of them died on the operating table and they would blame it one themselves. So really, when a doctor doesn’t really try to be friends with a patient and really get to know them as a person, it isn’t because they don’t care. Doctors simply want to know what they are dealing with medically so they can do what they can to fix them.

A Look on Some of the Themes to Friday Night Lights

While I am only on the 30th or so page, I feel like I already know (or at least a good guess) to what some of the central themes of the book are. This is merely an observation from reading the first few pages.

First, I think that racism will play a major role in this book due to Odessa’s political and social views. As Bissinger puts it, “There were those who found [Odessa] insufferably racist and those who didn’t find it racist at all, but used the word nigger as effortlessly as one would sprinkle salt on a slab of rib eye” (Bissinger 14). The author also adds that “Most citizens…considered Lyndon Johnson an egocentric buffoon responsible for the boondoggle of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and saw the federal government’s effort to integrate schools…not as social progress but as outrageous harassment” (13). From what I’ve read so far, I can gather that Odessa is a town dominated by conservative white males.

Another theme in the novel is the amount of stress high school athletes go through, and the pressure to do well on the field, as well as in the classroom. Being on a star football team, the players are soaked in limelight. A cheerleader, or Pepette, as they are called at Permian High is responsible for making posters for their assigned player. Bissinger tells the readers, “One Pepette during the season broke down in tears because she had had to stay up until the wee hours of the morning trying to keep up with the other Pepettes and make a fancy hall sign that her player never even thanked her for” (27).

Just a couple themes that I stumbled upon. More to come later.
-Kaitlen

“Twelve years of catholic school had taught me that I would be held accountable not only for what I did, but for everything I considered doing. Twelve years of beating cancer had taught Lucy that she was invincible and that nothing, none of it, was ever going to catch up with her. She had a sense of superiority where money was concerned. She believed that not having any had made her worldly and wily, in the same way she believed that coming from the suburbs had branded me forever as naïve,” (29).

I found this passage interesting because it shows that Ann and Lucy had extremely different lifestyles while growing up yet they were best friends for almost half their lives. This raises the question of how two very different people can best friends when they have nothing in common. Ann spent her childhood in a sheltered, middle class, suburban family. She went to Catholic school which taught her discipline and gave her guidelines to live a life without troubles. She was also financially stable throughout her whole life. It can be said that Ann had a “cookie-cutter” childhood.

Lucy’s childhood, on the other hand, is on the opposite end of the spectrum from Ann’s. Her childhood was far from normal because of her struggles with cancer at a young age. Lucy’s family had many financial problems because of hospital bills. On top of everything Lucy faced, her father died when she was only 14. For the rest of her life, Lucy has to deal with the teasing, gawking, and whispering every time she walks down the street or into a room. Because of Lucy’s childhood experiences, she learns to fend for herself and live life without worries.

As Lucy grows older, she becomes carefree of petty things like money because she has faced much bigger challenges as a child. Ann, however, always follows the rules and pays her bills on time because of the way she was brought up. The fact that Ann and Lucy are best friends is shocking because they don’t share similar experiences and both of them live their lives in a very different manner. After finishing the book, I’ve come to the conclusion that Ann and Lucy’s friendship is extremely unique because it is solely based on their love for each other; they set aside their experiences and their struggles and only focus on always being there for each other no matter what happens.

“She was happy to be in Iowa, happy that Tina and I arrived, happy she had a lover, even if we saw no sign of him that night. But I couldn’t stop seeing those people. People who, had you set them dowm anywhere on the island of Manhattan, would have received some vicious gawking themselves.”

This particular paragraph caught my attention because of how, even though Lucy knew people would give her these looks of disgust and horror, she didn’t let it bother her. She is truly brave to have lived through the constant gawks and uncomfortable moments people would give her or put her in. If I were in that type of a situation, I wouldn’t know quite how to react. If I should be upset and angry with these people for give me the looks they do or to try and understand that they might not be curious and unfamiliar with what they see in me. For me, I see myself, but they see someone new and different.

I have decided to raise an interesting point after reading Taylor’s post and others on the blog.

I notice (and this happened last year too) that people, when discussing Lucy Grealy, claim “how brave she is” and how “I would have never been able to handle it.” What do you mean when you all say that? Are you saying you would die or something? Lucy Grealy is a bit unstable herself in her younger years when she is newer to the turmoil, but then as time goes on in her life, she learns to “tolerate” or contain her emotions to some degree with a bit more ease. It’s a similar situation to that of the black civil rights movement in the 1960s. The younger blacks were more angered and moved by their state of oppression because they were newer to it than the elderly blacks who had already developed a tolerance to the racism. I do not see the “emotional strengthening” (however big or small) of Lucy Grealy as that unique, just a common thing that happens to humans as they are put in this situation. They experience a large quantity of pain for a period of time, but after a while they inevitably learn to suck it up.

The only real reason that many of you are saying things about you not being able to ever handle it yourself is just because in the immediate short-term if you were suddenly presented with the situation, you would swiftly proceed into a mental breakdown (as Lucy did). But the chances are that you too would have an outcome similar to hers of developing a greater tolerance to your condition.

“But Lucy had been alone too much of her life, and in her loneliness she had constructed a vision of what a perfect relationship would look like.” (Patchett 170)

Having so much time to analyze people’s relationships around her, Lucy has only worsened her likelihood of finding someone she wants to be with down the road. She finds flaws in others, and immediately doesn’t want that in her significant other. She wants to find the perfect match, and seems to keep her standards from falling under par. The only problem with her standards is that they are not realistic. Giving the time that Lucy spent alone, she believes that there is such a thing as a perfect relationship. She imagines love as the most wonderful sensation in the world, and longs for it in her time of seclusion. The imagination of love that she clutches only perplexes her situation of finding someone to live the rest of her life with.

“Lucy was having the great love affair [with heroin] she had always dreamed of. It was dangerous and rocky, violently depleting, but in the few minutes that it was sweet it made her feel that all encompassing hear of love.” (Patchett 235)

Lucy has finally found something that can make her feel loved in her time of seclusion and depression. Although what makes her happy happens to be heroin, Lucy finds comfort and a feeling that she has wanted for so long. While heroin didn’t give her an extensive time to feel good about her life, she still kept turning back to it. This is why so many people seem to be hooked on these life-threatening drugs. For the most part, people use them as a way to cope with what they lack. Lucy lacks true love and structure in her life and she deals with it by using heroin. For some reason though Lucy finds that heroin is going to facilitate her turning around her life. Repeatedly, Lucy retrieves her sobriety and starts to get her life back in order, only to fall back into depression and turn to taking drugs. All Lucy wanted at that moment in time was to no longer be lonely. She looked for love in the wrong place and ended up with a serious drug addiction that afterwards, ended her life.

“Lucy thought that all she needed was one person, the right person, and all the empty space would be taken away from her. But there was no one in the world that was big enough for that. She believed that if she had a jaw like everyone else’s, she would have found that person by now” (Patchett 171).

Lucy honestly believes that if she just had someone to love her she would be completely happy. She thought she wouldn’t be sad anymore and life would be perfect. This is a perfect example about hoe people think the grass is always greener on the other side. Of course it’s easy to say life would be better if only I had this! A person doesn’t know what’s going to make them happy until they actually have it. The fact that Lucy thought she would have found the perfect person by now if she had a normal looking jaw it completely untrue. If a person loves you they wont care what you look like and the truth is Lucy wouldn’t want someone to love her and be with her just because she is pretty.

I strongly agree with Kirsten’s quote from earlier saying “She was realizing that the enormous sadness of her life had possible come from a source other than her face and that she had never been able to get completely well because she had always been trying to fix the wrong thing” (Patchett 236).
Lucy spends her whole life saying and thinking that life would be better if her face looked more normal. She goes through surgery after surgery trying to get her face to look even a little bit better. She truly believes that if her jaw didn’t look the way it did, she would have found her true love and been much happier than she is. What she doesn’t realize is her true friends don’t care what she looks like. She is constantly disappointing herself with the way all her reconstructive surgeries turn out. Ann believes that because of this, Lucy actually feels worse about herself.

“As a child Lucy had been terrorized in the stairwells of her junior high and high school and had suffered relentless teasing and sundry cruelties about her apperance. But once she got to college, that pretty much stopped. People would gawk, but they weren’t agressive.”

In this passage Patchett writes of the constant taunting Lucy had to go through as a child. But once in college, all taunting and harassment had stopped. That abrupt stop catches me off guard and yet makes sense. Yes, as a child you are more likely to question or even taunt something or someone different, but to not have a single person harass her in college takes me by surprise. I’m not trying to suggest that people should have picked on Lucy while in college, I’m simply wondering why all the taunting, all of the suffering she went through, suddenly stopped. It may be that the people that went to her college were more mature and did not think it was right to taunt Lucy over something she could not control. However, later when she is in London all of the harassment start again. People would joke about one of their friends wanting to date her or something of the sort. How is it that these college kids, people who are thought to give the most harassment, didn’t even think twice about saying a nasty comment about how Lucy looked? Maybe they were just use to her or thought of how horrible she may have been treated and wanted to change that. Whatever the reason is, those people gave Lucy a look at what it was like to be normal. Not saying that Lucy wasn’t normal, but since she never saw herself as “normal”, this college life gave her a chance to step out of that shy, self-conscious bubble. Thanks to this, Lucy was able to grow more not only as a person, but as the brillant writer she was.

“That was part of Lucy’s genius in having so many friends. We all lost our patience with her, but never at the same time. If one of us was tired, there was always someone else to pick up the lamp and lead her home” (Patchett 253).

I’m not sure if I could be one of Lucy’s closer friends because she’s so needy. I love my friends and I’m going to be there for them. However, it’s not my responsibility to always pick up the pieces and always get them back on track. Though Lucy’s friends do keep her together, they also contribute to her demise. They enable her. Instead of sitting her down and saying, “Look, your face is probably never going to be perfect. You need to stop basing your happiness on it and move on with your life,” they encourage her and suggest that things will be better after the next surgery. Instead of really being assertive about getting Lucy to stop destroying herself during the Heroin Years, her friends try waiting for her to seek help on her own terms. I understand that Lucy lives a unique life and suffers in a way that many people can’t even fathom. I also understand that her friends, especially Ann, do what they can and what they think is right at the time. However, Lucy is a grown woman and her predicament does not necessitate people babying her. Perhaps I would have more sympathy for her if she had done more to help herself. Nurturing works in friendship, but so does tough love.

“Everyone who passed us stopped and turned and stared with blatant curiosity, at me” (197).

This quote is very important because for the first time Ann must endure the second glance factor that Lucy had to deal with for good portion of her life. It’s like the ant getting a taste of the cold. It’s normal for people to take a second glance when something grabs their attention but from the other point a view it probably feels horrific. Ann doesn’t specify how it feels necessarily but at least Lucy gets a kick out of it.

“That was my mistake” (257).

The last statement in a novel is usually the most powerful because it’s the last thing an author gets to say to the readers .the last line of Truth and Beauty grabbed my attention because Ann Patchet blames herself for Lucy’s death which shocked me. I assume that’s what most people feel after the passing of a friend, the “if only I would have done this” feeling. This still shocked me though because after all that Ann did for Lucy, she still blames herself. Ann was not responsible for Lucy’ s death because Ann did nothing but support Lucy on every positive thing she did.

“Lucy didn’t want to be known for her face. She wanted to be known for her poetry, for her ideas. Still, there was part of her that looked forward to the film crew” (Patchett 34).

I chose this passage because it shows that Lucy was craving attention. Even though she did not want to be famous because of her face, she still allowed the film crew from Ireland to come and interview her. Although she ended up not doing the documentary, she still received all the attention she wanted from the crew members. In addition, the documentary’s theme was “triumph of the human spirit”. Instead of laughing at this idea, as Lucy did with the film crew, couldn’t she have somehow discussed her poetry during this, especially if she wanted to be famous for her poetry? However, the whole “triumph” idea did give for a good laugh between Lucy and Ann.

“Lucy was devastated that I was going and she let me know it on no uncertain terms. I left her all my furniture and continued to pay half of the rent for months until she could find a place of her own, but it didn’t make a difference” (Patchett 45).

I chose this passage because it shows how selfish Lucy was. Ann was moving in with someone who made her happy (and someone she was hoping loved or would eventually love her) and she was angry at Ann for leaving her. This also shows how needy Lucy was. Lucy needed to be with someone every moment of her life. She craved constant attention. It appeared that Lucy was more concerned about her own happiness than anyone else’s and liked to “control” if she could.

“I called every night. I wanted to talk to Lucy and Lucy wanted to be the kind of person who got the most calls” (Patchett 102).

I chose this passage because it shows how Lucy wanted to be special and be noticed. Lucy wanted to be the one who received the most calls because she wanted to be the best. It was like a competition to her. Even the simple idea of receiving the most phone calls was a game or a competition to her and she wanted to win. Ann mentions that this was “before the days of cell phones”. However, what is interesting to think about is the fact that perhaps many of us are like Lucy in this way with our cell phones. Do adults, or especially teens, feel important when their cell phones ring? Is it a competition sometimes between teens to who is receiving more text messages? And do we do this for self-gratification or the feeling of importance? Perhaps most teens would never look at it this way and feel it’s simply their need or desire to “connect” with their friends, but still it is something to consider. It would be scary to think that some of us are like Lucy regarding her desire to stand out or be the best.

“Lucy had plenty of questions as well: ‘Do you love me?’ ‘You think I’m pretty, don’t you?’ ‘Do you think I’m a good writer?’” (Patchett 138).

I chose this passage because it shows how much Lucy needed to be complimented. Lucy needed to hear all the time that she was loved, that she was pretty, and that she was a good writer. Even though she already knew the answers, she needed to hear them from someone else. However, the most disturbing question she would ask was, “Will I ever have sex again?” Lucy constantly had sex, even with guys she just met. She never seemed to have a problem having sex and yet she continually asked this question to her friends, even on days when she just had sex. Ann felt that Lucy simply asked these questions because she wanted to make sure everything was going to be okay. Perhaps that’s all she wanted to know, but in the end, it’s still sad.

Mario –

I don’t think Ann said “That was my mistake” because she blames herself for Lucy’s death. I’m sure she probably did feel slightly guilty, but people usually do that when someone close to them dies. By the last sentence, she meant that she was wrong in thinking that Lucy was invincible. I do agree that it was quite a sentence to end the book with.
And I’m sorry if I’m always commenting on your responses. I’m not picking on you. You just write short answers and I read short responses because they keep my attention more than long responses.

Danielle -

I strongly agree with you when you talk about how her friends may have led to her demise. Lucy was needy, too needy, and her friends did nothing to help. They didn’t snap her back to reality and they should have. The mark of a true friend is to know when to tell the friend the truth, not to tell her what she wants to hear. Though the truth may hurt, a good friend knows it’s the right thing to do for her friend.

“We knew things about Lucy the way one knows about the private lives of movie stars, by a kind of osmosis of information.”(Patchett 3).

Regina and Kaitlen both talk about this quote but I would like to share my reaction on it too.

It amazes me how Lucy always feels very lonely but at the same time everyone knows her and greets her. She is, by the beginning of the book, like a famous person because wherever she lives, everyone seems to know her. I pictured Lucy as someone who is shunned out but in reality she is actually someone who is well liked by others. The problem is that most of those people cannot relate to her. This makes Lucy feel shunned out because she is different than everyone else. Would Lucy be better off if she wasn’t famous for her appearance? Is it better to be famous but to feel alone all the time? Another problem is that Lucy is remembered by her face, which angers her. She wants to be remembered by her poetry and her writing.

Cathy-

I agree to your response to Danielle. True friends are around not to enjoy and have fun. They are also there to help each other out in situations that may not be seen. Lucy does not try hard enough to break her habit of being needy and she needs Ann to not just support her but to give her advice on how to cope with her habit. Ann shouldn’t be able to help her break the habit immediately, but over time she may have broken the habit.

“She loved Christ for His suffering, for what they had in common. With all His strength, even Christ had asked if this burden could be lifted from Him. The idea that pain was not a random thing but a punishment of the evil upon the good, the powerful upon the weak, gave her something to rage against,” (92).

This quote is a parallel Lucy discovers between herself and the Lord. When speaking of pain, nothing can measure up to what Christ suffered on the cross with the sins of the world on his shoulders. Knowing that Lucy did not experience quite this much pain, she is satisfied with the feeling of being similar in a way. She survived the pain for most of her childhood, and emotionally is coping with the rest. When experiencing pain in real life situations, it seems that those moments are remembered more than the moments when no pain was felt. For Lucy, the hospital stays may have been the most memorable for her because physically she was in pain from the surgeries. During school, while she got picked on and humiliated, Lucy may have remembered those moments more because mentally she was in pain. With pain as her writing topic that gave her confidence, I know why it would have been easier to write her story, because a majority of it is pain. Taking a religious aspect to Lucy’s life is the best that can be done to just hang in there.

“Her grief about feeling ugly and her desire to be loved in a way that would be huge enough to meet her needs would regularly roll her into a little ball and paralyze her. She would cry for hours and then for days. Lucy’s sadness terrified me, in a large part because it made such perfect sense,” (42).

Although Lucy is very popular among her friends, she has deep insecurities that are never resolved in her life. Lucy lives the life of two very different people; one life with the extravagant parties, friends, and TV appearances and another full of suffering, worries, and instability. Eventually, the bad things in Lucy’s life overrule the good. In another section of the novel, Lucy writes a letter to Ann that says, ” grief isn’t something to ‘be gotten through’. It has no life of its own like that, it’s just plain and simply there,” (33). This gives us the insight that Lucy never gets over her cancer. It affects Lucy for the rest of her life because of the emotional and physical scars it leaves behind. Several times in the novel, Lucy asks Ann “do you love me?” Lucy is constantly seeking love in her life because of her insecurities with her appearance. She is so desperate that she goes after sex to achieve love. Ann says that Lucy’s sadness terrifies her. This is because she knows that Lucy has a legitimate reason to be sad. Anybody would feel miserable under Lucy’s circumstances and experiences. Lucy’s struggles with her face carry through and intensify as she gets older which contribute to her untimely death.

“I came to understand that night in the sports bar, safe from the blinding rain, that I could not worry about Lucy anymore. I knew then it was just too enormous for me to manage and that worrying about her would swamp me. If i was swamped by worry, I would be useless to her. It was even possible that I would desert her, and that was the thing that could never happen.” (43)

I made a connection with this quote because I have a problem with worrying. Ann is beginning to realize at this point that all the worrying she does is not only taking up her time, but is in no way benefiting Lucy.
For most people, it isn’t a challenge to think of someone who they once worried about, I know it’s easy for me. In reality though, worry doesn’t do anything but create more stress. Action and compassion are the important things. They are the things that will actually help the person who needs it. At this point in the book Ann decides that she is going to stop spending her time worrying, because she knows that if it continues, she won’t be able to take it anymore and Lucy will end up truly alone. This needed to be done because Lucy wouldn’t have been able to function alone, and the things Ann ended up doing for her (that replaced the original worry) are what kept her living and wanting to live for as long as she did. In my opinion, the realization Ann made here completely impacted how Lucy lived and felt from this point on, without Lucy even realizing it.

I strongly agree with what Katie S. said about the quote: “She never gave up believing that there would be a final moment, a last surgery, a point at which her ‘real life’ would begin. The damage that was done to her at ten would finally be made considerably better, if not right.” (57)
First off, I found this quote to be terribly sad. It was sad to me because Lucy felt that eventually, something would “fix” her, or make her into something she had dreamed of being for a very long time. I think the fact that she waited for this was not only setting her up for disappointment, but also allowing her to miss out on things because she put them off with the reasoning that she wanted to wait until she was “all better” or “fixed” so to speak. What Lucy went through was undeserved, as are many things in life. However, there was no realistic chance that she would ever go through enough surgery to the point where she would’ve considered herself normal. It’s sad to me that she never really realized this.
Secondly, I agree with Katie’s statement that many people go through life with a similar attitude to Lucy’s. They feel that things will fix themselves in a way, and one day all their troubles will be things of the past. I don’t agree with that though. I think the only way to either fix or look past one’s problems is to live in the present. If it can be fixed, fix it. If it can’t, (and everyone has problems that can’t be fixed), find what strengthens you and get yourself past it. Living as if things will fix themselves is the easiest way to miss out on what’s in the present.

“The process of putting the thing you value most in the world out for the assessment of strangers is a confidence-shaking business even in the best of times.”(63)

I liked this quote because I think it’s easy to relate to. When something means a lot to me, anything from something I’ve worked hard on in school to my family, other people judging it is a step out of my comfort zone. I’ll use my family as an example. I know that we aren’t perfect and we have our share of problems (that’s for sure), but they are the people who are most important to me in my life, even if they do make mistakes. When I hear others judging my mom, my sister, or my family as a whole it does bring down my self confidence, even if their opinion really shouldn’t matter. I guess it’s just a natural human instinct to be protective of those who are close to you, and I felt that emotion in this quote. Let me know if anyone agrees or can make a connection here.

“She wanted to always believe that she was someone who simply fell into things, she was lucky, one of the blessed few who always found the right place at the right time.”(117)

I think the reason Lucy felt the desire to consider herself “the lucky one” is because she was so used to being viewed as unlucky. As she was judged at first glance, people would feel afraid of her as well as bad for her because of her deformity. This quote makes me curious to know, though, what did Lucy define as “the lucky one?” When she imagined the kind of person she wanted to be seen as, who did she see in her head? Was it a person with the perfect face? Was it a lottery winner? I really don’t know and couldn’t figure it out. To me, one person’s lucky could easily be another’s unlucky. To someone who is admired for her beauty, Lucy could’ve been seen as extremely unfortunate. To someone who is dying to be a writer but has never had the skill, Lucy could’ve been considered the lucky one. Some people strike luck in more obvious ways than others, but everyone is somewhat lucky in their own way.

“‘I don’t know any of these people,’ she said. ‘They know me. No one forgets my face’” (48).

I chose this quote because it’s used to prove Patchett’s argument that there is more than one side to every person. The people in Iowa City, like the people at Sarah Lawrence, all seemed to know Lucy – at least they thought they did. They only knew one side of her: her face, her cancer story. People all thought they knew her whole life story, but they didn’t. Ann did, though, because she was a close friend of Lucy’s and they both knew each other well. Ann shows the reader Lucy’s other side, the side people wouldn’t know just by reading Lucy’s autobiography or by hearing stories about her from other people, by writing about the experiences she shared with Lucy.

“Our friendship was like our writing in some ways. It was the only thing that was interesting about our otherwise very dull lives.” (Patchett 120)

I agree with Ann Patchett in this quote. The picture she paints of her life leads me to belive that it was very normal and dull, except where Lucy and writing were concerned. Without Lucy “Truth and Beauty” would be an autobiography with the excitement of a book written by a career paper-pusher. Their friendship adds color and content to the book, and Lucy’s various misadventures provide a feeling of suspence, since she could die any moment. Patchett thinks that her life would be boring without Lucy and her writing career, and I agree.

“She told me that she often had a couple of drinks and a couple of Percosets before getting in her car after midnight in Vermont and driving a hundred miles an hour over icy back roads to New York. She said that she wanted to tempt fate” (Patchett 206).

I chose this passage because it shows how selfish Lucy became; she believed that the whole world revolved around her. It wasn’t enough for Lucy to put herself in danger, but she also put everyone around her in danger. Lucy was caught up in her own problems and did not think about everyone around her. It’s appalling that Lucy would get so drunk and then get behind the wheel of her car. It’s as if she bragged about running her car into a tree, totaling her car, and not getting hurt. You would think this act alone would bring her to her senses.

“I’ve tried heroin a couple times. I’m not going to do it again, but I tried it and it was pretty great” (Patchett 206).

I chose this passage because it shows how Lucy was naive regarding danger. Or perhaps she did not care. It was bad enough that Lucy tried heroin, but she didn’t seem to care about the dangers of it and continued to use it. This proves that not only is heroin addictive, but also that Lucy believed she was invincible. Since she survived cancer, she believes that she can not die. Perhaps she believes she’s been through the worst and can survive anything. Her behavior involving sex, alcohol, and drugs has become reckless.

“That’s the least of my problems. If I find a way to do this and I get in then I’ll just get somebody else to pay for it” (Patchett 245).

I chose this passage because it shows Lucy’s immaturity and feelings of how everyone owes her. Instead of being an adult and paying her own taxes and student loans, she does not pay them. For some reason she feels she is above everyone else, or has this coming to her. Lucy feels she has “paid” her dues to society by getting a raw deal and therefore, everyone owes her, even the government. Personally, I was brought up that you don’t buy or do something if you can’t afford it. However, if it is something like a college education and you can’t pay for all of it and choose to get a loan, you simply pay it back, even if it takes years. You don’t borrow money without paying it back; it’s the same as stealing. Perhaps that’s why our society is in so much financial trouble- too many people overspend and then don’t pay back what they borrowed. In the end, we all suffer.

“What surgery meant to Lucy and what it meant to almost anyone else were two different things entirely. For Lucy, a single surgery was more like a fitting for a dress, or the rearranging of living room furniture: it was only a step towards something else. She never gave up believe that there would be a final moment, a last surgery, a point at which her “real life” would begin. The damage that was done to her at ten would finally be made considerably better, if not right. en would fall in love with her, no one would look twice, unless it was to admire. She would be freed from the greatest burden of her life,” (Patchett 57).

I found this passage interesting because it epitomizes Lucy’s desire for normalcy. Surgeries are the one thing in Lucy’s life which give her hope and the opportunity to lead a normal life without people staring at her everywhere she goes. Most people dread having surgery; however, surgery is one of the things Lucy looks forward to the most in her life. In this passage, Patchett is proving that Lucy’s strength, confidence, and faith comes from getting these surgeries along with the hope of knowing that one day, she will be able to blend in with the rest of the world.

“When Lucy left Aberdeen in 1991, she left a true garret, one that was isolated, depressing, and utterly bereft of singing bohemians. From there she stepped into that other truth about the writer’s life, the one we had heard so many rumors about: the Gravy Train.” (160)

“Truth and Beauty” is a book not only about friendship, but also about writing. This particular quote lends insight into the writing lifestyle, like other liberal arts it has its extreme highs and extreme lows. An artist may be broke one day and rich the next, an actor is no-one until they impress someone important, and Lucy has no money until she writes her first book. This might be the reason Patchett felt it wasn’t boring, but it might just be the excitement of making something new. Patchett talks about writing because it gave life to her and Lucy’s friendship, and made their lives worth writing about.

“She never gave up believing that there would be a final moment, a last surgery, a point at which her “real life” would begin.” (Patchett 57).

The problem I have with Lucy’s belief is that her real life is happening no matter how she looks. She cannot believe that her “real life” will start when the surgeries are completed because she should know by now that no surgery is going to make her perfect. Even today, people who think they have little flaws will have plastic surgery to make themselves look “perfect” and start a new life. How your face looks should not influence yourself to a point where you cannot even live your life.

On the other side of this, Lucy is a soldier for going through all these surgeries. After each surgery she would toughen up and have another one. Sometimes her surgeries wouldn’t even help her face look better. I would never be able to go through surgery after surgery and I look up to her for her strength and will power.

Mario-
I agree completely with your response regarding the quote “That was my mistake” (Patchett 257). It is beyond me why Ann feels guilty for Lucy’s death. Ann was there for her every time she needed something (which was a lot). If she has anything to feel guilty about, it would be enabling her. Ann did so much for Lucy; in fact, she probably did too much for Lucy. For example, Ann took Lucy’s large garbage bag filled with mail, went through it, organized it, and even paid some of the bills herself. She almost treated her as a daughter and not like a friend. Lucy had so many people helping her that she did not learn to help herself.

“It turns out that in the Cupping Room, Karl had spoken to Lucy as a doctor. Lucy and Karl both understood this, but I had thought he was speaking to her as a magician, someone who could make the impossible true.” (Patchett 153).

Since Lucy has been through so many operations, she is used to them failing when the doctors tell her otherwise. Ann does not have experience with doctors, and believes every word that Karl said to Lucy. This relates to today when doctors tell their patients what will happen. People will hear what the doctor says and believe that nothing else can happen. Doctors are seen as people who are always correct, but mistakes can happen even by a doctor. Do we put too much confidence in doctors?

“I was so miserable then and all around me were people complaining about their lives, and I would look at them and wonder how they could be so ungrateful, if only I had what they had, etc., etc. I’m not sure how I was able to turn this around to myself, but one day I realized maybe my accusations of ingratitude could be pointed at me” (92).

I remember when I read Autobiography of a Face, I felt slightly guilty (I don’t know why I felt guilty, of all things) because it seemed like I was one of the only people that found Lucy annoying. Yes, she was Beautiful, witty, and brave, but I couldn’t get past the face that she was a whiny complainer. She’d talk endlessly about nobody loving her and how she wasn’t beautiful, yet, many people, like her mother, loved her a lot and many people found her beautiful on the inside. Truth and Beauty seemed to confirm my belief that Lucy was a complainer. Ann says a lot of people admired Lucy in college and that she was popular, but she still complained about nobody liking her. She was too needy and ungrateful. When I read this quote, my opinion of Lucy changed. Lucy had realized that there were people worse off than her. Though she did still whine a lot, I was consoled because, at least, she had known that she was ungrateful too. After reading Autobiography of a Face, I thought Lucy was a strong, witty, but annoying person. After reading Truth and Beauty, I still thought of Lucy as strong and witty, but I also though she was thoughtful… and wild.
Two books, two sides… one person.

“The surgeons stoked her deepest dreams of repair like coal men shoveling fuel into a roaring furnace.” (Patchett, 229)

The imagery of this quote calls to me, like a flute to a pack of rats. I delight in those rare moments when Patchett uses artistic metaphors to convey the weight and importance of certain things, it breaks the monatony of a book about life. After several hundred pages about life as it is a book becomes somewhat boring, there are no gunfights, super-heros, or robots to hold your attention. All that is left is the plot and theme, which don’t change much, and the various writing techniques that give the book value. If “Truth and Beauty” was only about Lucy’s suffring that would take less than 10 pages, since it is much larger I am inclined to believe that Patchett is building up to something, and literary techniques help build. The backbone of “Truth and Beauty” is in its writing, not Lucy’s suffering.

This is the same as Cathy’s quote, just my take on the quote is a little different.

“I was so miserable then and all around me were people complaining about their lives, and I would look at them and wonder how they could be so ungrateful, if only I had what they had, etc., etc” (Patchett, 92).

This quote, said by Lucy, actually taught me a lesson. I sit around and complain about my life sometimes when I really don’t even have it that bad. I have a good life; I mean, I’m blessed with good health and a stable family. Yet sometimes, I complain about how awful a situation is or how my life sucks… which is not even true; I could have it way, way worse. This quote taught me to be a little more grateful about the things I have, many of the things that I just take for granted every day. I’m not saying that people should never be allowded to complain about things, I’m saying maybe people should stop complaining about every little bad thing that comes their way and just learn to handle them because that’s life. Life throws little dilemmas at you, and it’s not about dwelling on them, it’s about overcoming them. I think this quote teaches a very positive lesson to many people who take for granted little things every day.

Hm… I noticed that nobody posted anything about the actual STYLE of writing Ms. Patchett uses to convey her message, so I figured it should try my hand at analyzing that.

Since Truth and Beauty is a memoir of a friendship more so than a biography of Ms. Grealy, Ann does her best to impose upon the reader a feeling of comfort that exists between the couple. In order to show this connection best, she integrates letters and memorandums from Lucy. The personal connection that exists between Ann and Lucy is so great that they can mutually share anything; to demonstrate, Ann embeds letters with anywhere from a trivial, on-the-surface meaning to the deep secrets Lucy holds. These letters tell the story in a way that a narration cannot do; they bring a second personality, and therefore a second view, into play. Joe says that the figurative language is what makes the story more jubilant. While these words dance to our appeal, the most important thing that makes the story more than a collection of words on a page is the feeling it is written with.

“But there was something else about the drawing too: the oddness, the carelessness w/one careful but random detail sticking out – it was exactly the sort of drawing Basquiat would do. I was so shattered by the drawing that I felt an extreme amount of anger at Basquiat: he seemed like such a fraud to me” (Patchett 96)

There is a parallel that’s brought up here between Basquiat’s drawings and the children’s’ drawings at Terezin. She notices how they look very similar to each other in that they have very particular details and morbidly gaunt figures. However, she is able to see that the pictures she sees in Terezin are all too real descriptions of what happened during the Holocaust. What really strikes her is that she sees two very similar types of pictures except one depicts real events and the other depicts abstract art. Basquiats strange and very macabre designs couldn’t measure up to the genuine disgust felt by Lucy when she saw the children’s drawings. Lucy’s reaction is also very interesting because she sees Basquiat’s are as beautiful. This abstractly and seeming ugly figure is almost a representation of Lucy. She feels that his pictures, though grotesque, show that bizarre or unnatural looking things can be appreciated: a true art form. However, the art she finds in the Jewish ghetto is very similar to Basquiats drawings and depicts pain and misery. This shatters her view of Basquiat and ruins temporarily her outlook on life. The tortured figures reveal more relevance to Lucy’s situation than Basquiat’s abstract art does to show beauty. Though the true author of this moment is Lucy Grealy, Ann Patchett displays this letter to reveal a more complex individual that suffers from society’s view of beauty. Patchett is able to show how Lucy can see something we’d call “ugly” and make it beautiful yet she can also see true ugliness and Ann shows how Lucy’s inner conflict is whether she is beautiful or she just ugly.
Also, may I just ask that a young Mr. Butch come out of hiding and reveal his or her true identity? It is utterly annoying to see a complete stranger critiquing fellow bloggers for whatever they may or may not have failed to do. Your analysis could use some fine tuning.

“I would stop and stare at them until they noticed me. I would hold their eye for the seconds it took to make their faces warm and then watch as they scuttled outside to look at the heavy machinery” (Patchett 9).

It was remarkable to me how quickly and closely Lucy and Ann’s friendship grew. This quote shows how Ann immediately protected and cared for Lucy. Lucy and Ann had barley been acquainted for a day when Ann was already standing up for Lucy, as if she were her younger sister and had been doing it for years. Instead of Ann being reluctant to help out her new roommate’s demands, she went above and beyond to ensure Lucy’s happiness. Not only did she prepare special foods for her, clean up for her, and admire her for who she was, she also helped pull Lucy out of any emotional hole she dug herself into. Lucy loved Ann just the same from the moment Ann pulled up at the Iowa apartment. At that point, they both realized there was no turning back; they had an inseparable bond.
Lucy’s battle with cancer seemed to make her independent, but very dependant as well. She was strong in her writing and had a unique character. However, she latched onto others very quickly, before even knowing them. Attaching herself to someone made her feel purposeful and loved. Ann made Lucy feel loved for who she was, no matter what she looked like and what she did. After being alone for so long, Ann was the best person Lucy could have hoped for. She didn’t get annoyed with Lucy as many of us would have, Ann always stayed loyal to their friendship.

“Her jaw was irregular, as if one side had been collapsed by a brutal punch, and her neck was scarred and slightly twisted. She had a patch of paler skin running from ear to ear that had been grafted from her back and there were other bits of irregular patching and scars. But she also had lovely light eyes with damp dark lashes and a nose whose straightness implied aristocracy. Lucy had white Irish skin and dark blond hair and in the end that’s what you saw, the things that didn’t change: her eyes, the sweetness of her little ears” (Patchett 11).

This quote is similar to Cat’s in that it shows how there are many sides to people. When most people looked at Lucy they saw cancer and pain in the skin grafts and scars. The people who really knew and cared about Lucy were able to look past the scars and see her true beauty, inner and outer. People thought they knew Lucy just by looking at her. What they did not know was that they only knew a small piece of her story when glancing at her noticeable sunken in jaw. Most of the time people like to point out the negative things before they see the positive things. Looking beyond the sunken in jaw and scars Lucy was still a great person.

* my computer would not let me blog on the 13th so this is old

“I stared out the window at the rough patchwork of landscape and thought how beautiful it was, how beautiful it would be to live so far away from my mistakes” (Patchett65).

Running away from mistakes is like telling a lie it will always catch up with you. Ann knew that she had made some mistakes such as moving in with her boyfriend and moving away from Lucy. As Ann gazed out the window contemplating her life she thought about how nice it would be to leave her mistakes behind her. What Ann did not realize was that her mistakes or what she thought were mistakes ended up helping her. When she left Lucy she didn’t understand how much they needed each other. She ended up missing Lucy a lot and finding out that she could not live without her.

“I told her constantly that those were things she should in no way be ashamed of, that shame should be reserved for things we choose to do, not the circumstances that life puts on us,” (138).

This quote is my favorite one yet. I feel the most connected to it, because I agree with the message Ann is sending to Lucy. Life is uncontrollable and unpredictable whether anyone likes it or not. When life puts circumstances on us, we react to it the only way we know how: make mistakes, learn from them, and push on. This all depends on how difficult the circumstances are, because pushing on may not be easy for some of us. Lucy had this exception. She wanted to push on, but kept falling behind in what the past had created. Ann wants Lucy to not dwell on the past, or be ashamed of the outcome. She wants Lucy to only be ashamed of decisions that could have been questioned differently. It’s just another life lesson to be taken into account.

Butch –
I’d like to build on what you said about this book being a memoir. Because it’s not an autobiography, Ann’s not writing about her life story. She is writing a memoir, extracting parts of her life that she shared with Lucy. By picking parts of her life to write about, she is able to prove her argument better by choosing events that support her argument.

Amanda -
I like that quote too. My dad always tells me that there’s nothing I can do about my appearance. I can’t change the fact that I’m short, or Asian, or human. The only things I can change are my actions and my choices. I can only be ashamed of what I have done, not of what I am.

I agree with Jenna’s comment on mistakes. Mistakes are a part of life; whether we like it or not, we are not perfect, and therefore will inevitably make mistakes. While many (if not all) of us may wish we could go back and erase those mistakes, what we don’t always realize is that by erasing mistakes, we would also erase the lessons we learned from them. If people never made mistakes, they would never be able to learn from their experiences. In turn, they would never be able to pass on that knowledge to others, making our evolution as a race grind to a halt. We wouldn’t possess the drive to improve ourselves, and thus would become lazy and uninterested in life. Imagine how different the world would be if everyone were like that.

“Twelve years of Catholic school had taught me that I would be held accountable not only for what I did, but for everything I considered doing. Twelve years of beating cancer had taught Lucy that she was invincible and that nothing, none of it, was ever going to catch up with her. (29 Patchett)

The different life styles that both Lucy and Ann led made them who they were and how they would live there life, obviously. The one thing that really intrigued me to this quote though, was that just by having cancer and having to go through so many surgeries and so many obstacles, Lucy felt like she was on top of the world or at least thought that nothing could be worse than what had already happened. I think that Ann really admired her for that too. While Ann worried about the things she did and worried about the things Lucy did, I feel like Ann thought she was missing out on some of the stuff that Lucy didn’t think twice about doing. Although Ann may have missed out on some things that Lucy didn’t, she was able to take care of Lucy and keep her feeling like she was on top of the world because of how much she loved her. The friendship they had was all about how they could make each other happy and that’s what a friendship is all about in my opinion is to make each other happy as long as you are happy as well.

“She took to the floor like a firefly, moving so easily I would have thought she was in our kitchen back in Iowa, and still no one would dance, but now she was having fun and she couldn’t care less. (143)

First off, the quote is from the cover of the book, or better said the cover is made up from the quote. On the cover of the book Lucy is the firefly and to me Ann is the ant. Being the ant isn’t a bad thing, just to clear up what I am trying to prove. Lucy is usually the one that likes to shine bright and is always ready to take up different challenges and new opportunities on a daily basis, such as her surgeries or how she lives her life. She’s beautiful in her own way and it shines out on people, which personally had a large effect on me even though the decisions she makes sometimes turned out to not be the greatest. Ann was always the ant that picked up Lucy when she was down and always helped her get back on her feet. Meaning she knew she didn’t need to shine to known she was making an impact on people’s lives. Just by the way she led her life it was able to shine through, even though it was a bit more discrete than Lucy. That was just my little tie to the cover! Now for the quote, I like the way Ann describes Lucy as the firefly because Lucy as long as she was happy doing something she loved she didn’t care what people thought about her or were doing. From the way Ann describes it she loves Lucy for that reason. Ann knew that she was having fun and wasn’t going to try and make others have fun and waste a good time so it brought her back to when they were in Iowa and she described how Lucy was such a great dancer and how she, herself was terrible. She knew Lucy didn’t care though. I feel like the moral of this quote is don’t worry about others as long as you are doing what you love and no one is getting hurt in the process.

I agree with Joe on his opinion of Patchett’s writing style. Authors don’t just accidentally include similes, metaphors, and other figurative language in a book; they carefully think everything through and only include the best and most meaningful words that have a purpose by being on a page. The figurative language helps the reader visualize and understand the situation better.

Butch-

I agree that the letters that Patchett includes in the book have a huge influence on the style of writing. The style itself is very informal; she writes the memoir as if she is telling a story to a friend. However, I do not agree with you when you mentioned that the letters add a second dimension or personality to the novel. They can be as insignificant as what Lucy had for lunch one day or as meaningful as her deep and innermost thoughts about life. Patchett obviously wrote the novel based on how she interpreted certain aspects of her life with Lucy. The letters support her argument or opinion on how she perceived her and Lucy’s life; they do not contain a separate opinion than the one Patchett has already mentioned and explained. In conclusion, the letters merely emphasize her point on why she feels the way she does at a specific point of her and Lucy’s life together.

In one of Lucy’s letters to Ann, she brings up a very interesting point about understanding the arts. Lucy writes, “The whole point I’m trying to work up to is that I think, I am sure, that this new importance poetry and art in general is having for me has to do a great deal with my precarious emotional state” (37). I feel sometimes i cannot relate to this book to be honest because i don’t know how it feels to go through looking for love so desperately or having a traumatic childhood. Lucy tells Ann plain and simple that pain is necessary to understand the arts. I think this is true because that is how art and poetry is produced in the first place; the author needed to express something. Lucy’s other comment in the same letter about how these artworks form an “edge” around the normal center is a provacative thought because not everyone gets to experience the same level of emotion or life for that matter.

Keeta:

I think it is the pettiness of the letters that brings a new personality into the story. It shows the intricacy of the web that binds the couple together; they can (and frequently do) share literally every aspect of their respective lives. There is no discretion, and they talk about tabooed subjects that they would not necessarily discuss with anybody else. I’m trying to find a certain quote, but I’m bored of looking for it, so I’ll just paraphrase it: it was about Ms. Grealy’s feelings towards Vladimir Nabokov’s The Real Life of Sebastien Knight and how her very personal feelings towards the subject of death. By doing so, we see a connection between the two that is more personal than what we usually see between most friends. However, I understand what you’re saying in that they only further validate Mrs. Patchett’s own points.

(Also, I am only on page 100, so I am yet to see the overall impact of the letters on the entire book, but those were my thoughts thus far)

Keeta:

The Real Life of Sebastian* Knight

Mr. Premawardena:

1. “Also, may I just ask that a young Mr. Butch come out of hiding and reveal his or her true identity?” — Hmmm… something seems off about the pronoun agreement in this children.

2. “It is utterly annoying to see a complete stranger critiquing fellow bloggers for whatever they may or may not have failed to do.” — So what you’re essentially saying is that you find it ridiculous that a ’stranger’ blog in a place where we are supposed to gather our thoughts, agree, and argue with our peers. Does it matter my name as long as my thoughts are consistent with the purpose of the assignment?

3. I think it is ridiculous that you are even looking at who is criticising whom; this is not a place for us to argue and read only our friends’ remarks; it is inappropriate to read certain people’s blogs just because we are closer to them than others.

4. “Your analysis could use some fine tuning.” — If this is true, then don’t just state it; actually critique my work instead of stating it is incomplete. Also, I did not want to write pages upon pages on the vernacular Ms. Patchett uses throughout the book and the effect is has upon the occasion and the audience of the book; this is a blog, not a blown-out essay, so our main focus is to throw some points out there and not worry about completing analysing every single sentence to its core.

5. I don’t think we should carry on our argument on this blog. While this may humour some people (including myself), I think we should relocate this conversation just to save space and to relieve those who are simply abhorred by me. You know how to contact me.

“Pet, it was a very stupid movie.” “I am always going to be alone,” she said. “I am never going to find someone.” “You’re going to find someone.” “You don’t understand.” She folded her arms on top of the small table and put her head down to cry. (pg 42)
I personally hate the way Lucy acts all “boo me” about not finding someone. Yes I understand she thinks she may never be loved due to her horrid past, but she needs to move on. If she plans to find someone she will need to change her attitude towards love. One of my friends told me that she learned to not go looking for a boyfriend, but to let “love” find her. In my mind Lucy is just making it harder for her to find love, because I don’t think any man is looking for sorry soul to mend.

“While Lucy had discovered that she was different from all the other children in her grade school because she was sick and was different from all the other children on the hospital’s cancer ward because she continued to survive, I had discovered I was so much like every other little girl in the world that it always took me a minute to identify my own face in our class photo” (Patchett 4).

When I read this quote I thought of how Lucy would recognize herself in her own class photo. In their childhood, everyone knew who Lucy was while Ann was much like everyone else, blending in with society. When looking at the photo Lucy wouldn’t have to take a minute to identify her face; she along with everyone else would know that it was Lucy, the girl who had cancer. She would know that she was the one in the picture who looked different from all of her other classmates. Lucy would have done anything to have the reaction Ann did in the above quote when looking at her class photo because more than anything she wanted to be like everyone else. Since nothing made Ann unique, she blended in with the rest of her classmates, taking her awhile to find herself in the photo. It amazes me how these two very different people became lifelong friends. However, this could be because Ann made Lucy feel like she was no different than anyone else.

“I tried to read the bag of letters beside her desk once, but by the third one I felt nearly suicidal, as if the world was a blister of grief with only the thinnest layer of tightly stretched skin holding everything in place. The smallest touch, the lightest reminder, and everything was brought to the surface again” (Patchett 142).

Ann Patchett has often tried to empathize with Lucy and it’s always very difficult for her. Ann is able to see a new perspective in that Lucy. The reader is allowed a very small glimpse into what Lucy might have going through her head as she is reading these letters. The letters she receives are from people who suffer more than her and when they tell their stories they make Lucy feel sick. However, Ann doesn’t clearly say why Lucy is so clearly hurt by these letters. She could honestly feel guilt for all the victims of disease, she may empathize with them, or she may just want to escape from the disease. Ann remarks later that if only she had gotten these letters when she was going for chemotherapy as a child; however, since Lucy has passed into adulthood and wants to regain her life, Lucy tries desperately to leave but the letters bring back all the melancholic memories. Patchett writes this part very well and allows us to mull over all the possible things that could be going through her head as she reads these dreadful letters.
And I do apologize to Mr. Butch. After all, we can only humor a creepy, stalker/pedophile.

As a pack of drunken men taunt Lucy, Ann says, “It wasn’t the first time it had happened since I’d been there, but it was the time I had had enough. I let go of Lucy’s arm and ran into them screaming, smacking, shoving blindly into all there was to hate, which gave them the biggest laugh of all…that night I couldn’t sleep. Everything in the world seemed cruel and the taunting voices of drunks stayed in my head like a bad song” (Patchett 70).

This quote puts into perspective just how much Lucy had to deal with and how much patience she had. Lucy had to put up with being teased for the majority of her life. She dealt with the stares and gawking of those around her. Ann had had enough and snapped after only a couple of times yet Lucy kept walking. Although Lucy does not do anything physical to those who taunt her like Ann did, it destroys her mental state. I believe that the teasing and gawking are reasons Lucy believes she is alone and is always asking Ann if she is loved. Every time she hears the hurtful words of others, she doubts what Ann tells her. For every time she is taunted she needs to hear and know that she is loved.

“She was trapped in a room full of mirrors, and every direction she looked in she saw herself, her face, her loneliness. She couldn’t see that no one else was perfect either, and that so much of love was the work of it. She had worked on everything else. Love would have to be charmed” (Patchett 171)

A constant struggle of Lucy’s throughout the entire book is finding love. She has the occasional boy friend or one night stand, yet she always complains about feeling lonely. I believe during her life that biggest factor that was keeping her from love, was herself. She would she her face in every mirror and wonder how could anyone love a face that was like her own. When actually, there were people like Ann with her, someone who didn’t care what she looked like, it was about the person she was on the inside. Lucy could never see that it was about the inside, because to see it she needed to get over what she looked like on the outside.

“Her life was no longer a metaphor for something else. It was a narrative that was itself as powerful and magnetic as she was a person. After spending so much of her youth trying to turn people’s attention away from her face, she now pulled the light directly onto her jaw, her childhood, her humiliation. It was a decision that sent her in another direction entirely” (Patchett 106).

Lucy had put so much effort in trying to hide her deformity but this was the turning point in which she opened up and let everyone in on what she went through. She now had something to reflect her life and something she could relate to. Her life had a purpose. She was known all over the school campus because of her face and now its story would get her known in the writing industry. The story of her face, her life, had helped her become big in something that she loves doing, writing. Her life story and struggles worked out to her benefit, yet I feel Lucy overlooked this and didn’t embrace what her face had actually given her.

“It turns out that in the Cupping Room, Karl had spoken to Lucy as a doctor. Lucy and Karl both understood this, but I had thought he was speaking to her as a magician, someone who could make the impossible true” (Patchett 153).

Along with Jeremy W. I also marked this quote. Lucy was used to being disappointed and told surgeries didn’t work. Ann however had never been exposed to this so when Karl said he could have her teeth fixed, she believed him. It surprises me that although Lucy and Ann have been friends for quite some time now, this is the first time Ann has been exposed to this kind of disappointment. Lucy had been dealing with this for years; going back for surgeries because one didn’t work. Hadn’t Ann and Lucy been so close that she should have experienced this earlier in their relationship?

“Lucy wanted to have the life of a fictional character, and her constant whiplash between champagne and tap water made her seem straight out of a Fitzgerald novel,” (158).

This quote characterizes Lucy in this non-fiction book even though she is also a real character in life. With money coming and going at Lucy’s reach, the adjustment from luxury to necessity is only a normal adjustment for Lucy. It isn’t that Lucy is irresponsible with money, because there is no right or wrong way to spend it. Though the adjustment could get quite bothersome, Lucy let the feeling sink in. This also could show her emotional feelings that would add to her feeling lonely. The unpaid doctor bills, and taxes pile up what she has a difficult time of paying back. Letting them pile up seems to be the best way for Lucy to handle them. Money is just a part of life, whether anyone likes it or not.

“[Lucy’s] grief about feeling ugly and her desire to be loved in a way that would be huge enough to meet her needs would regularly roll her into a little ball and paralyze her” (Patchett 42).

When a person looks at Lucy Grealy’s face, eyes quickly divert to her jaw. Her face is her trademark; it separates her from other classmates and peers. Lucy’s face might have separated her from everyone else, but she was never satisfied with her face. Even though Lucy had to deal with financial difficulties, it didn’t stop her from getting another surgery. She continuously went through unbearable pain and suffering in hopes of looking “normal.” When Lucy looked at her reflection, all she could see was a deformed and ugly face. Lucy was pessimistic and thought that her face was hideous, but she failed to see that her face made her unique and different from everyone else. Her pessimistic attitude lowered her self-esteem, and also led to the many “Do you love me?” questions. Ann’s response constantly boosted Lucy’s self-esteem because Lucy was reassured that someone loved her in spite of her distorted face. I feel that those questions were unnecessary because Ann was Lucy’s best friend; it was obvious that Ann loved Lucy. After dealing with two completely opposite personalities, Lucy and Ann loved each other dearly. Ann always helped and supported Lucy with her surgeries and writing. Because of Ann’s constant comforting, she was able to help Lucy recover regardless of her gloomy personality.

“…I’m going to have to start dealing with disappointment, with the reality that I will never be beautiful – something I could always dream of when there were still so many operations to go. In truth, I’m pretty average, perhaps a bit less so because of the scars and all. I look at myself in the mirror at least a hundred times a day (maybe I should stop this), trying to figure out what I look like, and I can’t” (Patchett 176).

What struck me the most about this quote is the fact that Lucy was trying to figure out what she looked like. An individual is not supposed to look like something; they’re supposed to look like themselves. Each face is unique and has its own personality to go with it. I think that part of Lucy’s downfall is that she fails to realize this. Lucy is always comparing and trying to look pretty when all she has to do is look like is herself. Now that there are no more operations for Lucy to hold on to as hope, she has to start facing what she looks like. If Lucy decides she doesn’t like the way she looks, the only person that can change this is herself because the only opinion that ultimately matters is the opinion you have of yourself.

“And sure, maybe the ant was warmer in the winter and the tortoise won the race, but everyone knows that the grasshopper and the hare were infinitely more appealing animals in all their leggy beauty, their music and interesting side trips…Grasshoppers and hares find the ants and tortoises. They need us to survive, but we need them as well” (Patchett 20).

Here Ann Patchett describes the relationship she shares with Lucy. She describes how, compared to Lucy, she feels that she is the ant or tortoise, helping out the grasshopper or the hare. Even though she wishes she was the extravagant, popular one, she does realize the importance of being the ant or tortoise. She sees that she is the aid to Lucy, helping and comforting her when she was in need. She realizes that if Lucy didn’t have her, she would be in terrible shape. Also, Ann realizes that she needs Lucy too. She sees that without Lucy, she would have no way out of the pressures surrounding her. So where Ann served as a protector and comforter for Lucy, Lucy served as someone who let Ann have fun and live to the fullest; without one, the other would not be able to survive.

“She was, in a sense, sitting at a craps table with her last stack of chips, trying again and again to hit it big. Rejections came in the form of polite letters, and everything she had dreamed might save her life vanished as soon as the envelope was opened. It did mean that I was the bearer of a lot of bad news, as I was the one who opened all the envelopes and then wrote to tell her” (Patchett 63).

Here Ann Patchett talks about the constant struggle Lucy had to face growing up from rejection. She describes how Lucy would apply for teaching positions, artists’ colonies, and send out countless poems to literary magazines only to be denied. She describes how Lucy would put all her effort into a few things, without a backup plan, thinking that the next application would be her last. The rejection grew to such a level, that Lucy could not even bare to open the envelope anymore. As a result, Ann became Lucy’s protector, helping and comforting her through all her hardships. So thus, Lucy was able to continue her work, and finally manage to “hit it big,” after her books came out.

“And of course she was right, it did work, but being the ant, I never understood the pleasure of barely slipping something in under the wire. I had spent the winter out West, methodically chipping away at my second novel, stacking up the pages at my regular steady pace. Both of our books came in at about the same time, but Lucy’s was forever accompanied by a story that made it seem breathless, lucky, magic, while mine was pretty much just a book” (Patchett 117).

Here Ann Patchett talks about Lucy and her “heroic eleventh-hour save.” She talks about how Lucy was able to slack off, and in the very end, still finish the book. She talks about the risks Lucy took, and the amazing stories that accompanied it. This angers Ann because she played it safe, like the ant or the tortoise. It angers her, because she realizes that she can never experience the fun in taking risks like Lucy did. She realizes that even though she did what she was supposed to, she ended up being the one at loss. This helps to see how Ann feels about Lucy’s life. She talks about how despite all the hardships Lucy faced, Lucy still had a charmed life, reinforcing how Ann feels about the grasshopper and the hare. She feels that even though she did everything right, the “grasshoppers and the hares” are the ones who benefit the most.

“There were so many friends, so many people who loved her, who had histories with her I had never even heard” (Patchett 226).

Throughout the novel you are lead to believe that no one really cares for Lucy and that she is lonely. However, we find out that in fact Lucy had many people who cared for her. She had all the love a person could want from friends yet none of that mattered until this point. Before Lucy had thought she was alone because she never found a man to love her. At this point she realizes that all along she hasn’t been alone; she has always had her friends. She even tells Ann that she is going to write a book about all of her friends.

“’ These are candy-ass suicide attempts. She may wind up homeless. She may alienate everyone she knows, but she isn’t going to die…life had been conspiring to kill Lucy since was ten years old and life had failed” (Patchett 247)

At the end of the book, we see a different side of the relationship that Patchett had with Grealy. To Ann, Lucy always seemed to be strong and she could overcome any obstacle. Lucy may have wanted to commit suicide or may even have hated what was happening in her life, but she was always able to pull through. For most of the book we see Lucy’s struggle through Ann’s eyes but we never fully appreciate the duality of their friendship where Lucy could always rely on Ann and Ann saw Lucy as a miracle. Lucy had stood up against cancer and against the pressures of society yet when heroin finally took her down, Ann couldn’t believe it. There were so many chances for her to die and yet Ann eventually felt that Lucy could survive all of them. It’s interesting to note that Ann has such strong faith in Lucy despite her troubles with one of the most dangerous of all narcotic drugs. From this quote you can see that Ann depended on Lucy just as much as Lucy depended on Ann and through this awkward synthesis, the reader can understand the complex relationship.

“Sometimes Lucy seemed shameless, which is to say she wasn’t burdened by the same notions of what is shameful and what is moral and what is right that I was. Or maybe it’s that we all have a certain allotment of shame within us and Lucy spent hers on other things. She was ashamed of the way she ate. She felt enormous shame at the idea of having food on her chin or breaking out into a sweat when she swallowed. She was ashamed of her teeth because she could not close her mouth. She was ashamed of her eyelid, which had stayed swollen off and on ever since that surgery in Aberdeen. It drove her crazy and she was certain that everyone noticed it. I told her constantly that those were things she should in no way be ashamed of, that shame should be reserved for the things we choose to do, not the circumstances that life puts on us.”

This passage caught my eye because of how Lucy would be so ashamed of the things she couldn’t control. She had no way of stopping what was happening to her, but she could stop the constant sexual activites she was having with strangers, which in my opinion is very shameful. I defintely agree with Anne in saying Lucy shouldn’t be shamefull of the symptoms she has because of her many surgeries that were trying to save her. Some people think too much about how everyone else sees them and not enough on how they see themselves. Granted, Lucy wasn’t the most beautiful person, but she wasn’t hidious. If she just accepted herself as she was then I think a lot more people would accept her as well and realize that there was nothing she could do to stop what was being thrust upon her.

“The question of love was a dark hole into which Lucy swam daily. She claimed to be alone, alone, alone, and bringing up the legions of friends who adored her was only an irritant. ‘It’s not the same,’ she said pointedly, as if she was being given an apple when what she had asked for was a pony. She was also not interested in having you point out the fact that she had more sex than all of her close friends combined and that often it was, by her own accounts, really good sex.”

I chose this paragraph because it is a great example of how Lucy would over look the greatest people in her life, her friends. They were, like Anne, always there for her and helped her through her most shameful and hard times. Even though she was not loved by someone who wanted to have a family with her, she had friends who would give up a lot to go to the hospital and visit her or let her live with them so she wouldn’t feel like she was alone, even though she always did. On this particular subject, I don’t feel any pain or sadness for Lucy because she did have her friends who loved her unconditionally. I feel if she realized this, she would have made better choices in her life and would indeed be a happier person.

“As bad as she felt about her leg, Lucy was pleased with the way her face was going. The reconfiguration of her jaw had improved her speech a little, even though she still couldn’t get her lips together. The docotors said that would come after the other surgeries, after the teeth. She spent too much time dwelling on herself in the mirror. Anything she saw now was just going to change. There was no sense in getting too attatched to this face, or wasting time being too critical of it. The deepest part of the swelling would hang around for months, and even if that only meant a subtle change she had to remember that this was not the final product. Still, she asked about it, anyone would have asked- How do I look?”

Here, things seem to be going well with a particular surgery Lucy had recently gone through. However, Lucy doesn’t seem to want just what improvements she has now. She seems to want more and more everytime. I am not saying it isn’t normal to want to look better than one usually looks, but Lucy is constantly going through surgeries that cause her a great deal of pain. I personally would not want to go through all of that pain and suffering. Wanting more than what you asked for only makes things more painful in the end.

“Most nights I dream of her. I am in a strange city and I see her sitting in a cafe, drinking coffee and writing in a notebook. She is frail beyond anything I could have imagined, barely able to pick up her cup with two hands, but she’s happy to see me. I run to her, kiss her, and she pulls herself up in my arms to sit in my lap and curl against me like a little bird. ‘I thought you were dead,’ I say, joyful because there she is, still alive, still mine. I wrap my arms around her, her forehead pressing into the curve of my neck. ‘Everyone thinks that you’re dead.’ ‘I had to try to get better one more time,’ she says, her voice tired. ‘I just didn’t want to put everyone through it again, me trying to pull myself together, me failing.’ She tells me she is in a very secret rehab. It is only for people who everyone thinks are already dead. There is only a fifty-fifty chance of her making it, but if she got through the program she would be clean and well forever.”

In this section of the book, Anne is telling us readers how she took Lucy’s death and that the friendship she had with Lucy was so deep that she dreams about Lucy still being alive. I couldn’t imagine what it is like to lose a friend, especially someone I am really close with. In Anne’s dream, she sees Lucy as she was before she died, frail and delicate. They then talk of Lucy in rehab again. How it’s only for those who are already said to have died. Anne’s dreams sound ridiculous and only show you how that dreams can be quite far fetched. However, dreams can bring back the happiness we have had with those we have lost.

“The compromise was that I would do all the cleaning and cooking and that neither of us would complain about it, which suited both of us fine” (Patchett 24).

I chose this quote because it wonderfully shows how well Ann and Lucy were as friends together. They were great friends and understood the differences in each other, such as the “level of squalor” that Lucy was fine with, but that Ann could not bear. To me, their compromise seems like it would be hard to withhold, but it worked well for Ann and Lucy. Ann doesn’t have a problem with cleaning up after Lucy and making her food, and Lucy doesn’t feel bad that Ann does it for her. Ann and Lucy functioned together, not just as roommates, but as two very good friends. Their differences balanced each other out and were important to their relationship. Ann wanted it to be clean and Lucy couldn’t have cared less, but they didn’t offend each other about it. Ann and Lucy had a deep relationship. Lucy only attempted to clean once, before Ann’s arrival. Lucy did this more for Ann than for herself, and however fruitless the attempt was, it at least showed that Lucy cared. Even though she never tried to clean again, it was fine with both of them because they had their compromise. The way Ann and Lucy were together is beautiful to me because of how they understood each other and needed each other.

“I was so miserable then and all around me were people complaining about their lives, and I would look at them and wonder how they could be so ungrateful, if only I had what they had, etc., etc. I’m not sure how I was able to turn this around to myself, but one day I realized maybe my accusations of ingratitude could be pointed at me” (Patchett 92).

This quote really makes you take into consideration how blessed we really are. There are in fact, many people like Lucy who live their everyday lives in pain yet somehow they are always the ones who manages to be content with who they are and what their situation is. Then you look at other people who complain about such insignificant matters and you wonder where in the world they’re coming from. They seem to have so much but they haven’t found the one thing that matters; peace.This quote affected me deeply. This summer, I traveled to Ecuador and worked directly with homeless children and adults who regularly and literally ate out of the Quito Dump. I saw things most of my family and friends never witness in a lifetime. We really have no right to complain as much as we do because to be honest, most people haven’t seen the half of what really goes on in this world. If they did, people would view their lives much differently. We need to be grateful for what God has blessed us with. I knew I was a changed person when I returned to the States because I now have a greater sense of appreciation for what I do have. It’s alright to be unhappy from time to time. I’m not saying that we should always be cheerful. I’m just saying that we need to put life in perspective. Lucy had every right to be negative about her life but even she realized that she was guilty of too much complaining.

“Everyone who passed us stopped and turned and stared with blatant curiosity, at me. Lucy couldn’t stop laughing. “This is my childhood dream come true,” she said. “I’ve just had major surgery and no one is looking at me. If only I had known to hang out with someone who had hives.” (Patchett 197).

Although Anne and Lucy were so close, I can’t imagine that Anne ever understood what it was like to have a deformity like Lucy’s. Especially one that caused people take second and third glances at you. Anne finally understands how it feels to be mocked when she breaks out with an atrocious case of the hives. I would also assume that for the first time in her life, Lucy experiences what it feels like to be “normal”. Everyone who enters the room including the doctors, asks Anne what is wrong with her and if she is alright. Lucy likes the feeling of having the shoe on the other foot. When she said “If only I had known to hang out with someone who had hives,” she was really saying that if she had hung out with someone who was worse off than herself, then they would have been the object of other peoples stares and not her. It felt good not being the center of attention. It was one of the few times that people actually didn’t notice her.

“She was trapped in a room full of mirrors, and every direction she looked in she saw herself, her face, her loneliness. She couldn’t see that no one else was perfect either, and that so much of love was the work of it. She had worked on everything else. Love would have to be charmed” (Patchett 171)

Lucy wraps her whole life around how lonely she thinks she is. She never sees herself as beautiful because of the imperfection on her face. Lucy feels that because she doesn’t have a man in her life, that she has no friends that love her either. She also doesn’t understand that she isn’t the only person with flaws. She is surrounded by people who have flaws just like her. For example, her friend who had the brain tumor. Lucy is the only thing keeping her from finding love. Every time she looks in the mirror she asks herself how could someone love this face. If only she had realized how many people actually did love her and that true love sees beyond the physical and right into the heart and soul of a person.

“There were so many friends, so many people who loved her, who had histories with her I had never even heard.” (Patchett 226).

Throughout the book, Lucy goes on and on about how lonely she is and how she will never really find love. Her perspective is wrong because there are so many times in the book where something could have gone terribly wrong if it weren’t for her friends who cared about her so much. Take Ann for example. Anne basically spent her whole life being a mother to Lucy, always watching over her and making sure she wasn’t getting into trouble. She put her life on hold many times when Lucy was in trouble, like when she started doing heroin. Lucy was never alone at the hospital. She was always surrounded by one of her friends, colleagues or family members. Lucy convinces herself that she will never have anyone close to her because of her physical appearance. Her identity as a woman isn’t complete because she hasn’t found the love of a man. In all actuality, Lucy has many friends who do love and care for her very much.

Sarah P-

I must disagree with your statement “[we] are lead to believe that no one really cares for Lucy and that she is lonely”. Ann shows in many ways how people (mostly friends) are concerned about Lucy’s wellbeing, take when she was having surgery on her teeth for exaple, they were all worried about “Lu Lu bell”. Lucy always felt lonely because she was never loved intimately. Ann didn’t understand this because Ann didn’t have as much as a problem. My point is people care about Lucy and Ann did a good job showing that showed that. I think you might of meant “guys”, don’t care about Lucy, because i could see that.

“More than anything she wanted to be the special patient, the favorite, the best” (147).

I wish Lucy’d stop being so demanding. She wanted to be the most special patient, the girl with the perfect face, the one with a diehard lover, Ann’s favorite friend. Then she’d get herself worked up about how she’s not the best and she’d get depressed. Didn’t she realize that nobody’s perfect, that it’s okay to not have everything you want? Flaws make us beautiful; imperfections make us unique. I don’t think she learned that because if she had, she wouldn’t have been so insecure.

“Lucy’s loneliness was breathtaking in its enormity. If she emptied out Grand Central Station and filled it with the people she knew well, the people who loved her, there would be more than a hundred people there….still it wouldn’t feel full, not full enough to take up every square inch of her person. Lucy thought that all she needed was one person, the right person, and all the empty space would be taken away from her. But there was no one in the world who was big enough for that” (171).

Several times in the book, Ann talked about Lucy’s loneliness and how it engulfed her. I think Lucy created her own loneliness. She made herself believe she was lonely, even though, as Ann points out, Lucy was surrounded by people who loved her. Lucy associated loneliness with finding a man who would love her, not by the amount of close friends she had, which is why she felt so lonely. It just goes to show that a different perspective of something changes our attitudes towards it. I don’t associate loneliness with love, like Lucy did, so I don’t think she was lonely at all.

“Whenever I talked to Lucy in Provincetown, she was crying. ..’I'm ugly and I’m going to be alone for the rest of my life,’ ” (Patchett 115).

Lucy’s biggest fear and insecurity in life is winding up alone . This is very ironic because Lucy has so many friends who love her and care about her yet she fails to realize it. She is blinded from the fact that she can’t get a man to love her. She gets so caught up in this miserable state that she is ungrateful for everything her friends have done for her. Her friends are the ones who stay with her while she is in the hospital, give her love and support, and most of all, admire her for who she is as a person. I feel that Lucy is oblivious and unappreciative of everything her friends do for her. She is striving so hard to find a man that she neglects the great friendships and bonds she has made which many people are jealous of. Many people will pity Lucy and find it wrong to call her self-centered and ungrateful, but I feel that she has so many positive aspects to her life but still dwells on the negatives. Although she has been through a lot, she should learn to enjoy life instead of imagining of how it could be.

“I read one slim volume of the available information. Lucy read the library. My experience only left me smart enough to comprehend my own stunning lack of comprehension” (Patchett 10).

Patchett uses this quote to show readers how ignorant most people are towards understanding what Lucy had really gone through in her lifetime. Patchett previously explains that when she was younger she was in a car crash and therefore had to have a few operations to cosmetically fix some of the damage to her nose. To this, people had said, “this is why you and Lucy are so close. You went through the same thing.” This obviously was not the case, as Patchett explains, because a few diminutive operations could never measure up to the 37 outstretched and on-going operations Lucy had to endure.
When I read this passage, I had to read it over a few times until I fully understood what the author was trying to say. The metaphor perfectly explains how I’ve felt a few times in my own life. It’s really saying that most people can’t understand pain or suffering and we automatically think that we have it the worst. This is mostly not the case; there is almost always someone else out there who has gone through things some people can’t even grasp. I know I am, along with other people, guilty of taking the smallest things for granted. It takes a story like Lucy’s to realize how dim-witted you were to think that you had it bad, which is why Patchett uses this passage to illustrate just that.

I am irritated by virtually everything on pages 107 and 108. As I read Lucy’s increasing envy and decreasing discretion, I see what Ann clearly wants me to see. When Ann gets a new beau, Lucy gets jealous. When Ann gets a new scholarship, Lucy gets jealous. When Ann does anything even remotely out of the ordinary, Lucy gets jealous. Even though about fifty people before me have made this point, I’ll write it anyway: every time Lucy senses that Ann gives even an iota of love to another person, she tries to make Ann painfully aware of the fact. When Ann emphasizes the good facets of Lucy’s life, Lucy focuses on the one thing Ann has that she doesn’t: a boyfriend. Lucy’s human nature is generally inclined to see the deficiencies in her life and envy people that have things she doesn’t, no matter their importance. I have not read the entire book yet, so I’m not sure if this prediction is accurate, but I believe that Lucy’s envy will lead to her downfall.

While I was immediately irritated by the passage, only one sentence kept me from skipping the entire passage: “I believe it’s perfectly possible to love more than one person and to love different people in different ways” (107). For the first time thus far, Ann has a rebuttal to Lucy’s insistence on unconditional (and somewhat unreturned) love. She has given Lucy hints that her envy is irritating her, but this is the first time she blatantly expresses her point. For this reason, I believe this quote may in fact be the climax of the book (if we were to give the memoir characteristics of fiction).

“Sometimes Lucy seemed shameless, which is to say she wasn’t burdened by the same notions of what is shameful and what is moral and what is right that I was. Or maybe it’s that we all have a certain allotment of shame within us and Lucy spent hers on other things…It drove her crazy and she was certain that everyone noticed it. I told her constantly that those were things she should in no way be ashamed of, that shame should be reserved for the things we choose to do, not the circumstances life puts on us. But it was all just a matter of opinion. Telling yourself you shouldn’t be ashamed of something rarely got anyone anywhere, ” (Patchett 138).

Shame is something Lucy has to deal with for her entire life. She is constantly put to shame everywhere she goes with people staring, whispering, and taunting. I chose this passage because Patchett said something which caught my eye. She says that people who make bad choices are the ones who deserve shame; not the people who have no control of their fate. Unfortunately, Lucy could not control her childhood and her battle with cancer. However, this is not something that she should be ashamed of. People are ignorant and shallow which is why they make remarks about Lucy. Sadly, Lucy can’t help but feel shameful when people are so cruel. No matter how many times Ann tells Lucy that there is nothing to be ashamed of, deep down, Lucy can’t fully invest in that theory. She will always be ashamed of the way her mouth is always half open, how she can’t eat solid food, and how her jaw is partly missing. These are things in Lucy’s life which she just can’t overcome no matter how hard she tries. It is easy to tell oneself that there is nothing to be ashamed of then to actually, truly believe it. This is the inner struggle in Lucy which contributes to her defeatist attitude on life.

“‘It’s amazing how you remember everything so clearly,’ a woman said, her head wrapped up in a bright scarf. ‘All those conversations, details. Were you ever worried that you might get something wrong?’
‘I didn’t remember it,’ Lucy said pointedly. ‘I wrote it. I’m a writer’” (Patchett 141).

Here is where Ann Patchett talks about Lucy’s book Autobiography of a Face. Lucy was faced with countless questions about her book, including how she remembered everything so well. Lucy told everyone outright that she did not remember it but rather, she created the story. Lucy did this because she did not want to be remembered for her face, but rather for her talent and skill as a writer. She was, as Ann says, “making art, not documenting an event.” Lucy’s suffering did not create the book, and she made sure that no one else would think it did either.

“In her life she was in some kind of pain a great deal of the time, something she would only acknowledge if you asked her, but for the most part she didn’t mention it…” (Patchett 191).

Here, Ann Patchett talks about the true strength and courage of Lucy. Regardless of what she faced, she was able to conquer her problems, sometimes with the aid of her friends. This quote reminds me of another part of the book where Lucy talks about people complaining about going through chemotherapy. They, according to Lucy, don’t even know how bad and painful chemotherapy was when she went through it. This quote reminds me of many people I know who complain over the smallest of things. The sad fact is that they don’t understand how blessed they are to have things that Lucy would die for, like the ability to chew and swallow food. All of this helps me to see the true strength of Lucy.

“‘Lucy’s not going to die,’ I said. Suddenly I was angry. ‘These are candy-ass suicide attempts. She may wind up homeless. She may alienate everyone she knows, but she isn’t going to die. Lucy will be the last one of us left standing.’ Life had been conspiring to kill Lucy since she was ten years old and life had failed. At every turn she wrestled with death. She always won” (Patchett 247).

This is the part of the book where Lucy attempts several times to commit suicide. This angers Ann because Lucy had been through so much throughout her life. She realizes that Lucy is giving up, but doesn’t want to admit it. So as a result, Ann comes up with excuses for Lucy’s behavior like: she is just looking for attention. This helps to show how Ann feels about Lucy. She wonders why Lucy would give up now, after defeating cancer and surviving numerous surgeries. This helps show how Ann looks to up to Lucy regarding her strength and tenacity. It helps show the dependence Ann has on Lucy. She later goes on to say, “‘Who will I talk to if you keep going like this?’ I wanted to know. ‘Who will there be for me to talk to?’” (Patchett 248).

“How does anyone on that day decide that instead of eating they will read fifty pages of a book about French cinema, or write four pages of a novel, or type a cover letter for a poetry contest that will almost certainly be lost? How does anyone pull themselves up over and over again?” (Patchett 69)

This passage is a statement of how strong Lucy really is. Ann was closer to Lucy than anyone and it came as a surprise to her that such strength could come out of something so small and frail. It makes me think that if Ann were in Lucy’s situation, she wouldn’t be strong enough to bear the burden of the humiliation. This passage also shines light on the fact that Lucy’s inner beauty comes from her inner strength. The fact that Lucy can overcome the devastating events that happened to her and still be happy about the things she as is amazing and inspirational. Lucy’s perseverance automatically makes me think of a simple bible verse that I believe summarizes her life. “For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again” (Proverbs 24:16). Ann finds Lucy inspirational and I think that it helps their bond become even stronger.

“An accurate reading list compiled from her floor would tell half the story of her life.” (Patchett, 288)

Lucy has lived much of her life not wanting or able to go outside, and being a writer she passed the time by reading a lot. She is not alone. I know several people who would rather read than do more healthy things, like breathe, although with Lucy it was probably not so severe. Lucy had reason enough to stay inside and read, especially in Scotland, but these little things are not what make this quote mentionable. The idea that books can tell something about the reader is what is important here, even if Patchett drops it like a football in the hands of a lion. What a person reads tells something about them, and I hope required reading for school doesn’t count.

“It was the single thing I wanted most for Lucy, to have a minute of peace from her relentless desire to understand why she hadn’t found True Love.” (Patchett 188).

Ann cares for Lucy more than anything in the world and is always there for her. When Lucy is hurt, Ann is always there. But for love and relationships, it is sometimes too much for Ann to handle. Lucy is “lonely” all the time even though she has many friends that are at her side.

This repeats itself in the book later when Ann says how she cannot deal with Lucy’s love life, “With the body I could be tirelessly helpful, but with her psyche, her heart, I simply froze sometimes. Past a certain point I did not know what to say.” (Patchett 228). Ann doesn’t know how to act when Lucy needs help with love and she freezes. This is a flaw in their relationship. Lucy needs a lot of support on her love life but Ann could not provide enough for her.

Joe-

I think you have your page number wrong on your last quote because the book only goes to 257. I just want to make sure you have it right.

The letter from page 94 to 98 was very confusing for me. At first she does not like Basquiat’s paintings. Then she picks up a book of his paintings without the paint and actually likes them. She feels as if it is a breakthrough? What kind of breakthrough? Then she looks at the drawings by children in concentration camps. Since the drawings reminded her of Basquiat’s drawings, she was very angry at Basquiat now? She seems to change her mind very quickly during this letter. Overall this letter was confusing for me.

Jeremy:

1. It is completely possible for Joe to have a different version of the book than ours.

2. The letter is all about illusion. It’s about taking apart the layers of what we generally perceive and look beneath them. Lucy sees grotesque images that do not appeal to her sense of art at all, but she reinterprets it when she comes across a picture of the paintings without paint itself. She feels it is a breakthrough because, for the first time, she can truly empathise with something else. When Lucy’s ‘layers’ are torn away, she is stripped of her gross appearance and her true Beauty is revealed (at least in her mind). I am not sure about your latter question because I was confused about it as well. However, my interpretation was that Basquiat had managed to convince Lucy that art was a beautiful outlook on the Truths of the world, and it had shown her where real Beauty was held. When she sees the pictures children from Terezin had drawn, there was no polemicism about them; there was only one expression that it was to bring out, and that was grief. I think that she believes art was a more individualistic approach to interpretation after she had digested Tarazin’s work, and the works from the Holocaust has managed to convince her otherwise. As a result, she was once again unsure of what art as a whole meant to her.

If you haven’t yet, take a look also at the quote on page 97, beginning with “I used to think that once…” I found it very interesting.

“It’s your blessing and your curse. You’re always going to be fine” (72).

Lucy says this to Ann after Ann had complained about just going through divorce, being broke, losing her job, etc. I chose this quote because I think it really shows how Ann and Lucy’s relationship was so different from others. For example, Ann had just been mad at Lucy because after she had told Lucy all her problems, Lucy just responded, “Oh, you’ll be fine,” as if her problems didn’t really matter. Ann forgives her, however, and is very disappointed to be leaving her in Aberdeen. They are just the way they were before, whereas a lot of girls would have held a grudge or not forgiven their friend.

I find it interesting that Patchett chose this situation to be in the book, showing how sometimes Lucy only really cared about herself and blew Ann’s problems off like they were nothing. Throughout the whole book she shows readers the real truth of how she and Lucy’s friendship was together, not just the glamorous parts to make people look good. This makes the title Truth and Beauty very appropriate, in my opinion. I also like that she uses conversations and scenes such as these not just to show plot, but also characterization of Lucy as a person.

“She worked constantly on deciding who she would be, her philosophy and approach to life” (109).

Lucy was constantly changing herself throughout her life because she never really discovered who she was. She changed her clothing style and how she acted based on who she wanted to be in that time. She lived her life in phases and anything she believed could be changed into the total opposite a day later. I think that because of this, she was never happy with herself and it led to her depression and addictions. No matter how many things she had going good for her, if someone else had something she didn’t, she was unhappy. She had a false sense of her life being horrible if everything wasn’t going the way she wanted. She also desperately wanted to be liked and be seen as beautiful which she was, she just didn’t realize it. I think her differences made her a stronger person, but in the end it wasn’t enough for her. I think it is amazing that Lucy had lived through what she did, but I wish that she would’ve realized all the blessings she had before making all the poor decisions she did at the end of her life, ending her life.

Butch and Jeremy: I somehow “understood” that passage, but I highly doubt I could explain it. Well, I suppose I shall try.

“But there was something else about the drawing too: the oddness, the carlessness w/one careful but random detail sticking out – it was exactly the sort of drawing Basquiat would do…he seemed such a fraud to me”(96).

I doubt I’m referring to the question in mind, but I shall at least put forth an opinion on this passage.
In a simple sense, I’m going to summarize the part before and say that Lucy began to like Basquiat’s drawings because, perhaps, of the simple truth behind them. They were simple drawings of simple things, and that was beautiful along with honesty. But why does she feel Besquiat is a fraud? When she sees the kid drawings with their simple pictures, she knows that these simple drawings also radiate honesty; they’re honest interpretations of the horrible happenings. Remember that Lucy says that looking at Besquiat’s drawings were “mental acts” so she felt touched by his simple drawings of something powerful within herself. However, perhaps it’s the idea that Besquiat became a famous artist for his line drawings and the kids’ names were left in the dust that angered her. She felt that the kids’ drawings had more “honesty”, beauty, and deeper meaning. I think it’d be like seeing a well-made painting of the Vietnam War by someone who was not affected by it, and a scratchy drawing by a soldier who was in the war. I believe Lucy felt like Besquiat’s drawings weren’t as honest, and he was a fraud because he attempted to imbue that honesty.

I apologize for the length, and if this subject was already brought up.

My laptop has failed me, so I am writing this from Kresge Library at Oakland University; I don’t know when this post will show up, but I hope this works…

I found Lucy’s views on writing her autobiography quite fascinating (Page 141-142); while most people try to craft their autobiographies in a way that tells the most sincere story while remaining true to facts, Lucy writes Autobiography of a Face as if it were loosely based on her own life. I recall this discussion from Ann’s afterword in Autobiography of a Face . I myself was shocked when I first read about that; I expected a full-fledged account of the experiences that Lucy had gone through. However, her story in itself was an inspiring one, and her beautiful craftsmanship in writing her book helped the book flow. She is not maudlin, but she makes the reader sympathise; she is not unfair to her doctors, but she does not exonerate them for their mistakes. I find it odd that she centres her writing upon effectively telling her story, but without her divergence from facts, her story would not be so wondrous.

“These will be the last surgeries I ever have to have and I need to be finished with them. I’ve got to put this behind me so I can get on with my life”(181).

This passage is just one out of the many times that it is brought up that Lucy was waiting for that last surgery so that she could finally start Living. Even though her circumstances are understandable, it is still depressing that Lucy felt that she wasn’t truly living out her life when she didn’t have a “normal” looking face. What’s even worse is that she dies before she feels that’s she’s reached that point. It’s uncertain whether Lucy realizes that she still lived her life, despite the unsavory circumstances. Certain actions could lead one to reach both conclusions. The idea that Lucy constantly felt that she needed that one male person to make her feel worthwhile could prove that she felt she was living her life, since if she truly felt otherwise, she wouldn’t care about not finding someone. However, feeling the need to drown her sorrows away with alcohol, drugs, and parties could also be an indicator that she didn’t feel like she was ready to start living yet. I am curious as to what Lucy’s definition of “living”; I think even she herself was in a constant battle as to what she should be doing vs. what she wanted to do with her life.

“It wasn’t too long after that I was dating a poet.
‘No,’ Lucy said
‘I’m not asking permission.’
‘You can’t date a poet.’
Lucy had never met Mark, but she hated the very idea of him” (Patchett 106).

Throughout the book, I’ve been getting the feeling that Lucy feels like Ann is going replace her with someone else. This passage only strengthens my belief in this thought. When Ann meets knew friends, Lucy becomes extremely possessive with Ann almost like it’s okay for Lucy to have other friends but it’s not okay for Ann (to have other friends). I think that Lucy doesn’t want Ann dating a poet because through Lucy’s eyes, she is somehow replacing her friendship with Lucy with this poet. It’s good that Lucy can confide in Ann but how Lucy acts around Ann’s friends makes me feel that their relationship is unhealthy. I think Lucy is fearful of losing Ann because Ann has helped her through everything and is the only person Lucy really talks to about her fears and problems (at least in the begging of her writing career). The more Lucy depends on Ann, the stronger the paranoia grows that Ann is trying to get away. If something were to happen to Ann, I feel like Lucy wouldn’t be able to handle it and that is exactly what Lucy is afraid of. My point is basically that depending on one person/thing excessively is a problem and can only lead to more problems.

Im sorry about that Joe. “Butch” is right I didn’t think of the possibility of different versions.

I agree with Sarah S’s last blog, the use of drugs shows me great immaturity in Lucy and a certain degree of stupidity. I know Lucy has been struggling her whole life, and she is just waiting and wanting to start living normally. Getting into drugs and alcohol is not a good start into living normally. I do not think in any way it is normal to do drugs, under any circumstances. If she was really trying to better herself for being normal and living a well to do life, she obviously did not think to get a head start on the race by acting normal even when she is thought to be different.

The quote in chapter three made by B—– is very interesting, because it reflects a popular belief about what it takes to be a success, what makes you great. On pages 39-40, Lucy’s boyfriend and Ms. Patchett have a conversation about what it takes to be a writer that she finds slightly overwhelming. B—– says that “If you don’t turn out pages every day, you’re not really a writer” and that if Ann doesn’t do the work, she won’t be anything, and her boyfriend will break up with her because she’s not going to be a real writer.

This may help explain why Lucy acted and felt the way she did later in life (this in response to Kelsey). She either was influenced by B—- or had similar views already, or both. She probably was both influenced, because the kind of experience she had with B—– is one that would leave an impression, and she also had already believed she had to look a certain way. Thus Lucy, believing that she has to do certain things and be a certain way, is miserable when she can’t keep a boyfriend, or have a pretty face, or be a great poet. In this Lucy is like most of us; we have things about ourselves that we don’t like- at least, I do. In a way, Lucy’s story is each of ours, and we can learn by it, but it is also hers alone. Because of this, we should treat it with respect. However; what B—- said is something I don’t agree to. In the first place, a person should not have his or her worth based on what he or she can do. People have innate worth because they are created in the image of God. Also, B—– is being a hypocrite, because he isn’t working at writing, so he can’t know what he’s talking about.

“I just feel so baseless, rootless but externally and internally….Maybe I should stop thinking I’m some sort of artist and look at…my never having really and truly succeeded at anything. All this surgery business is only delaying the inevitable while sending out some sort of smoke screen that lets people believe I’m doing something brave and strong (ha).” (64-63)

Sarah, I’m not sure I understand what you’re trying to say. Are you saying that because Lucy was miserable over not having a boyfriend, she was Living? I would think that means otherwise; because she didn’t have a guy she didn’t believe she was Living. She says that she will Live when she is done with her surgeries, when she is pretty again, but until then she doesn’t think she is doing the whole experience of life or her purpose in life. She is waiting to live until after her surgeries are “over”. That’s what she says, but I think she doesn’t really mean that. I mean, what if she had finally gotten through her surgeries, had finally gotten a face that was beautiful, then what? What would she live for? What would she do? I simply mean that when one’s whole life is devoted to a single purpose, and that purpose is finally, suddenly, complete, what does one do? Like in the scarlet letter; after Hester’s husband can no longer exact revenge on the minister, he shrivels and dies because he has no purpose. This quote seems to me to imply that Lucy may have known that without her surgeries, her fight, she would have nothing. She didn’t like writing, though she may have gotten her degree in TEFL and been a teacher; she says in this quote that she never succeeded, so she would have feared that after her surgeries she would be left with nothing. But I must not judge without compassion; Lucy’s is the plight of many. Who would not be afraid of living without purpose, and who has done so? Lucy is a unique individual, and her story is unique, such that we should not use it as merely an example, nor view it as merely an object of art, but as the struggles and successes of one of us.

“The damage that was done to her at ten would finally be made considerably better, if not right. Men would fall in love with her, no one would look twice, unless it was to admire. She would be freed from the greatest burden of her life. If that was the reward, then the pain and inconvenience of more surgery was an unconscionable price to pay.” (57)

One of the main things Lucy wanted out of life was to fall in love. She wanted nothing more than to have a man to love her but because of what happened to her at ten, she lost faith in love. When the opportunity to have another surgery came along, Lucy was always very accepting. She wanted nothing more than to become beautiful, and she wanted nothing more than to fall in love. She didn’t care about the pain that would come along with the surgery and she didn’t care about the amount of time that it would take for her to recover. All she cared about was what she would look like after. This passage shows the meaning behind all of her surgeries. It shows that she really didn’t care about anything other than leaving the old Lucy behind to become the Lucy she wanted to be. When one surgery would fail, she never really gave up. Sure she would get bummed out, but she never turned down a surgery that would follow another. It was all because she was willing to pay any price to relieve her from her biggest burden in life.

I agree with what Sarah S put. I believe it’s a very curious thing how Lucy believed that there was always just that one more thing she had to do before she could start “living.” In addition, I do not think this is a rare occurance among all people in general. It seems common for people to say they are going to start something “right after I do this.” For example, someone might say he’s going to start his homework “right after I finish watching Scrubs” or one might start working on Mrs. Benson’s year-long AP Gov project “right after Spring Break.” Lucy is not the only one who makes these decisions to begin something after something else, although hers is the most serious.

Butch-

I read the quote on page 97 and I think it best explains how Lucy felt towards Basquiat’s drawings. Lucy thought she finally had a true connection with the drawings but after seeing the children’s drawings it totally changed her opinion on Basquiat.

I just finished Truth and Beauty , and I have some last contemplations to add. Please forgive me for the length of this blog posting, but it is my final conglomerate of thoughts.

Firstly, I would like to add my thoughts to Alicia’s quote. She said that it represents the mutual relation that Ann and Lucy shared. However, I think it isn’t as symbiotic as one would have hoped. As I read Grealy’s work, I was inspired by the independence and perseverance Lucy held. However, Truth and Beauty told the same story from a rather different angle. I believe Ann is more honest than Lucy, so I find myself biased by Ann’s experiences with Lucy. It seems to me, after completing both Autobiography of a Face and Truth and Beauty , that Lucy seems to depend on Ann and constantly takes advantage of her unconditional love. If someone were to offer to pay for my gasoline for the rest of the year, it would not make us good friends or hold us in a good relationship. If I am correct, there was only one time Lucy actually helped Ann: she offered to do a dual book-signing. However, even this was not a repaying factor for Lucy; I don’t even think she would have done it had it not benefited herself. Therefore, I think we must do justice to Ann by saying the relationship was not mutualistic.

I talked to a close friend about a month ago about this book. At that point, I had not read the book, but he pointed out several similarities between Lucy Grealy and Lew Puller (from the Fortunate Son ). I now see several other similarities past the ones he brought up. Both Lew and Lucy had the need to mature as fast as they possibly could during their childhood. When Lew stepped on the particular Howitzer Round, and when Lucy developed the particular strand of Ewing’s Sarcoma, it changed their lives forever. Both lost weight dramatically, and it was improbable either would ever leave the Operating Room. Because of the incredible amount of pain they were both in, they became dependent on the substances that had become the cause of their respective deaths. They were able to put up with the physical discomforts (for the most part), but the emotional stress their conditions had left them in were their Achilles’ heels; Toddy divorces Lew because he became so distant from his family, and Stuart refuses to see Lucy because of her inability to stop using heroin. The amount of similarities in the two autobiographies is just remarkable. Two awe-inspiring idols with two tragic endings. It’s a shame.

I would like to briefly touch upon the omnipresent analogy to the grasshopper and the ant. Like Skyler pointed out, there are many people who find it most convenient to be lax until the eleventh hour and then rush to satisfy a deadline days before it is due. Being the ant that I am, this generally irritates me. Moreover, when the grasshopper’s book brought more success than the ant’s, I felt empathy for Ann. However, I don’t think Ann should have encouraged Lucy; after all, when the ant gives its food to the grasshopper, the grasshopper wins.

Finally, I think you did exceptionally in your explanation of pages 97 and 98, Sarah. It was drastically different from my explanation, but I reread it from the way you perceived it, and it made much more sense. Thank you for that.

“Sometimes I worried that Lucy saw me for the ant I was… Sometimes I was sure she did. Sometimes I aspired to be a grasshopper myself…”(203).

I found this parallel between Lucy and Ann interesting. Besides the fact that a grasshopper and an ant appear on the cover of the book, the metaphor fits the two friends well. Lucy, the grasshopper, lives out life on the edge with little thought of tomorrow while Ann the ant toils and toils with little recognition to be prepared for tomorrow. In the end, the ant survives the winter, but Ann struggles with the question of, “Was it worth it?” The question is even harder to answer since the grasshopper is her best friend. And in the end, even though the grasshopper dies due to her mistakes, it is the grasshopper who is remembered. Not the ant who toiled to make sure the grasshopper survived as long as she could.
I’m not saying Lucy was not an intelligent, strong person who was helpless without Ann; it’s just that there are numerous times in the book that without Ann’s help, Lucy probably wouldn’t have survived that long.
Even Lucy was aware of Ann’s behavior, “It’s your blessing and your curse. You’re always going to be fine”(72). Because of Ann’s attitude and ant-like diligence, Lucy knows that she may not be the popular person, but she will be just fine.

Jeremy-

You asked, “Would Lucy be better off if she wasn’t famous for her appearance?”
Lucy wouldn’t be better off if she wasn’t known for her appearance. Lucy’s book wouldn’t have been as famous as it was if it wasn’t for her face, and she would’ve never thought to write Autobiography of a Face. Also, She wouldn’t have met Ann if she weren’t so popular in College because of her appearance. All of the friends Lucy met were because of her face. Lucy wouldn’t have been as confident as she was if it wasn’t for her popularity. Without Lucy’s fame, she would have been a very lonely person.

Sam-

I agree with you on the fact that Lucy felt like everyone owes her. Lucy believed that she had paid her debt with her disfigured chin, so she didn’t need to pay her bills. However, she paid back loans from people that were less unfortunate than her. Lucy may have had a deformed chin, but that doesn’t allow her to throw her bills in a bag and just forget about them. There are many people out there that are a lot less unfortunate than Lucy, but they aren’t acting like they’re above everyone else. It’s okay to take out loans, but you must pay them back.

Rachel-

Lucy does persistently seek love in her life to hide her insecurities. Lucy stayed with B for such a long time, not because she loved him, but because he made her feel wanted. B told Lucy that she’d always be alone and no one would ever love her. B told her horrible she was basically worth nothing, but she didn’t care. Lucy just wanted to feel normal and having men and sex was her way of achieving that. With all of Lucy’s relationships, she never loved them; she just loved the idea of having someone that made her feel special.

“In her life she was in some kind of pain a great deal of the time, something she would only acknowledge if you asked her, but for the most part she didn’t mention it, which was why I knew the pain she was in now was so wrenching. She laid in her bed with her eyes closed and she cried,” (191).

This quote further explains pain as a part of being human. Lucy’s constant pain from surgeries actually made her stronger instead of weaker. The amount of self control that it takes to not ask for relief from the pain is unbelievable. Lucy did not say a word about the pain unless questioned. Mentally this made her very strong as well. Ann can tell how much life hurts Lucy, but the best she can do is be there for her. Acting as Lucy’s medicine support system without actually opening up the pill bottle became Ann’s purpose while Lucy recovered from surgery. With the number of operations Lucy endured through, it must have been quite special to have someone like Ann there for the few operations she was present for.

“She was ashamed of her eyelid, which had stayed swollen off and on… I told her constantly that those were things she should in no way be ashamed of, that shame should be reserved for the things we choose to do, not the circumstances life puts on us. But it was all just a matter of opinion. Telling yourself you shouldn’t be ashamed of something rarely got anyone anywhere” (Patchett 138).

I completely agree with Amanda Rossilli in saying that this is also my favorite quote out of the entire book. Even though I have not finished the book, I feel that it will be hard to top this aphorism (thank you Ms. Bildson). Without repeating Amanda, I will try to explain my views on this quote. I like the middle of this quote because it sends a message that everyone needs to hear every once in a while. Ann explains that the things that a person has no control over shouldn’t be dwelled upon by said person. The past cannot be changed, and if you had no input in producing the outcome, than you shouldn’t think much of it (the outcome). “You reap what you sow” (Galatians 6:7) is a passage that, to me, parallels Ann’s quote. You are responsible for yourself and can only be ashamed of the things that you made happen.

I particularly like the end of this quote because I find it unfortunately, all too true. Too many people believe that they can get through life by simply “talking the talk.” Just because you tell yourself something doesn’t mean you will do it or believe it. Many people think they really believe what they tell themselves, but in reality are only lying to themselves. I feel that in order to truly believe something that you tell yourself, you need to change the way you act to accommodate your belief and go out of your way to do it. It may be convenient and easy to simply avoid “walking the walk” but it makes you no better of a person and the lie can only create more lies and a phonier personality. This quote really spoke to me and should be a guideline that everyone tries to live by.

“Oh, people like to say when they hear this part of the story; this is why you and Lucy are so close. You went through the same thing. But nothing could be farther from the truth” (Patchett 10).

This passage shows me how even though Lucy and Ann were best friends in college their past apparently had nothing to do with that. I personally think that since they both have had facial problems from their past that effect them in parts of their future that allowed them to become better friends sharing a similar experience. I feel that this makes them more comfortable with each other even if they don’t want to say it, they both know their previous situation and the way it affects their everyday life. Even though Lucy’s issues were much more severe then Ann’s they both have felt the unwanted attention of awkward stares and people wondering about them. So even if they don’t admit that their pasts had anything to do with their friendship, I believe that it wasn’t necessarily the reason they became friends but it helped them understand each other better.

“’Does something which exists on the edge have no true relevance to the stable center, or does it, by being on the edge, become a part of the edge and thus a part of the boundary, the definition which gives the whole its shape?’”(37)

First the quote was confusing and I skipped it all together, but I went back and took the time to actually find the meaning. For example there is a house and there are flowers outside of the house. The house is able to stand alone and have meaning, but the question is whether or not the small flowers on the outside contribute to that meaning.

Though I believe Lucy was talking about poetry I found a deeper connection with the quote. Lucy’s personality was her “stable center”, and her looks we part of her “boundary”. She allowed her looks to change the type of person she was and overall “shape” her as a person. Lucy had gone through multiple surgeries because of her looks and became heavily depressed. She thought she would be happy once she accepted her looks, but her numerous surgeries had not made her any happier. What she really needed was to accept the person she was inside, the stable center and not let her looks shape who she was.

“‘You’re such a good friend to me, too.’
‘Oh no I’m not. Not like you.’ She sighed, watching me. ‘But at least I can make you feel like a saint. That’s what you’ve always wanted’” (Patchett 225).

I would like to add on to what Butch said about Lucy and Ann’s relationship. I agree that their friendship wasn’t mutual. Ann always seemed to get the short end of the straw. Lucy admits it in this quote; Ann admits it when she uses her grasshopper-ant analogy. But I also agree with Alicia, their differing personalities clicked and they worked well together. Ann didn’t mind being overshadowed, and Lucy liked getting the spotlight. As I write this, I am reminded of biology class when we learned about symbiotic relationships: mutualism, commensalism, parasitism. Most friendships are mutualistic; both friends benefit from having one another. Lucy and Ann’s friendship seems like it could be any of them, so I’m having trouble deciding.

Yes, this is seriously what floated through my mind when I was thinking about their friendship:

a. mutualism b. commensalism c. parasitism

Fill in the blank with a word from the word bank that best describes the relationship.
1. Tapeworm & human: ……c
2. Bee & flower: ……a
3. Clownfish & anemone: ……b
4. Lucy & Ann: ……?

“Butch” and Cat Chow-

I also am not sure if Lucy and Ann’s relationship would be mutualism, commensalism, or parasitism. As Cat said, “Ann always seemed to get the short end of the straw”, but the relationship worked for them. Ann loved Lucy and understood her flaws. Ann does seem to be more truthful in Truth and Beauty than Lucy was in Autobiography of a Face, and I think that may be part of why their relationship seems beautiful to me. Ann is truthful about the relationship she has with Lucy and doesn’t just show the reader everything good about it and leave out the bad. Whatever symbiotic relationship fits best with Lucy and Ann, they still “clicked” and this is what sticks out to me.

“‘They have what seems to be a perfect family… but she says she can’t enjoy it because she’s so unhappy about her writing… She was saying that I was so lucky because my career was going well… I think it’s been this way forever, but I used to be so worried I wasn’t going to make it. I wonder if I had found the perfect man and fallen in love but had never been able to get anything published, would I be just a miserable as I am now?’” (Patchett 169)

This passage shows the human flaw of never being satisfied with what you have. Most people think that the grass is always greener on the other side, but once they get what they want, they always want a little more. Lucy realizes this and for the moment ponders over the thought that she wouldn’t be able to have a family and a successful writing career. Lucy wonders if the two balance each other out and the absence of either will create the same amount of depression. There will always be something that you cannot have even though you may desperately want it. It is human nature to want more than you have and if you ever get your desired outcome, it is not as satisfactory as you had previously thought it would be. I believe this is because all of the time you spend wanting something, you falsely build it up to be something it’s not. This desire for more can be a dangerous downfall and it takes immense discipline and attention to overcome. The desire for Love led Lucy to her death, even though she had a very full life already.

“We were a pairing out of an Aesop’s fable, the grasshopper and the ant, the tortoise and the hare. And sure, maybe the ant was warmer in the winter and the tortoise won the race, but everyone knows that the grasshopper and the hare were infinitely more appealing animals in all their leggy beauty, their music and interesting side trips. What the story didn’t tell you is that the ant relented at the eleventh hour and took in the grasshopper when the weather was hard, fed him on his tenderest store of grass all winter. The tortoise, being uninterested in such things gave over his medal to the hare. Grasshoppers and hares find the ants and the tortoises. They need us to survive, but we need them as well. They were the ones who brought the truth and beauty to the party, which Lucy could tell you as she recited her Keats over breakfast, was better than food any day.” (Patchett 20).

I chose this passage because it teaches others and reminds myself that even though some deeds go unnoticed, they still are important. I agree with Katie Bovee’s statement when she mentioned, “…people don’t understand that the “grasshoppers and hares” need help and they don’t do it all themselves, without “the ants and the tortoises…” I myself don’t think people take into consideration the “behind the scene people” which in this case are the tortoises and ants. For example, after a theater play the ones who get the glory and the spotlight are the actors and actresses when it’s all over, but without the curtain people, choreographers, etc., then the play itself wouldn’t be possible. In Lucy’s case, people that know and understand her life story gives their sympathy and best wishes to her as Ann feels as if she doesn’t get the appreciation that she deserves when it’s because of her that Lucy is not completely miserable and lonely. Lucy needs Ann to comfort her and give her a sense of meaning and Ann needs Lucy to keep herself busy and to have someone to listen to her when she needs to let her emotions and feelings out.

“As much as Lucy liked my friends, it was important for her to know at every moment that she was my uncontested favorite” (Patchett 84).

Lucy does want to be reassured that she is Ann’s favorite, but this is not enough. Lucy also wants everyone else to know she’s the favorite. It is not enough for Lucy to ask Ann when they are alone or on the phone if she loves her; Lucy has to do it in front of others so that she feels she is in control. She wants attention, and not just from Ann, from everyone. She even sits on Ann’s lap in the middle of a lunch with their friend to prove she’s loved the most by Ann, which is quite rude. I don’t think it’s necessary for Lucy to go to these lengths. Their friendship should be enough to show that Ann loves her, and Lucy shouldn’t need Ann to show at every second that Lucy is her favorite.

“I left the house where I lived with someone who loved me to go to the house of someone who did not love me at all. Wasn’t it more important to live with a man, a man who was certain to wake up one day and be happy because I was there with all my good intentions sleeping beside him? Wasn’t it more valuable than staying with a friend who made me laugh, who made me think about everything, but was, in the end¸ just a girl”(45).

Patchett’s memoir was not simply a recollection of events to remember Lucy, instead the novel was written to justify Ann’s actions throughout life. I do not believe the words Ann had put together were entirely true. Even Lucy said “I didn’t remember it… I wrote it. I’m a writer”(141), when asked how she remembered events and conversations so clearly. On the surface, the novel was written for Lucy displaying the friendship she cared strongly about. Behind it all, Patchett wrote the story for herself because she wanted to justify what she had done. In the above quote, Patchett questions whether her actions were right, but tries to prove that she had made the right decision.

Patchett had felt bad when leaving Lucy alone and depressed. She didn’t want to believe that if she had stayed with Lucy through her loneliness, things may have been different. By writing the book Ann convinced herself she was truly there for Lucy at all times when this might have not been accurate. After all, in Lucy’s novel “Autobiography of a Face” Ann was rarely mention in the 256 page book about her life. Throughout the novel Ann and Lucy talk about their writing as a way to collect thoughts. After Lucy had died, this was the closure that Ann needed to not blame herself for the lonely and depressed life Lucy had lived, but feel as if she had contributed to making Lucy’s life better.

Andrea-

I agree with you in saying that Ann was trying to justify leaving Lucy. She knew that leaving her would hurt, but she did it in the hopes of finding love. It comes across as her thinking that being with someone and hoping that one day they will love you is more important than being with your best friend who you know loves you. I’m sure she didn’t mean that a man;slove is better than a friends love. It’s just different. I know she didn’t do it out of spite towards Lucy but because she wanted to find love from another person as well.

“Both of our books came in at about the same time, but Lucy’s was forever accompanied by a story that made it seem breathless, lucky, magic, while mine was pretty much just a book” (Patchett 117).

Because Ann is the ant, I do not believe that she particularly had a problem with how her book was “just a book”. Lucy was the one who wanted everything to be charmed. Even though Lucy was the one whose book was charmed, they both got their books out and Ann’s regular method of writing her book suited her just fine.

I sometimes get the impression from Ann’s writing that she says things more from Lucy’s point of view. In this instance she says her book is “just a book” which is more what Lucy would think about it, and I cannot imagine that Ann was disappointed that her book wasn’t charmed as Lucy’s was. The truth is that Ann still created a piece of art that is most likely beautiful (Seeing as I have not read any of her books other than Truth and Beauty, I cannot know for sure) and I believe that because she is the “ant”, it still satisfied her.

“I knew that by writing a novel, she felt like she was straying onto my turf. For Lucy it was very important that our professional careers remain separate. When I had wanted to work with her editor, Betsy Lerner, for my third novel, The Magician’s Assistant, Lucy gave me her grudging approval. But after I met with Betsy and told Lucy how much I liked her and how I hoped she’d buy the book, Lucy changed her mind and told me I wasn’t allowed to work with Betsy after all” (Patchett 165).

Ann shouldn’t need Lucy’s permission to work with her editor. Ann says she feels like “a complete idiot”, because Lucy said she could work with her editor, but it turns out Ann will have to tell Betsy they’re actually not working together. Why would Ann ask Lucy for permission in the first place? It is not right for Lucy to keep her friend from this. Because Lucy originally told Ann she could work with Betsy, it made it even worse when she changed her mind than if she had originally said no. Ann was very happy about Betsy and liked her. How could Lucy keep her from that? If Ann felt so strongly (as Lucy did) about keeping their professional careers separate, she would not have allowed Lucy to write a novel at all. What I wonder is how Lucy would have reacted had Ann aspired to be a poet. In this instance with Ann and Lucy’s relationship, it does not seem mutual at all; Lucy can stray onto Ann’s turf by writing a novel, yet Ann cannot work with Lucy’s editor.

“In our friendship I had spent a lot of time telling Lucy to pull herself up, to get over the past and move on. That was my role, the best of my Catholic education in action, and I didn’t worry about it because I knew that she had other friends, friends who were as close to her as I was, who were more tender,” (208).

This quote shows the boundaries of Ann’s commitment to a unique friendship with Lucy. She supports Lucy but to a certain extent. There comes a point when moving on is the best solution for Lucy, and Ann wants her to take it. Lucy has a hard time pulling through with Ann’s encouragement, which is why Ann knows that she has more friends that can help her. Ann will help Lucy with what she is capable. In other words, Ann began to realize that she was not the only one who Lucy had in terms of a support team. For the most part she was at the top of Lucy’s list. With nicknames like Axiom of Faith, Angora and Pet, the friendship between them was more than influential.

“‘Lucy’s not going to die,’ I said. Suddenly I was angry. ‘These are candy-ass suicide attempts. She may wind up homeless. She may alienate everyone she knows, but she isn’t going to die. Lucy will be the last one of us left standing.’ Life had been conspiring to kill Lucy since she was ten years old and life had failed. At every turn she wrestled with death. She always won” (Patchett 247).

Ann is angry simply because she is in denial and refuses to give up Lucy. Ann has watched Lucy go through horrible things throughout her life and always make it out okay. Ann views Lucy as inhuman almost and invincible, she also makes a comment on this at the very end of the book realizing that it was her only mistake. Ann watches someone that she has looked up to rapidly fall apart and lose control over life. Ann is scared that no matter what she does, she cannot change what Lucy will inevitably do to herself. Lucy knows that Ann is horribly disturbed by her recent practices and begins to lie to make her feel better. I believe Ann knew Lucy would die; it was only a matter of being okay with it and accepting it as unchangeable.

I have finished the book and would just like to comment on the connections between Autobiography of a Face and Truth & Beauty. I find it interesting how in Lucy’s book, she writes about events but then cuts out the ending so the event itself seems like a completely different experience. When Patchett goes into more detail where Grealy leaves off, the difference is amazing. The entire effect that the event has on Lucy’s life is switched around. I also noticed that one part of Truth & Beauty is word for word a page or two from Autobiography of a Face; I just thought that was interesting.

“People made an effort to find out the details of her life. They knew her story and mistook that for actually knowing her, exactly as I had done. So many people thought Lucy was rude because she made no effort to return all the familiarity that poured down on her” (Patchett 48).

This passage shows how other people see Lucy, and how they think Lucy knows them when really they’ve just heard of her. Most people where ever Lucy travels don’t truly know her, they just know her story. Just like Ann knew her in college, she didn’t really know her for more then what happened to her to her; and Lucy didn’t know Ann at all. So the public knows Lucy apparently very well, where Lucy has no idea who those people are. This gets Lucy thinking that she can never get away from the unwanted attention she gets. Because of this Lucy truly believes that people only know her because of her face, and she struggles to overcome that.

I have to agree with Andrea Z’s blog about the passage she wrote about on page 37. Lucy’s face is always changing and because of that she’s constantly changing herself along with that. Lucy cares too much about her looks and how she appears to the world. She believes that if her body is beautiful and she can get men that they will love her unconditionally. But when those relationships don’t work out, she becomes depressed and Ann has to work with her to build her self esteem back up. Lucy needed to learn to love herself the way she is and let other people have their opinions and not care about them.

“She once became terribly jealous of a beautiful woman who had ovarian cancer because to Lucy the disease had done nothing but increase the woman’s glamour. “I wish I had ovarian cancer,” she said sullenly.” (Patchett 91-92)

Lucy believed that what she had to go through was much worse than the hardships that other people had gone through. She believed that she had experienced more pain and hardship than anyone else in the world. When she saw people who had suffered she didn’t understand that there are many types of pain and even if she had experienced a lot of one type she might not have ever experienced those other types. For example maybe the women really wanted kids but because of the cancer she no longer could. Lucy didn’t know the women so she couldn’t know what kind of pain the women went through. She judges based on her experience but she hasn’t gone through everything. A person can not judge another person’s pain unless they know the person and more importantly, the pain.

In response to Cat Chow’s post:

I tried to take a different point of view and question Lucy and Ann’s relationship. Ann never really had anything amazing going for her in life besides her novels and a few relationships. By putting Lucy in her life it allowed her some kind of purpose. She kept going back to Lucy, and always thought about her, even wrote a book about her to feel like she had some stronger meaning on someone’s life. Kind of like community service, if someone were to give back, they also get the feeling of accomplishment by helping someone. It helps create a life that is worth living. Without Lucy, Ann was just another writer. Lucy had had help from Ann multiple times, which is a relationship, but sometimes I question their friendship. Every relationship is created to gain something, which sounds selfish but is true. Again a person does not serve the community just because, they do even if it’s just to gain the good feeling inside. But if Ann was a true friend of Lucy, then why was she always lonely? It could be the whole mental, self esteem thing but if the friendship was as strong as Ann depicted it to be, why would Lucy feel so alone. It was a mutual relationship, and both characters had benefits from it but the thing I still wonder if it was a friendship, or a relationship of convenience.

“ ‘I’m all alone,’ she would start.
…braced myself to go again, ‘You’re not all alone. You have a ton of friends in Cambridge. You go out every night.’
‘I don’ have a boyfriend. Nobody loves me.’
‘For God’s sake, Lucy, I love you. Everybody loves you.’”,(107-108).

“Without writing, Lucy was just another patient in the surgical ward, waiting for her tissue expander to fill with the saline and stretch out her skin. Without writing, I was another waitress like all the other waitresses in Nashville who were waiting for their big publishing deal.” (62)
I chose this passage because of the message it is portraying. I believe that Ann Patchett is trying to tell the reader that everyone needs to have something to hold close to them and this object, being tangible or not, is what people need to get them through tough times. In the novel, both Ann and Lucy have their ability to write in which they use to cope with times of loneliness and sadness. For me, I have my family and friends to get me through tough times. If I am ever in need of sense of belonging, I always know who to look to. I also believe Ann Patchett is trying to tell the reader that everyone has something that makes them unique. Lucy has her ability to write as mentioned before that set her apart from the other waitresses whom she worked with. In my case, I have a sense of humor which sets me apart from the other “Drabek’s,” thus making me unique as well.

“I told her constantly that those were things she should in no way be ashamed of, that shame should be reserved for the things we choose to do, not the circumstances that life puts on us” (138).
Throughout the novel, Lucy feels ashamed of the appearance of her face due to Ewing’s sarcoma which took half of her jaw, thus disfiguring her face. Lucy’s friend Ann Patchett told her that she should not be ashamed of the way she looks because the only thing one should be ashamed of is the “things we choose to do.” Some people say, “From this quote I learned blah, blah, blah” for the sole fact that they need something to write about so it doesn’t look as if they just wrote a sentence. But after reading this passage, I can say to myself that I actually learned something. If something happens to you that is inevitable, then so it happens and there’s nothing to be ashamed of. But if you make the wrong choice and do something you regret or regret not doing something, then that is one of those moments when you should be ashamed. Lucy had absolutely no say in whether she should have Ewing’s sarcoma, therefore there is nothing to be ashamed. The problem in today’s society is that some people say and do things that make people feel ashamed of things that others have no control over. I myself am guilty of doing this, and after reading this passage I truly am going to think twice in the future of what I say.

“Death destroys a man but the Idea of Death can save him” (Patchett 238).
After skimming through some of these blogs to see if someone had used this quote, I saw Aditya had so I read his response to it. I agreed with what he had to say about the quote but I wanted to bring something that he said to attention; “When people have a feeling they are going to die, they tend to try to save themselves.” Although I agree with this statement, I see it as a flaw in humans as well. When living life, one can’t go through with it as an ordeal in which they have to stay alive because if so, they aren’t living. As Claude Pepper once said, “Life is like riding a bicycle. You don’t fall off unless you plan to stop peddling.” Life is about having the freedom to pursue happiness and take on challenges to prove one’s conscience wrong and on the lifelong road, he or she cannot worry about death. Now back to the quote. I wanted to ask others for further debate whether or not one should live life carefully with the thought of death as a possible scenario in the back of his or her head’s at all times or should one live life with no cares in the world and just live as if nothing could possibly go wrong.

“I don’t want to be alone anymore” (patchett 116).
Lucy blamed many of her problems on her cancer. Although Lucy endure a lot and overcame many obstacles she was still very negative and used cancer as an excuse not to go out live her life and find someone who was just right for her. Her cancer should have actually been more of a benefit to her than a detriment because it gave her fame for her writing. It also helped her gain more of a perspective on life. She let her cancer affect her social life she constantly worried about what other people would think of her. Lucy didn’t want to be alone and had to stop using excuse if she wanted to find someone who loves her that she loves.

“Lucy had always wanted to be in AA. “It would be such a great way to meet people,” she said. “Plus I’d have someplace i had to go everyday.”…She said there was no point in her going to AA because she wasn’t about to give up drinking if she had to give up drugs.” (Patchett 233)

Throughout her whole life i feel Lucy always looked for a way to get more attention than her other friends. Whether it was one night stands with guys, complaining to Ann about how lonely she was, etc. Lucy would create ideas of ways she could meet more people or get more attention but never really pulled through and completed those ideas or even attempted them. AA would have been great for Lucy but she was to scared to give up any of her alcohol or drugs, they were another way people would feel sorry for her, and she liked being the one everyone felt sorry for.
I know that is harsh but i believe she would exaggerate her feelings so friends like Ann could comfort her.

“Life had been conspiring to kill Lucy since she was ten years old and life had failed. At every turn she wrestled with death. She always won,” (247).

This quote is Lucy’s life in words. It starts at her childhood, sticking with her through high school, and for the rest of her life cancer creeps through and never goes away. Constantly dealing with the cancer itself and all of the problems that come with it, everything she had was tested. Her patience, will, strength, and emotions were challenged, but made their way back to the top every time. With drugs in her system as well, she was confronted from two sides of herself. One side is physical and the other is mental. Life gives everyone circumstances we have to deal with, and for Lucy she could battle through. The Lord never gives anyone more than they can handle.

“‘You can’t make something sound so easy when I haven’t been able to do it my whole life,’ she said. ‘It isn’t easy. It’s impossible’”. (Patchett 150)

Truth and Beauty is the title, as odd as it sounds. Truth to me represents reality. Throughout the book Lucy had to face reality but never really chose to accept it. After thirty years of what she even knew to be impossible she never once accepted it. At times Ann thought Lucy to see herself as “invincible” after over thirty surgeries and never paying off her debt. She tried to fight the truth her whole life. The whole time I read Truth and Beauty and Autobiography of a Face I wanted Lucy to grow up and get over it. But the thing is she never grew up. Her whole life was the same. Surgery after surgery, no one ever loved her, and being made fun of; nothing was different. She lived the same life since she was nine and was kind of forced to grow up in a way . From Butch’s blog from forever ago, he said “With every experience he has, he is corrupted and loses more of his innocence”, which I completely agree with. I feel like Lucy at the age of nine lost her innocence right away and nothing really ever changed because she had the same experience her whole life so I can understand why she was childish. No matter how much people told her she was beautiful she had to accept it herself. She thought beauty was found by surgery, when the real beauty was in the life she already had.

“Lucy talked about how she spent her childhood thinking life would start after the surgery stopped”(182). Lucy was the one who had to stop the surgeries. Once she accepted the way she was and had no more surgeries that would be the moment where her life would be happier. Her life started the day she was born but once she found her Beauty and realized the Truth she would live the life she wanted. When she went to Aberdeen she complained about how lonely her life was. If she really thought about it, if she wasn’t so obsessed with changing the way she looked she wouldn’t have had to travel forever away and could have been with Ann or her other friends. By her wanting to become beautiful and less lonely, she made her loneliness even worse.

“I couldn’t understand how she could present so much misery to me when so many of the things she had dreamed about had come true for her: she was out of Scotland, her face was greatly improved, she had an important fellowship at Radcliffe and a book contract and a large circle of devoted friends. It was true, she didn’t have a boyfriend, but that wasn’t reason enough to overlook everything else” (pg108-109).

Lucy had the thought in her head that she couldn’t be happy without a boyfriend. She completely disregards the wonderful and miraculous things around her and sits upon that one fact. She doesn’t seem to understand that you do not need a man to make you happy. You can make yourself happy. Your friends can make you happy. Lucy had accomplished many things that people didn’t think she would: her face was looking a million times better, as Ann might have said, she had finally gotten that book contract and things on almost every level were looking up for her. Lucy needs to realize that there are more important things in life than having a boyfriend. Let the people that are around you and love you make you happy.

“After spending so much of her youth trying to turn people’s attention away from her face, she now pulled the light directly onto her jaw, her childhood, her humiliation. It was a decision that sent her in another direction entirely.” (105-106)

When Lucy was asked to write an essay for a book, she wrote about everything that came along with her cancer. She wrote about all the pain and the teasing she had endured because of her cancer, as well as the way she would feel on Halloween. The reason she loved Halloween so much was because she was able to just be like all the other kids. By covering her face with a mask, nobody knew who she was and she liked that. She liked not being recognized and she liked not receiving any attention, because it made her forget about all the pain and embarrassment her face caused her. In my opinion, when Lucy wrote the book and opened up about a lot of the things that came along with the cancer, good things started happening to her. Just by telling her story, more opportunities started to arise for her. In my opinion this passage explains how she chose to open up. When she was younger, she was trying to get rid of all the attention that was put on her face, now that she decided to open up and write about her situation, everything was put out in the open. By doing this, I think that she began to gain more confidence in herself because she finally began to see all the good that could come by letting her guard down and just being herself.

“Lucy thought that all she needed was one person, the right person, and all the empty space would be taken away from her. But there was no one in the world who was big enough for that. She believed that if she had a jaw that was like everyone else’s jaw, she would have found that person by now” (Patchett 171).

When Lucy is in Scotland she wishes for so many things about her writing, but when she finally gets a book written, it is not enough. Even when she gets to go on TV and her book is “charmed” as she wants it, it is not enough. My thought is that if Lucy ever got her jaw to be absolutely perfect, if it were absolutely impossible to tell there was anything wrong with it in the first place, it still wouldn’t be enough and she would still feel lonely and depressed. Even if her face became perfect, she would still be the same Lucy, with the same personality. Looks shouldn’t keep a man from loving her, but they might keep him from noticing her in the first place. She would end up taking things for granted and still not think it was enough, because Lucy spent so much time building up the idea of “True Love” in her mind, and nothing real would ever live up to it. Lucy had more than she thought she did, and if she would have only taken notice of it, she might have been happier.

“’The important thing is you’re getting better.’ It was a mean thing to say. I didn’t miss her. And I needed to pack” (Patchett 251).

The part of Truth and Beauty where Lucy is struggling with her heroin addiction is undoubtedly my least favorite part of the book. It is terrible how Lucy’s addiction hurts Ann and Lucy’s relationship. I hate how Lucy avoids Ann’s calls and how Ann doesn’t even miss Lucy at times. The heroin Lucy uses to feel better when she is high tears her away from Ann and probably some of her other friends as well. Her means of avoiding her loneliness makes her lonelier and is the cause of her death. In fact, if Lucy wants true love, it would be hard to find if she’s getting high all the time. It’s harder for me to read about Lucy’s addiction to heroin than about her problems with her face and her multiple surgeries because Lucy doesn’t have control over her face, but she had control over starting heroin.

“There were so many friends, so many people who loved her, who had histories with her I had never even heard. People who were smart and funny and accomplished. So many of them. So many of us in love with her” (Patchett 226).

She had so many friends who loved her, and I feel it’s terrible that she started the heroin because she felt she was terribly lonely and unloved, when in fact, she had many, many friends who loved her very much.

“… she was making art, not documenting an event, That she choose to tell her own extraordinary story was sort of secondary importance. Her cancer and subsequent suffering had not only made this book. She had made it. Her intellect and ability were in every sense larger than the disease” (Patchett 142).

I think this quote means that Lucy’s story is not just a list of procedures or treatments she went though, it is a journey. The story of her journey is phenomenal because her story is described by what she is going though in all aspects of life. Although her journey in colors would seem to be gray, it is not, it is colorful. All of Lucy’s hardships and experiences are put together to create a novel that is a beautiful work of art. The thing I like about this book is that it doesn’t just talk about Lucy’s cancer it talks about her life and all of her experiences. It is interesting hearing Lucy’s story from Ann’s prospective. I personally liked Autobiography of a face better because it was from Lucy’s point of view.

“We were a pairing out of an Aesop’s fable, the grasshopper and the ant, the tortoise and the hare. And sure, maybe the ant was warmer in the winter and the tortoise won the race, but everyone knows that the grasshopper and the hare were infinitely more appealing animals in all their leggy beauty, their music and interesting side trips. What the story didn’t tell you is that the ant relented at the eleventh hour and took in the grasshopper when the weather was hard, fed him on his tenderest store of grass all winter. The tortoise, being uninterested in such things, gave over his medal to the hare. Grasshoppers and hares find the ants and tortoises. They need us to survive, but we need them as well. They were the ones who brought the truth and beauty to the party, which Lucy would tell you as she recited her Keats over breakfast, was better than food any day” (Patchett 20).

Ann tended to focus in on her studies and work rather than having fun and discovering the beauty in life. Ants like Ann need grasshoppers like Lucy to remind them how to live life and appreciate the beauty of it. Thats the point Ann is making with this quote. Lucy taught Ann to enjoy life. Ann helped Lucy through the rough patches in her life and kept her on track. The friendship between Lucy and Ann created the perfect balance of order and fun. I chose this quote because I think it holds true in many relationships. It is easy to fall into the pattern of a path-oriented life. While this might be the safe route to take, it usually doesn’t reveal much about the world or ourselves. If everyone went through life doing “what they were told to,” then the world would never progress. That is why I believe that every ant needs a grasshopper: to keep what they’re doing in perspective. While the ants keep the world under control, the grasshoppers continue the innovation that moves our kind ahead. The grasshopper, however, needs the ant to keep him or her from losing his or her focus and for protection. This quote truly describes Ann and Lucy’s relationship. Ann was responsible and Lucy was fun and popular. This gave them someone to fill in the traits the other lacked.

“It was not a greefing as it was a claim: she was staking out this spot on my chest as her own and I was to hold her for as long as she wanted to stay” (Patchett 6).

I chose this quote because it illustrates the relationship Lucy and Ann have. Lucy expects Ann to take care of her and to always be there for here. Thoughout the entire book, Lucy would get jealous of others that Ann loved. Lucy would constantly ask Ann is she loved her. Lucy was “claiming” Ann all to herself. Is there any reason to believe that Lucy wasn’t just using Ann? Ann did everything for Lucy, including cleaning, giving her money, etc. When it came time that Lucy needed the most help, Lucy “left the place she was staked out at in Ann’s chest”. This hurt Ann terribly. Lucy came and went out of Ann’s life when she pleased. Am i the only one who thought Ann did everything for Lucy, but Lucy got nothing in return?

woops, the last part should be “but Ann got nothing in return?”

“For Lucy, a single surgery was more like a fitting for a dress, or the rearranging of living room furniture: it was only a step towards something else. She never gave up believing that there would be a final moment, a last surgery, a point at which her “real life” would begin” (Patchett 57).

Lucy lives most of her life thinking her “real life” is getting closer and closer the more surgeries she has. Lucy LIVES for the one day when she can walk down the street and not have anyone “gawk” at her. When in reality, Lucy’s face will never be “done”. She views her face as never permanent since it’s always changing. She will always have a certain area she will want to fix. She will never be fully satisfied and comfortable with her face. Lucy lived her whole life with insecurities, and in a way, she wasted precious time. Instead of worrying that no one will love her, Lucy should have accepted the fact that surgery can only do so much for her and that her problems resolved around her self confidence – not her face.

“Every single person there believed that he or she was just passing through. We were all going to be something big, something important. I believed it about myself as well” (Patchett 56).
I picked this quote because I believed that everyone in the real world wants to be something, and usually we want to be known or important. In the real world we know that’s not the case but certain things we do make us feel important.

We want to be successful, we want different things which are just a luxury, but seem to be a necessity. We try as hard as we can to reach that dream that goal. When times are bad we think it’s just a phase and it will pass, but that’s not always it. When you do become big and important it’s just a feeling, a feeling that only you can feel and you might be the only one who notices it. No one else does or cares because they’re too busy thinking about themselves and hoe they can be important.

“[Lucy] could be completely at ease when the tape was rolling but when she saw herself played back, she tore the performance apart. It only had to happen once or twice and then she learned her lesson” (Patchett 135).
Most people are either shy or confident. When Lucy goes on television she’s over the top confident. She critics herself only after sees the video if she doesn’t see it she thinks she did a great job. Usually when a person finishes something they either criticize or compliment themselves. For example after you have taken a test, if you think the test was really easy you did well on it. If it was hard you might have not done so well on it. So if Lucy doesn’t want to criticize herself she doesn’t watch the show.

“She never gave up believing that there would be a final moment, a last surgery, a point at which her ‘real life’ would begin” (Patchett 57).

This is a sad truth about the way Lucy viewed her life. For most, if not all, of her life, she believed there would be an end. She thought that one day a final surgery would fix all her problems and she would begin a new and happier life. This mentality caused Lucy to be hasty to try new surgeries in hopes of a final cure. This could potentially be problematic if she were to rush into a serious surgery that could cause her more problems than solutions. This mentality could cause many mental problems for Lucy about her appearance and could lead her to drastic measures.

“We were all better off living in the worlds inside our heads.” (Patchett 76)

Although this sentence is short and Ann does not go into detail with it, it catches my eye nonetheless. The whole book so far has been about two girls becoming failed writers who are living on no money and seem to have no future. The only way we know that Ann is going to end up writing a book is because the book is evidence. To most people, Ann and Lucy look like the laziest writer ever to be considered a writer and a cancer veteran. But they themselves are filled with hope that their futures will one day change. When people have nothing going for them, sometimes the only thing that keeps them from thinking so are how they see themselves

“Lucy absolutely insisted on the idea that she lived a charmed life, perhaps a way of counterbalancing the parts of her story when charm had been in such short supply. She wanted always to believe that she was someone who simply fell into things, she was lucky, one of the blessed few who always found the right place at the right time. And because she insisted on it, it did in fact happen for her quite often, though never as often as she needed it to” (Patchett 117).

Lucy’s happiness was derived from how special she felt. Lucy longed to be the “special case”, to be unique and loved for all of the things that made her different. Being special allowed Lucy to be comfortable with herself and escape all of her insecurities, of which she battled endlessly.
However, Lucy was never satisfied by how special, unique or popular she became. There was always something missing for her, always a complaint about her life. Whether it was lonesomeness, looks or love, Lucy drove herself into depression by pulling herself apart and trying to perfect aspects of her life. She never reached a stage of self-acceptance, although she had overcome and accomplished more than ever expected of her. She never maintained her happiness, always drove it away with her constant criticisms, which she let take over her life.

“In Autobiography of a face, Lucy talked about how she spent her childhood thinking that real life would start after the surgeries stopped. I thought she was being ironic this time, dredging up an idea she’d relied on for so many years. There was no irony” (Patchett182).

This quote means that Lucy thinks that once her surgeries are done she can live her life. The problem with that thought is that the surgeries are real life. Her surgeries would never stop and she has to still go on living life. Ann Patchett thought it was ironic because she was living real life regardless if she was having surgeries or not. There was no irony because she never had life after surgery and Lucy still lived a purposeful life.

“Lucy, weighing about a hundred pounds, having survived thirty-eight operations, had become officially invincible. She believed that the most basic rules of life did not apply to her, and over the course of our friendship, without me knowing when it had happened, I had come to believe it myself. The sheer force of Lucy’s life convinced me that she would live no matter what. That was my mistake” (Patchett 256-257).

This Quote represents Lucy’s battle against cancer. Lucy overcame many obstacles in her life. She seemed as if she was invincible having gone through so much. I think that Lucy survived as far as she did because she always believed things could get better. Lucy thought that she would be able to live “real life” after all the surgeries were over. Ann also believed Lucy was unbeatable and that she would be okay no matter what. Ann and Lucy made the mistake that there was always going to be another day and that the cancer would never take Lucy.

“She had taught before and she liked a routine, two things I never went in for.” (Patchett 163)

This quote says that Ann doesn’t like teaching or routines, and that Lucy does. However, in the rest of her book, it seems that things are the other way around; meaning Ann is organized, and steady, which usually when someone is that way one thinks they like a routine; and Lucy is the flighty party girl who can’t get any writing done. Ann summarizes this with Aesop’s fable of the Grasshopper and the Ant, which is a good example of literary technique usage. In most of her book, Ann compares herself to the hardworking Ant and Lucy to the beautiful lazy Grasshopper, but in this quote she seems to contradict herself. She is the one who doesn’t like routine, yet she works more steadily than Lucy. Aesop writes the Grasshopper as the one who is lazy all summer, and the Ant as the one who works, and it is possible to work without a routine, but otherwheres in her book, Ann writes about how she wrote The Patron Saint of Liars at a rate of several pages each day, which implies routine. I find it very interesting that Ann, who is the self-acknowledged Ant, doesn’t like sticking to a schedule, and Lucy, the Grasshopper, does. The way different aspects of who Ann is go together, and how Lucy has this like for routine in teaching, is interesting.

“We had invented time, and we could not kill it fast enough. After dinner, dancing, and baths, we read, wrote our poems and stories, brushed our teeth, and tumbled into bed, only to find the next day was exactly the same. We had not moved one inch forward in the night. It was like prison, not in the punishment but in the vast sameness of the days. We were impossibly rich in time, and we lavished the excess on one another” (Patchett 21).

This quote appeals to me because it describes the monotony of life. The lazy and pleasurable days that Lucy and Ann glide through make me think of summer. Each minute seems to creep by slowly, but when you look back, you realize that two months are already gone. Life always seems pleasant but boring when you have all the time in the world. Even with something like work or school filling your schedule, days can still feel repetitive. Most people spend their lives doing the same things day after day. Occupation, fame, and wealth don’t matter; life can be like a prison for anyone.

“I used to think that once you really knew a thing, its truth would shine on forever. Now it’s pretty obvious to me that more often than not the batteries fade, and sometimes what you knew even goes out with a bang when you try and call on it, just like a lightbulb cracking off when you throw the switch” (Patchett97).

This quote represents Ann’s attempts at helping Lucy. Towards the begining of the book, we see that Lucy and Ann are completely inseperable. Gradually, with fame and stress, Lucy becomes addicted to drugs and is quite promiscuous. The division between “calm and responsible Ann” and “wild and crazy Lucy” begins to widen. This is where Lucy’s and Ann’s friendship begins to tear apart. Ann tries to get Lucy help, but Lucy never wants it. Lucy doesn’t want to disappoint her. Eventually Lucy dies of “accidental overdose”. I feel that if Lucy didn’t keep pushing Ann away when she offered help, Lucy would still be alive today.

Butch,
I appreciate your comment about your thoughts about how truth and beauty are intertwined with one’s innocence, and a child being born with truth and beauty, but I disagree. First truth and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think that when one is born or innocent he/ she knows very little about the world , in fact he/ she when born (or innocent) is shielded from most of the world. So how can one really know about what is truth and what is beauty, compared to the little they know? And how can one lose truth and beauty as they age? As one ages they begin to understand the concepts of truth and beauty. So I disagree with the thought of beauty and truth being lost as one ages. As one ages they begin to establish their own truth and pass judgment on beauty. My understanding of both words, “truth and beauty”, is that in this society they are considered standards. If someone is not up to par with these terms and standards, then how can they compare and apply them to images, and ideas of the world?

“She told me the truth according to B- was that she was always going to be alone, that no one would ever love her, and it wasn’t because of the way that she looked, it was because of who she was as a person”(Patchett 38).

In some ways I agree with B-’s comment. Most relationships need substance (not just based on looks) . It’s what’s inside both people, the commitment, the compromise, and the integrity combined to make a good relationship. However, I don’t think that Lucy will be alone because of her personality. She will be alone because of her unhappiness with herself, and her low self esteem. These combined will weigh down her relationships. Of course, as readers the question pops up, why would she continue to have low self esteem? Ann Patchett shows kindness to her, and even shows the perspective of others admiring her, and loving her. But, Patchett reminds us how after being encouraged with high self esteem, she is faced with adversity from gawkers, and her haunting past of bullying from her high school years, which is ultimately still damaging . Ann Patchett uses this passage to establish Lucy’s true fear and internment. This passage appeals to me because it foreshadows Lucy’s conflicts in her relationships.

“Twelve years of beating cancer had taught Lucy that she was invincible and that that nothing, none of it, was ever going to catch up with her. She had a sense of superiority where money was concerned. She believed that not having any made her worldly and wily, in the same way she believed that coming from the suburbs had branded me forever as naïve” (Patchett 29).
This quote shows Lucy’s perspective of herself compared to other people who were more fortunate than her with money and health. Lucy feels that because she grew up with hospital debt all her life, she is stronger than someone who grew up with little or no money troubles. Lucy also feels that she is invisible because she had cancer, went through chemotherapy, and survived. I feel these do make Lucy a strong person. However, these do not make Lucy invisible to her feelings about her inner beauty. Lucy is insecure with herself because of all the hardships she went through and is a stronger person for it; but not invincible.

“As much as Lucy liked my friends, it was important for her to know at every moment that she was my uncontested favorite…and insisted on sitting in my lap whenever I tried to talk to someone else” (Patchett 84-85).
I chose this quote because it shows how much Lucy needs to feel she has the most love. Since Lucy feels her face is ugly and unlovable so she constantly needs to be told she is loved. In the book she constantly asks Ann if she loves her. Lucy is a very strong person, and this shows her weak point. Earlier in the book Lucy said everyone knows her name because no one forgets her face. So, even though many people know her, Lucy needs to have someone closer not just a good friend. Everything she went through as a child between the teasing and chemotherapy made her need to feel loved more than other people.

“Lucy assessed pain of the body by the standards of her own experience and found that just about everyone else came up short. Especially those on whom the ravages of illness could not be see… “I wish I had ovarian cancer” she said sullenly” (Patchett 93).
I chose this passage because it shows Lucy’s opinion of other people that were also going through pain. Lucy feels she is better than everyone else because of the pain she went through and what it left behind; a missing jaw. I don’t believe this is fair to say because Lucy had no control over the pain she was going through with the cancer, only with what happened afterwards. Also if Lucy had ovarian cancer instead, she would have ended up a completely different person. Lucy also would have then thought it was the worst and wished she had a smaller problem. Whenever someone is going through pain it feels like it is the worst and there is always something better, but, there is always something worse.

“Lucy could go on for hours and then days about the smallest inner workings of her emotional suffering, but in the face of physical pain she was both stoic and philosophical,” (Patchett 190).

Although Lucy had to go through immense physical pain throughout her life, the emotional suffering take more of a toll on her. She complains over and over again about the loneliness and lack of love in her life. However, when it comes to her skin grafts and surgeries, she tries her hardest to be brave. Part of the desire to stay strong through physical pain is possibly due to her relationships with doctors; she has a constant need to appear brave and invincible around them which is her motivation to stifle her physical sufferings. Unfortunately, she has no incentive to put on a fearless front when it comes to her emotional torture. She is very insecure about her appearance and her ability to find love; this is much more of a strain on Lucy than any physical ailments that she has to endure.

“I walked on the beach in the morning in the freezing wind and rain, cultivating a kind of insanity wherein people who do not actually exist start talking to you. For the first time in my life, I thought about dying and thought that it would be an awful thing, to step accidentally off a curb and into a speeding car, because if I were to go I would take the entire cast with me. Half a manuscript for a first novel that has no author to finish it is always thrown away. The thought of all of them lost panicked me in a way that thoughts of my own death never had before. I had come to believe in these people, and they deserved their ending” (Patchett 86).

I really like this quote because it gives insight into how Ann thinks as a writer. In reality, most people aren’t very passionate about their jobs. To her, it’s not just a career, but a way of life. Her love for her work is clear when she admits that her own death bothers her less than the thought of the end of her characters. This is something that I think only artists would understand—or rather, people who create. Composers, painters, writers, poets—they all have the ability to make things come to life using only a few material objects. The rest is up to imagination, inspiration, and hard work. For Ann, writing is not necessarily about the potential money or fame, but about creating a whole new world, new histories, new people. As a writer, I think that would be the most important thing.

“She believed that the most basic rules of life did not apply to her, and over the course of our friendship, without me knowing when it had happened, I had come to believe it myself. The sheer force of Lucy’s life convinced me that she would live no matter what. That was my mistake, ” (Patchett 257).

Patchett ends her memoir with these last few sentences as a reflection on Lucy’s life. Lucy lived each moment to the fullest and always made the most of what she had in life. In parts of the novel, Patchett talks about how she wishes that she could live a life like that instead of always doing the safe or right thing. Lucy’s experiences gave a false impression that nothing could take her down and that she was invincible. This is why she chose to live her life doing whatever she pleased. Lucy lived her life the way most people aspire to live their lives; never look back at the mistakes and have no regrets in something that once brought happiness. The style in which Patchett wrote the memoir depicts Lucy in her highest and lowest experiences in life (Patchett made sure that she covered every aspect of Lucy’s life). She shared Lucy’s innermost feelings and her innermost feelings about Lucy. Overall, the memoir gave a deep insight into a friendship that could conquer anything life threw in its’ path.

“She was my best friend, and she was lending me the brilliance of her light in a moment when things were looking decidedly dull for me. It was something we did for one another over the years, depending on which of us had more light to share.” (139-140)

I think that this quote explains the true meaning of the friendship that Lucy and Ann have. It shows how they are always supportive of each other, and when something good happens to one of them, the other one doesn’t get envious. Because their friendship is so strong, they are willing to share their so called light with one another, which influences one another’s success. With the love and support from Ann, Lucy was able to complete her book, get it published, and then resulted in a huge success where she gained popularity and fame. Because of all of Lucy’s success, she was able to help Ann’s already published book become successful. They are able to feed off of one another and support one another, which plays a major part in the success the two of them gain.

On the quote Diamond commented about on page 38 that said, ” She told me the truth according to B- was that she was always going to be alone, that no one would ever love her, and it wasn’t because of the way that she looked, it was because of who she was as a person.”
I must disagree and say I don’t see where B- was coming from. I understand where you are coming from Diamond, but in reality when B- said that, I feel like he said it just so that he didn’t have to tell her that she wasn’t as beautiful as he wanted her to be, because deep down inside that was probably the only reason he wouldn’t date her. Honestly B- disgusted me through the book. The way I looked at B- was as a man that used Lucy in desperation. I know this may sound mean but I personally think he is a coward. Lucy may have had a low self-esteem like you said, and I agree with you but I don’t think that’s why he didn’t like her. In situations such as these, people use that as an excuse when in reality, alot of people base relationships off of looks whether they deny it or not. He must have just as low of a self esteem if he could do that to her. I honestly see where you are coming from and I’m glad we were able to debate this! Thank you!

Jenna, I can see where you get your opinion but I have to say that I disagree with your post talking about Lucy blaming her problems on cancer. Although she does let certain things get in the way of her being happy, she never blames her problems on cancer. Lucy never considers herself a victim, she just deals with obstacles as they came her way. She doesn’t blame her problems on cancer itself. She looks at herself as the source of her problems. Although she does complain about her face being ugly, there probably isn’t one spot in the book where Lucy says “if only I didn’t have cancer.” This is why I believe that Lucy blames herself rather than cancer for her problems.

And in response to your statement that Lucy should have seen it as a benefit because it gave her perspective and made her famous, I don’t think that her diagnosis should be looked at as a benefit in any way. What Lucy really wants from her life is to feel happy and loved and her having cancer got in the way of that. Her low self-esteem that came as a result of her face in many ways prevents her from finding true love and being happy with who she is. I just think that we can’t blame someone who has cancer and a face like Lucy’s for having a low self-esteem and allowing what other people think to get to her.

Andrea Z, I thought your blog from a while ago was really interesting and insightful. I never thought about what you said before reading your post talking about how Ann used the book as a way to justify her actions throughout Lucy’s life and I agree with your opinion. You can tell that Ann does have some hint of regret because of the way she ends the book (”The sheer force of Lucy’s life convinced me that she would live no matter what. That was my mistake” (Patchett 257)). So I think you’re right when you say that Ann tried to make herself feel better about the decisions she made that affected Lucy. I think that whenever someone close to you dies, especially in a tragic way, many people look back with regret and find reasons that make it the death of their friend their own fault. Many people think “if I had only done this or that differently, they may still be alive”. I think that Ann was feeling this way and needed a way to come to terms with Lucy’s death and justify her actions.

I would never have thought that Ann would feel this way though and I hope she knows that she did everything she could for Lucy. I think that she was the exact person that Lucy needed in her life and that without her, Lucy might not have lived as long as she did. This is why it makes me sad that Ann feels she has to justify her actions. She was the epitome of a good friend to Lucy and her unwavering devotion to her allowed Lucy to live a better life than she would have lived without Ann.

So I submitted this before but I don’t see it so just ignore it if it’s on here twice.
“Twelve years of beating cancer had taught Lucy that she was invincible and that that nothing, none of it, was ever going to catch up with her. She had a sense of superiority where money was concerned. She believed that not having any made her worldly and wily, in the same way she believed that coming from the suburbs had branded me forever as naïve” (Patchett 29).
This quote shows Lucy’s perspective of herself compared to other people who were more fortunate than her with money and health. Lucy feels that because she grew up with hospital debt all her life, she is stronger than someone who grew up with little or no money troubles. Lucy also feels that she is invisible because she had cancer, went through chemotherapy, and survived. I feel these do make Lucy a strong person. However, these do not make Lucy invisible to her feelings about her inner beauty. Lucy is insecure with herself because of all the hardships she went through and is a stronger person for it; but not invincible.

“‘You can’t date a poet’” (106).

I don’t understand why Lucy made a big deal about Ann dating Mark the poet. She never even met Mark, and she was already judging him. I guess the only reason I can see Lucy acting this way is because she didn’t want to lose Ann’s appreciation for her writing. Lucy knew that Mark was a good poet, so she might have been afraid that Mark’s poems would make her own poems look mediocre compared to his.
Lucy seems to make poetry a competition, especially when she asks Ann who she thinks the better poet is. The idea of poetry being a competition is crazy, because art can’t really be compared to each other. Everyone has a different style to his/her poetry with different messages, so it is impossible to compare two poems that carry completely different ideas. They can’t relate to each other. Plus everyone has a different type of poetry that he/she finds appealing, so everyone’s ideas on a poem are very inconsistant. Lucy shouldn’t have to worry about if her poetry is “better” than Mark’s. All poetry is unique and each poem has its own feelings being created. Lucy should just be proud of what poetry she has created and be happy for what she has accomplished in her own life.

Overall, the memoir gave a deep insight into a friendship that could conquer anything life threw in its’ path.

Keeta:

While I generally agree with the rest of your response, I can’t help but disagree with this last statement. Although the friendship between Ann and Lucy was certainly deep and loving, I feel that it definitely couldn’t conquer anything life threw in its path. It’s true that they remained friends for a very long time, but there were plenty of rocky moments. And while their friendship was true, it didn’t perform miracles; it couldn’t heal everything. An example of this is Lucy’s drug addiction—no matter how much the addiction hurt Ann, no matter how much it hurt Lucy’s other friends, Lucy just made false promises but could never completely stop. In the face of this hardship, their friendship became strained, no matter how much they loved each other. Their friendship lasted, but it didn’t conquer.

I don’t really have a specific quote for this, I’m pretty much talking about the bottom of page 106 and all of page 107 in the novel Truth and Beauty. When I was reading these pages, it really made me realize why I dislike Lucy so much. She makes me so angry through out pretty much the entire book, but these pages really prove it to me more.
The fact that Lucy is so jealous and selfish drives me crazy! For example, on page 106, Ann talks about her boyfriend Mark who is a poet. Lucy tells Ann that she can’t date him and that she hate him, even though she hasn’t even met him. This is just because he is a poet and because he won the prizes Lucy had wanted and was favorite amongst people she wanted to be favored from; she was completely jealous. That probably makes me dislike Lucy the most.
On page 107, Lucy asks Ann if she loves her more. Ann tries to be nice and tell her she loves both Lucy and Mark, then Lucy makes her feel bad so Ann says “In fact I don’t even love him.” I find that completely ridiculous. It makes me so mad that Lucy is so jealous and has to have Ann’s full attention to be happy; otherwise she’s mad. I’m sorry, but I don’t find Lucy to be a good friend for a number of reasons; how jealous she is is just one of them.

Alicia-

I agree with the second quote you wrote about when you talked about Lucy using heroin. It made me upset too because through out the whole book, Lucy talks about how lonely she is and how she has no one, when, like you said, she indeed has a ton of friends who love and care about her very much. I do think it’s very sad that she resorts to using heroin, just to make herself feel better. I wish she could of seen how many people did indeed love her, and if she had seen that, she most likely wouldn’t of started using heroin.

“…It was clear that Boobie had become an expendable property. If he wanted to quit, let him go and good riddance” (Bissinger 17).

Boobie Miles is like Frankenstein in that he is the monster that Permian creates in order to suit its means (success in football) that must be gotten rid of when it no longer performs as intended. He is a star on the team, but when he gets injured and can’t play like he used to he becomes useless in the eyes of his team. Football is his only way out of his current economic situation, is the only real skill that he has, and is the only thing that makes most (white) people care about him. Because he can’t win games anymore, none of that matters, and he is now dead weight. Boobie is what happens when the Permian dream goes wrong, or rather what happens when the dream overshadows the fact that the boys on the field are people too, not machines existing only to entertain the fans and their expectations.

“She was sick of trying to wrap her scarf in the right way, sick of trying to cover up, hunch down, be small. She was interested in being as large as possible now” (Patchett 83).

I chose this quote to write about because throughout the book I found that I really didn’t like Lucy very much and disagreed with a lot of her outrageous and outlandish behavior. However, this quote made me appreciate why she behaved that way. Lucy needed an escape. She spent her entire childhood trying to hide her face from society, only feeling comfortable behind a mask on Halloween. Lucy was tired of hiding from the world and worrying about keeping herself concealed, which is why she acted the way she did. She went out dancing in gay bars, dressed the way she did, and said the brutally honest things she wanted to say because she was tired of concerning herself with others opinions and just wanted to be free.

So, even though I didn’t always appreciate the things Lucy did, I understand why she needed to do them. She needed to feel the freedom that she never got to feel as a child. She needed to let loose for once in her life and not have to concern herself with the thoughts or judgments of other people.

“[My face] changed weekly practically, which was part of the, you know, the story, the dilemma. My story is really not so much the story of being disfigured, it’s about having a face that changed so continuously that I never really identified myself as connected to it” (Patchett, 136).

I connected this quote to Lucy’s reasoning of why she never knew who she was. Because Lucy never looked the same, she probably felt like she was a completely different person every time her face changed; because her face changed quite often (”weekly practically”), Lucy felt like she never really had the chance to find out her real self or identity. It must be so hard to wake up all the time to a new face. I mean, most people wake up to the same face and identity for years, maybe their entire life! But Lucy, on the other hand, couldn’t count on her face looking the same for more than a few weeks, at the most. That must have been a terrible feeling knowing she wouldn’t look the same in a few days and always questioning who she really was.

“For the first time in my life, I thought about dying and thought that it would be an awful thing, to step accidentally off a curb and into a speeding car, because if I were to go I would take the entire cast with me… I had come to believe in these people, and they deserved their ending” (Patchett 86).

While Ann Patchett thought about her death, she remembered her writing. Her passion for writing gave Ann determination to complete her novel. Leaving a story without an ending would disappoint Ann, as well as her devoted readers. I truly admire Ann for her passion towards writing. She puts extreme amounts of effort into her writing and perseveres to write more novels and express herself. At the end of chapter 9 in Truth and Beauty, Ann comes to discover that Lucy, her best friend, received the Whiting Award instead of herself. It must have upset Ann when she didn’t receive the award, but that didn’t put an end to her career. She was proud of Lucy for writing such a terrific memoir, and showed support for her friend. Although Ann Patchett had some twists and turns in her writing career, her passion for writing never ended.

“We were impossibly rich in time, and we lavished the excess on one another” (Patchett 21).

I chose this quote because it made me realize that time is valuable, and it will run out eventually. Live life to the fullest while you can, because nobody lives forever. Ann and Lucy had a very unique friendship because they were very dependent on one another. Without Ann to lean on, Lucy would have an extremely difficult time getting through everyday life. Without Lucy, Ann would spend life worrying about things because Lucy taught Ann to not worry about things, and to just act upon them. Throughout their friendship, Ann and Lucy taught one another many things, and they both learned valuable life lessons from one another.

Lucy spent her life waiting for her life to “start”, she did not live life to its full extent. She did not value her time because she never thought that she would run out. Ann knew that it was a waste of time to keep waiting for things, so she went out and pursued them. She valued her time more efficiently than Lucy.

“Gawking is a look stronger than a stare. The gawk is full of brazen curiosity, pity, and fear, every unattractive human emotion rolled into one unflattering facial expression.” (Patchett 9)

This quote made me better understand some of the pain Lucy went through in her life. People judged her by the way she looked without truly getting to know her. When people would stare at Lucy, it would hurt her. All Lucy wanted in life was to be loved, and when people stared at her and judged her, it cut her down emotionally. I have never personally experienced being gawked at, but I am sure that it is not a pleasant experience.

“It takes a certain amount of effort to be miserable, and another kind of effort to be happy, and i was willing to do the work of happiness.” (Patchett 213)

When going through life, it takes work to be happy. You can’t just sit around all day and expect your life to be everything you ever wanted. You need to work to be happy. However, you also need to work to be miserable. It is pointless to put in a single ounce of effort to become miserable. It would be difficult to have a friend like Lucy, but Ann made it easier for herself by making the conscious decision that she would only put her effort into making Lucy happy, instead of spending time adding company to Lucy’s frequent misery.

“She was my best friend, and she was lending me the brilliance of her light in a moment when things were looking decidedly dull for me. It was something we did for one another over the years, depending on which of us had more light to share.” (Patchett 139-140)

I agree with Alyssa DelPup’s post about how Lucy and Ann feed off each other’s light and success. Lucy and Ann always tried to get into the same writing programs, but neither would be hurt if the other got in and they did not. Lucy and Ann were always very supportive of each other. The type of friendship they had affected both of their lives in a positive way because they benefitted from one another. No matter what happened, each knew that they could lean on the other for support.

“Lucy was at times ashamed of the way that she looked, she seemed to have no shame left over for sex” (Patchett 138).

When men want sex from Lucy, she feels like she is finally accepted and considered attractive by the opposite sex. The men would “sweet talk” their way into getting Lucy to sleep with them, but they would soon be sneaking out of Lucy’s apartment in the morning, just like all the other guys before. Lucy feels as if her deformed face doesn’t matter and that she i finally wanted by someone. Lucy is extremely self- concious about her face and directs most of her time thinking about her “ugly” face. Lucy doesn’t worry that she is too promiscuous. She is just content with the fact that she is finally wanted by somebody, even if the men are only using her.

“She once became terribly jealous of a beautiful woman who had ovarian cancer because to Lucy the disease had done nothing but increase the woman’s glamour. “I wish I had ovarian cancer,” she said sullenly” (Patchett 91-92).
This passage shows how obsessed Lucy has become with her looks. She hated her face so much that she would have rather gone through other forms of cancer and stayed beautiful instead of what she went through. This is a low for Lucy; she’s so insecure about her face all the time, but she is constantly hearing others complain about their own irrelevant issues. This is why I believe she looked for things in the world that were worse then what happened to her. Next to famine, the Holocaust and war her issues didn’t look so bad anymore. She’s had to deal with her unfortunate facial problems her whole life, and knowing that she’s not the only one going through pain makes Lucy feel better about herself.

“You got to stop for people, he said, punctuating every word. That’s what you owe me for this ride. You have to pick somebody else up. Do you understand me? Pick them up no matter what they look like” (31).
I believe Patchett put this scene in the book to stress an import fact about life. You have to give people a chance no matter how they look. Lucy struggles with how she looks every day. She says she looks in the mirror at least a 100 times daily to just imagine how other people see her. Ann went through her whole life seeing people stair at Lucy like they had the right to. This always made Ann angry, and would have made me as well. Patchett wanted to stress the importance of giving people a chance, and I think Truth and Beauty gave us an insight to the pain one can suffer when we don’t.

“We had each come to realize that no one was going to save our lives, and that if we wanted to save them ourselves, we only had one skill that afforded us any hope at all. Writing is a job, a talent, but it’s also the place to go in your head” (62).
This quote shows how important writing is to Ann and Lucy. They both have had many struggles in their lives but writing was a way for them to escape it all. Lucy struggled everyday being alone in the hospital after her many surgeries. She felt like writing was her only friend to turn to in her times of loneliness. Lucy also used writing as a way to escape her life and reality. Lucy would dream and think of characters for her next novel while rolling silverware at the end of her shift at Fridays. I think everyone needs something in their lives to turn to when times get tough. Whether it is sports, friends, family or just your studies, find what can help you escape the struggles of everyday life even if for a moment.

“When Lucy believed that there were actually things in the world that were worse than what had happened to her, she could pull herself up on this knowledge like a rope. When she lost sight of it, she sank” (92).
Lucy had a very tough time fighting her cancer, whether it is dealing with the countless surgeries or the effects on her body and face because of them. But one way she was able to cope with it, was reminding her self it could always be worse. She was able to write and read novels and poetry, witch is a strong passion she’s had her whole life. Lucy would read about the Holocaust, and Vietnam War, and various famines. This would help her enormously by reminding her that bad things have happened to other people in the world as well.

“I can’t wait another year for the surgery. These will be the last surgeries I ever have to have and I need to be finished with them. I’ve got to put this behind me so I can get on with my life”(181).
This quote is a good example of how Lucy thought her true life wouldn’t start until after the surgeries. She thought the only thing holding her back in life was her face. It was sad to think that Lucy felt this way her whole life, because the surgeries never ended. I understand where Lucy is coming from her whole life was a struggle, she felt like she would never find her true love because of her face. This is a reminder to never wait for tomorrow and do all you can today no matter the circumstances.

“Sometimes I worried that Lucy saw me as the ant I was, unglamorous, toiling. Sometimes I knew she did. Sometimes I aspired to be a grasshopper myself, to live in the city and go to parties, to have bright conversations with famous people instead of washing my grandmother’s hair and making her grilled cheese sandwiches” (203).

This quote gives us a good picture of Lucy and Ann’s relationship. Ann and Lucy are very different people but that’s why I believe they are so close. They make up for what the other is lacking. Lucy is the wild one who just wants to be accepted by society. Where Ann is the more focused one, who wishes she could get out more and meet more people at times. They have always been there for each other because they both realize they would be lost in this world without each other.

” I used to think that once you really knew a thing, its truth would shine forever now it’s pretty obvious to me that more often than not the batteries fade, and sometimes what you knew even goes out with a bang when you try and call on it, just like a light bulb cracking off when you throw the switch” ( Pachett 97).

Events in Lucy’s life shaped her perception of truth. Ann Pattchett sheds light on this passage to show how the frustration of Lucy, acquired in her years of pain brought on by her surgeries , relationships, and self hatred has changed her perception of truth. This passage shows her pessimistic attitudes and loss of faith toward the “truths” she thought to be true. As children we are brought up with the simplest “truths” to life, as we grow older these “truths” are surrounded by new information, controversies, and always, at least two different sides to each story. As the independence of the mind continues to grow, so does our perception of these new truths. Patchett brings this passage to light because like the independence of the mind most grow, so most our understanding of the “truth” programmed by our world.

“She worked constantly on deciding who she should be, her philosophy and approach to life”(Patchett 109).

By writing this, Ann Patchett is trying to show more insight on what motivates Lucy in life, which is to be appealing to the public eye by changing the way that she looks. Lucy is constantly trying to change her outer appearance from implants, to cloths, even social status. But these are all illusions, Lucy doesn’t accept herself for who she really is. Instead, she tries to change her image to improve the public opinion of her. What she thinks “she should be” is someone forever loved, and she equates this with the public esteem for her. Ann Patchett challenges we as readers to think, who should we be, our true selves or what the public eye has in mind.

I tried posting this before and I don’t think it worked so here it is again. Ignore it if its already up here.

My quote is from page 195, when Lucy meets a woman in the hospital who claims to have had 39 surgeries. “‘Well, I’ve had thirty-nine. Thirty-nine. Can you even imagine having that many?…So, listen to me, the voice of experience, I know it doesn’t seem now like things are going to get better, but they will. When you’ve lived through as much as I have, you’ll understand” (Patchett 195).

This quote allows me to see the beauty in Lucy by showing me a woman in a similar situation to Lucy’s who views her situation in a completely different way. This woman acts proud and superior because of all the surgeries she’s had. I know that I’ll never understand what a person like that goes through but what she said to Lucy really made me angry. She automatically assumed that her suffering was greater than Lucy’s without even knowing her. She took pride in the fact that she has been through more than someone else has and it made her feel important.

In my opinion, Lucy is the opposite of this woman and that’s what makes her beautiful. Lucy didn’t walk around expecting people to treat her well just because she had gone through so much. She never boasted to anyone about her experiences. In fact, she even looked for cases and people who had it worse off than she did to try (pg 92). As bad as she had it, she still tried to put her pain into perspective by comparing it to cases worse than hers. I think this makes her beautiful. Lucy didn’t just sit there wishing her life was easier and believing that the pain she experienced was as bad as it could get. She recognized that things could be worse for her and therefore did not feel like she deserved anything because of what she’d been through, unlike the woman in the hospital. Lucy did not feel righteous in any way. She was graceful and beautiful through her sufferi

“Gawking is a look stronger than a stare. The gawk was full of brazen curiosity, pity, and fear, every unattractive human emotion rolled into one unflattering facial expression.” (Patchett)

This passage identifies the way people looked at Lucy. She was so physically disfigured that staring wasn’t a word that could cover the way people looked at her. Lucy, probably seeing these gawks, never let on that she cared about the way people looked at her. All people in the world should go by this way of life. Who cares what people think of you? If they want to look let them look, because you should be what want without caring of the thoughts of others.

“Seduction was a quest, a skill, and a full-time job. The question was never whether or not Lucy wanted the man, the question was only whether or not the man wanted her. It was her truest hope that everybody wanted her.” (Patchett)

This passage is different than most of the blogs posted. This is a touchy subject that the young mind doesn’t take seriously or giggles at. Lucy because of her physical state was a step down in the dating world. She did not have a physical beauty that could catch the eye of most men. So Lucy would put herself out there more sexually in hopes that it would make up for her physical appearance. She wanted to be loved and thought that this was the way it could happen. In the novel though you can see how it just made her lonelier. I believe now this happens more often and is why there are more couples becoming separated. It’s because everyone is marrying for the wrong reasons. Everyone is not presenting themselves as they truly are but how their significant other wants them to be.

I would like to agree with Zac and his thoughts of his quote on page 181 about Lucy’s thoughts of her life not beginning until after her surgeries. Lucy is always waiting for the day her surgeries will be over and then she can finally be a normal person. Life is too short to wait for everything to be perfect. If you are waiting for that moment you will be waiting for a very long time because life will never be perfect. Our own struggles are what make us our own person. Never wait for what might come tomorrow, because tomorrow might not wait for you.

“On the other hand I was always able to feel special. I never had that familiar adolescent worry of fading into the crowd. I was special and I tried to use that to my advantage, and I tried to use it as a power almost over other people” (Patchett 136).

This passage shows Lucy taking the little bit of good she could from having her cancer. It shows how Lucy didn’t always feel like her disease that led to her facial problems was the worst thing. It helped her write a famous novel, and like she said never had to worry about fading into a crowd. Lucy always stands out, where ever she goes, she is always known, and that’s the way she likes it! Lucy wants everyone to know her; she wants them to envy her for who she is and what she’s accomplished. She doesn’t want people just to know her for what happened when she was a girl; she wants them to know her as a novelist and a poet too.

“My brave and heroic Lucy made it clear to the audience that she had no interest in being anybody’s inspiration. She was not there as a role model for overcoming obstacles. She was a serious writer and she wanted her book to be judged for its literary merit and not its heartbreaking content” (Patchett 141).
I think that most people who share a story like Lucy’s are looking for attention and for their story to inspire others. However, Lucy isn’t like most people. She doesn’t consider herself to be some heroic symbol of bravery and strength through times of suffering. Lucy shares her story as a writer and a writer only, not to impress or inspire anyone.

“‘Oh, it was the whole Triumph of the Human Spirit thing. Every time they talked about it, I couldn’t stop laughing” (Patchett 35). Lucy talks about the same idea here, when the film crew from Ireland wanted to make a documentary of her life. But Lucy couldn’t bring herself to do it because she didn’t want people to see her as a girl overcoming cancer. She wanted them to see her for her writing and for her ideas.

I think that the fact that she’s not trying to be someone’s hero makes her heroic. Lucy didn’t want to be known for something she didn’t have control over. She didn’t allow people to believe she was anything she wasn’t and she didn’t let them appreciate her only for the things she’s gone through. Lucy made it clear that she was going to make a name for herself through her writing rather than gaining recognition because of her story and her face.

Lucy, “Don’t stop loving me.”
Ann,” I’m always going to love you.”
Lucy,” Don’t stop taking my phone calls.”
Ann,” Lucy, check your answering machine sometime. I call you every day.” (237)

Every time I read things like this, when Lucy asks Ann if she still loves her or to tell her to never stop loving her, I can’t help but smile. It makes me think of a friendship I have with one of my friends. We are so close, and I know that I need her in my life just like Lucy needs Ann. Not only that but they know that they enjoy being with each other. My friend and I have been talking about how much we like this book because it reminds us of ourselves, besides for the cancer and of course the heroin overdose. The reason I found myself actually wanting to pick up this book and read was because of how much these two friends relied on each other to help one another and keep moving forward. They would always be there for the other and make sure they were always alright. It’s such a powerful friendship that I couldn’t help but fall in love with both characters. The way they acted around each other makes me hope I will always have someone that cares for me that much because they both saved each others lives in a way. Friendships go a long way. Cherish them.

“But Lucy had been alone too much of her life, and in her loneliness she had constructed a vision of what a perfect relationship would look like. Love, in her imagination, was so dazzling, so tender and unconditional, that anything human seemed impossibly thin by comparison” (170).
It seems that Lucy expected too much out of her relationships. Because she wasn’t always in a relationship, she slowly built up an image of a flawless relationship and expected her next relationships to meet the standards of that image. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a flawless relationship, which is why she was never satisfied with a relationship. In fact, some of her relationships might have been the ones she was looking for, and maybe never realized it because her original expectations were too high. This causes even the outstanding relationships to look dull. Lucy should have accepted more of her relationships rather than beating on how bad they turned out.

“What legalized abortion brought to this country, along with safe medical practices, was the expectation of shame, the need to wonder if you were doing the right thing even thought you knew exactly what you’d do in the end. We could have our abortions but we had to feel horrible for the decision we made, even if it was hardly a decision at all. So while social decency compels me to say that on the train uptown we cried and cursed fate and wondered what life might be like with a baby, the truth is we did not” (Patchett 128).

This is one of the sections of the book that really made me like Ann as a narrator. She’s just so straightforward and honest in the way she recounts both her life and Lucy’s. This quote is a good example of her frankness. She expresses her opinion honestly and doesn’t try to make it seem less controversial by fudging the truth. Ann writes in a way that makes it feel as though she’s talking to the reader directly. The language is simple and clear-cut, but with some beautiful descriptions and figurative language that sometimes makes the prose seem like poetry.

I am going to add on to Diamond’s quote.
“She worked constantly on deciding who she should be, her philosophy and approach to life” (109).
I feel that Lucy tries too hard thinking about who she should be. I agree with Diamond that Lucy tries to change herself to please the public. She shouldn’t have to worry so much about her image or what her approach is to life. Those kinds of things should be found naturally. The ideas that come to a person instinctively are the ideas that person was made to follow. If anything, Lucy needs to please herself first. If she is satisfied with herself, the rest of the public will eventually follow her and be satisfied too. One of my favorite quotes is “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind” (Dr. Seuss). If Lucy trusts her ideas, the public should accept her too.

“Lucy had plenty of other questions as well: ‘Do you love me?’ ‘You think I’m pretty, don’t you?’ ‘Do you think I’m a good writer?’ But the odd part was they were all so interchangeable. What all of the questions really meant was, ‘Everything is going to be okay, right?’ ‘Still, the sex question was her favorite. Sometimes months would go by in which she would ask me every day” (137-138).
It makes me sad too see Lucy constantly doubting herself as a person. She’s gone through so much, and yet she still double thinks if she is accepted by the public. These habits could be an effect from her childhood. All of the bullying and gawking she got as a child must have made her feel like an outcast and hated by the public. I wish Lucy would realize that she truly is a beautiful person. She shouldn’t have to ask if she is acceptable, because she already proved that she is exceptional.

“She was trapped in a room full of mirrors, and every direction she looked in she saw herself, her face, her loneliness. She couldn’t see that no one else was perfect either, and that so much of love was the work of it. She had worked on everything else. Love would have to be charmed” (Patchett 170).

In this passage Ann Patchett conveys Lucy’s confinement in her endless cycle of loneliness. When Ann Pattchett uses the word, trapped, I think of how Lucy is imprisoned in her own mind, waiting to be rescued by her true love. Lucy thinks that her true love will be perfect, and rescue her from her loneliness. But the problem doesn’t lie in finding the right person, it lies in not being able to accept herself. Lucy is always in search of beauty, but the truth is beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and she doesn’t need to change her appearance, just her perception to find it. I think Lucy is never going to find her true love, because her true love is never going to fix the problem, that she alone must fix. She can’t be helped unless she changes her perception of beauty, and accepts herself. Ann Patachett writes this passage to be clear on Lucy’s psyche, Lucy was surrounded by many friends but still lonely because she never saw herself with truly fitting in with others. She blamed her face for all of her social problems, “In a room full of mirrors” (170) she magnified her problem and in turn was blinded by everyone else’s problems. This creates a problem because she thought her self so imperfect that she was not able to be helped.

“‘He isn’t going with you?’
‘I want you to go,’ [Lucy] said. ‘If anything happened, I’d be better off with you’” (Patchett 122).

Once Lucy Grealy discovered that she was pregnant, she decided to get an abortion. But instead of asking her boyfriend to go along with her to the clinic, Lucy asked Ann Patchett to accompany her. I have the same opinion as Lucy; she is better off having Ann at the clinic. Lucy and Ann’s friendship lasted longer than any of Lucy’s relationships did. Even though Lucy and Ann are opposites, the two best friends support, love, and trust each other. In Truth and Beauty, Patchett uses a well-known Aesop’s fable, The Ant and the Grasshopper, to portray the friendship of Lucy and herself. As a grasshopper, the effort Ann puts into her writing is overlooked compared to the attention Lucy received as a writer for her memoir, Autobiography of a Face. Ann was jealous of the fame Lucy received as an ant, but she remained Lucy’s friend and continued their long-lasting friendship. Lucy and Ann may have entirely different personalities, but the two of them held their friendship together despite their differences.

“Our friendship was like our writing in some ways. It was the only thing that was interesting to our otherwise very dull lives. We were better off when we were together,” (73).

Lucy and Ann are two people who get along great. Their writing definitely brings out the best in them. Their writing also helps bring back the good and the bad memories of their past. Lucy and Ann both leaned on eachother for support throughout the years. This support helped them get through the tough and the dreaded “dull” times.

“The world had finally caught on to what I had known since I was seventeen: Lucy Grealy was one of the most compelling people around. People wanted to hear whatever she had to say,” (160).

Lucy Grealy is truly an extraordinary person. Though Lucy has had multiple surgeries, she still finds a way to keep positive and remain looking forward. Some people have their ways of communicating to others such as using gestures, changing the tone of their voice, or displaying their personality. Lucy’s form of communication is not so much her personality, but the life story behind it. When Lucy recieves attention from the people who care, she takes the time to soak it in.

“She had practical friends and emotional friends, friends with big houses to crash in and friends who were good for wild fun, and she knit us together to find the perfect balance of what she needed from all of us,” (208).

The more unwanted experiences a person goes through, the more attention from friends and family that person may want or need. Emotions can control the outcome of unwanted experiences in either a postive or negative way. Most of Lucy’s experiences were negative. The only thing that was postitive for Lucy was her friends. Each friend having a different personality. Lucy’s friends really helped her get through the cruel times.

I strongly agree with Kaitlyn T’s blog on July 29th, where she states the fact that Lucy is willing to be used for sex, just so she feels accepted and wanted by someone. Throughout the book, Lucy complains about how she feels ugly and her life doesn’t matter because she doesn’t have a boyfriend. In today’s society so many people, especially kids our age, are so focused on relationships they forget about the good things in their life. Although Lucy doesn’t have a boyfriend, she has a countless number of friends, particularly Ann, who love her for who she is. Being easy and giving yourself up just to feel more confident are often shunned upon in today’s world, but in Truth and Beauty it didn’t seem to effect the way others saw Lucy as a whole.

I felt while reading this that Ann Patchett wrote the book out her personal guilt and also for others to learn from Lucy’s life. I think one of the most significant parts of the story is when her Ann’s mother tells her to save the letters: “My mother said it again. I was to save them all.’Someday you’ll both be famous writers,’ she said.”(59). While reading the story i especially admired Ann for being truthful and straight-forward. She did not glorify or idolize Lucy; she just told her story through the perspective of her friendship.

“…as my face gets closer and closer to my completion, I’m going to have to start dealing with disappointment, with the reality that I will never be beautiful—something I could always dream of when there were still so many operations to go” (Patchett 176).

Instead of resenting the fact that she had more surgeries to go through, Lucy actually found hope in knowing that her face was nowhere near completion. This is because at least when she has another surgery, there is a chance that things will go right and her face will be beautiful. So, when she nears the completion of her surgeries, she is actually disappointed and dreads the end. She clings on the hope that a surgery might fix her face and then her life can begin but when there are less surgeries left, there are less chances for her to be able to start her life. Maybe it’s because she’s had so many already that surgery is not as big of a deal but I just found it surprising that she views surgery as a chance for a better life rather than something that could harm her that most people don’t look forward to.

“She believed that the most basic rules of life did not apply to her, and over the course of our friendship, without me knowing when it had happened, I had come to believe it myself.” (Patchett, 394)

This is the point in the book where Patchett comes to grip with what she really thinks. Lucy thought that heroically conquering one part of your life exempts you from consequences of future actions and excuses immorality bordering on insanity. These issues aside, this bit also gives hint to a theme common in “great” literature- the struggle of man, the pain and suffering of a mortal race just trying to get through life. Personally I feel that no book, however well written, can breach the surface of the despair of futility experienced by a great many people, personal experience is the best medium for this. Patchett shows what wallowing in sorrow and self-pity can do to a person, no matter how noble their desires, a course that leads to a tragic and pointless end. Lucy’s life is a tragedy, its only lasting endeavor being a greater understanding of human suffering for those of us who feel fine. Since “Truth and Beauty” focuses on Lucy’s struggles as much as it does on her friendships, I feel that it is not worth reading, friendship is best with someone you know and pain is not hard to find.

“ ‘My story is really not so much the story about being disfigured, it’s about having a face that changed so continuously that I never really identified myself as connected to it…On the other hand I was always able to feel special. I never had that familiar adolescent worry of fading into the crowd’” (Patchett 136).

Lucy endured many surgeries throughout her life in hopes of changing her appearance. She dealt with tremendous amounts of physical and emotional pain in her life. From gawking to teasing, Lucy was targeted at a young age because of her deformity. Along with the childhood harassment, she endured over 30 agonizing surgeries. However, Lucy’s unique face always made her stand out. Her face attracted the attention of her peers and strangers. But Lucy loved being in the spotlight; she enjoyed the fame and attention. She also enjoyed being reassured that Ann loved her. Despite the pain Lucy tolerated, she always had a well-known unique identity.

“I worried that maybe she wasn’t strong enough to go ferreting around in the dark unhappiness of her past. But as Lucy pointed out, I was always worrying about something,” (236).

Ann is more than just a close friend to Lucy, she is family. She watches out for Lucy, and cares more about her well being than her own. When Lucy is asked to talk about her past, Ann know how hard it is for Lucy. Ann is consistantly finding ways to give Lucy comfort and support, no matter what the situation is. Though, one thing that Ann didn’t realize about Lucy is that she can be as strong as she wants to be. Ann is there for Lucy, like peanut butter is there for jelly.

“My brave and heroic Lucy made it clear to the audience that she had no interest in being anybody’s inspiration. She was a serious writer, and she wanted her book to be judged for its literary merit and not its heartbreaking content” (Patchett 141)

This quote caught my eye because it was due to her tough life that this book and Autobiography of a Face became famous. These books practically road on Lucy’s life. If this book would perhaps be fictional then the content of the book would be meaningless and all that is left would be the semi-good authorship (saying there are better writers). I have noticed though when an author is writing a memoir, the creativity of the writer is limited to preserve the reality of the memoir. Saying this, i stand by my point of the lack of creative authorship in this book but possibly still a good writer. But nonetheless Lucy and Ann are only recognized because of Lucy’s hard life and should be thankful they have fame from pity.

Renee-

I completely agree with what you said about Lucy’s jealousy with Ann’s boyfriend. The main reason Lucy did not like Mark was because she was supposed to be a poet as well. Over the years, Lucy had more and more trouble writing poems, so she started writing short stories. I believe Lucy is jealous since Mark excelled at her first love (poetry) and she didn’t. Lucy turned her disappointment in herself into jealously of Mark. I also agree with you when you said that poetry shouldn’t be compared. Poetry is art and art can’t be judged by anyone besides that artist.

“I was always telling her no. No and wait and stay where you are. No had become my habit with Lucy and it seemed like especially good advice now that every step forward looked like it was straight off a cliff” (Patchett 250).

This quote shows how Ann knew what was good for Lucy but, Lucy would never listen. In life, there will always be someone there looking out for you and telling you not to do something. They don’t have to be physically there with you, but their important lessons they have taught you, will be in your head. You will constantly choose not to listen and this is how we learn from our mistakes. As we grow up and experience new things, we learn that our elders and peers are a lot wiser than we think. In Lucy’s case, Ann was a lot wiser than her. Ann was always looking our for her bestfriend. Instead of listening, Lucy began to push away the one who loved her the most. If Lucy had only listened to Ann, she wouldn’t have gotten involved in the mess she did at the end of the book.

““Who has a perfect relationship?” I said to her on the phone one night. “It’s always going to be something. It’s just a matter of whether or not you’re going to stick it out and work on it”” (Patchett 170).
This quote is about another time Lucy calls Ann to complain about no one loving her, when in truth she has many friends that love her and she is talking to Ann who loves her. Lucy feels unlovable and believes that she is unlovable. This is the real reason she can not keep a boyfriend, because as soon as the relationship becomes rocky she thinks it is because no one can love her. So she pushes men away without giving them a chance. Ann is trying to tell Lucy that everyone struggles with relationships, one of the reasons others relationships work is because they work on it.

“Whenever I’m in the Nashville airport, I am looking for Lucy. I feel my life is marked by the moments I came to meet her” (Patchett 212).
This quote shows that Lucy made a huge impact on Ann’s life and really shows how much Lucy means to Ann. In the book it seems Lucy is the one who needs Ann, not the other way around. This seems this way because Lucy is constantly asking Ann if she loves her and Ann took care of Lucy while she was going through her last few surgeries. In the end I feel Ann needed Lucy more because once Lucy was gone, Ann cried because she had to spend the next half of her life without Lucy. This quote shows how great of friends they are and made me think about how much Ann needed Lucy and really loved her.

“Death destroys a man but the idea of death can save him” (Patchett 238).
I saw some people already discussed this quote and I agree with what Aditya said. Death is a natural part of life and it happens to everyone at some point, yet most everyone is afraid of it. Unless of course someone has to choose between months of suffering and death; like Aditya said. In the novel after Lucy tries to commit suicide, she hears about the girl who died because she committed suicide. Once Lucy reads this she is Glad she didn’t die, which goes along with the quote “the idea of death can save him”. So, even Lucy who feels invincible and tries to commit suicide is afraid of the idea of death.

Lauren, I completely agree with your reasoning of why Lucy is unable to keep a boyfriend. Every time she finds someone to love, she looks for something better. Along with several other bloggers, I found myself to think very negatively of Lucy and the way she lived her live, and this is one of the many reasons I thought that way. While Lucy was getting her last surgeries, she had so many people there they had to come and go in shifts. She clearly had many people in her life that loved her and cared about her, yet she always believed nobody would love her. Just because she did not have a boyfriend at the time, she declared herself unlovable. If Lucy had realized that she did have people that loved her and she did not have to have a boyfriend, I believe she would be a lot happier in life. She wouldn’t continue to look at herself negatively and wonder why nobody loved her. She would have lived a much better life if she had just looked around and saw that she really was loveable.

“They would get this business of her face finished up once and for all and then life, real life, would begin” (85).
This seems to me like a very negative way to live. Lucy has spent her whole life waiting on something better. Although Lucy’s “something better” is something that everybody has at birth, she views her life as not started yet. To me, this means that even all of the wonderful things that happened to her before her life “begins” doesn’t really matter. After reading the book and coming back to this quote, I dislike this way of living for her even more. If she really thought this way her entire life, then when she died, she still would have seen her life as not beginning. Lucy was always looking for another surgery. Although I know I will never understand the pain that Lucy had to suffer through knowing she did not look the same as everyone else, I still believe she should have made the best of it.

“But while she was tortured by her relationship with her face and talked about it being ugly, she had a real fondness of her body. Every scar was a badge of honor, and she was always pleased to whip off her shirt to show someone the scars on her back and tell their unhappy story” (Patchett 26).

This quote is very significant to me because it shows Lucy didn’t want to hide everything she went through. Usually, people try to hide scars and bruises to avoid questions and conversations about what they had gone through, but Lucy wanted to tell her stories. It told me a lot about Lucy’s character, and since it was right in the beginning of the book, gave me an insight about how she would react to later situations regarding her face. Her willingness to be so open about what she had gone through her whole life seemed to help Lucy write her book, Autobiography of a Face. Just as Kalyna said in an earlier blog, Lucy looked forward to more surgeries in hopes of making herself look better. Every scar was just another little reminder of the little steps and her continuous hope to become more physically accepted.

“She’d be halfway to Tanzania now, having managed to ditch the philanthropists’ adviser at Kennedy Airport, while I stood there wringing my parochial hands, feeling cheapened” (125).
This passage made me wonder if Ann envied Lucy for her spontaneous attitude. Lucy would do anything that was out of the ordinary; something that was glamorous or exciting. She took every opportunity she could to get away from the boring repetitiveness of life. Ann, on the other hand, was more structured. She didn’t do things that she wasn’t absolutely positive of. She was the one that could be seen cleaning up the mess from when Lucy did something without thinking about it. While Lucy was out dancing, she would be working on her novel. This quote makes it apparent that she does wish she had a little bit of Lucy’s adventurous approach on life in her, that maybe she wishes she would take risks a little more than she has.

Katie Tullock, I agree with your thoughts concerning Lucy pushing away Ann. Earlier in the book Lucy got very angry, and seemed to be jealous of Ann’s “poet” boyfriend. In my opinion Ann never negatively thought of Lucy, although she did many things that in today’s world would not be acceptable. She never pushed Lucy away because of the way she acted, and that’s what a true friend is. I believe Lucy thought she was almost in a sense “too good” to listen to what Ann always had to say, even though reading the book we know Ann’s way was the right way for Lucy. Pushing away the ones who care about you the most can leave you with no one left to talk to or get advice from. It also may leave you in a huge mess, as we saw Lucy get in towards the end of Truth and Beauty.

“If you really stopped and thought about it, it would have been impossible to understand how someone so tiny managed to dominate something so huge, to dominate not only the house she was riding but the two that were following her as well” (Patchett 50).

This quote made me think in parallel to Lucy dominating the huge horses to dominating her fight with cancer. Both were such huge things that many are so afraid of, but she could willingly take the on the tasks, and succeed with flying colors. Lucy overcame the fears of how they both were so big and could do so much harm to her if something went wrong. Being as little as she is, Ann couldn’t believe how Lucy could tame such a large animal as a horse; let alone cancer, and it proved that fear truly was not an issue for Lucy. There aren’t many people, in my mind, who would be able to go through all of the surgeries and chemotherapy that Lucy did, and still be able to keep living their live as a normal person; although some may not consider Lucy completely normal. This trait to overcome great challenges deeply helped Lucy throughout her life; whether she was getting endless surgeries on her jaw, trying to write her book, or continuing her never ending search for love.

“’My story is really not so much the story about being disfigured, it’s about having a face that changed so continuously that I never really identified myself as connected to it” (136).
This passage made me think differently of “Autobiography of a Face”. After reading the book, I just thought it was about a girl complaining that she was ugly because she had cancer and therefore had to have surgeries to fix her face. But “Truth and Beauty” changed my views of Lucy’s autobiography. In her lifetime, Lucy had over 30 surgeries. Her face was constantly changing, whether it was a tissue expander in between surgeries or her face being swollen and beat up after she just got out of one. Before every series of surgeries she would be told that it would work, she would be done. However, none of the surgeries were final; her face always sunk in. After all these surgeries started, when in her whole life could she call her face hers? When could she look in the mirror and see her own face, the face that she would have forever? Now, I see that her difficulty was not only what other people thought of her, it was also how she thought of herself. Even right before she died, Lucy had just gotten over yet another series of surgeries gone awry. Even right before she died, Lucy did not have her own face. After the surgeries started, Lucy would never have her own face.

“She was trapped in a room full of mirrors, and every direction she looked in she saw herself, her face, her loneliness. She couldn’t see that no one else was perfect either, and that so much of love was the work of it. She had worked on everything else. Love would have to be charmed” (Patchett 171).

This passage shows how Lucy truly believes she is alone in the world, how she actually thinks that everyone around her is perfect, while she sticks out as the ugly one in her mind. Lucy has always had to put in great deals of effort to keep her emotions stable; often feeling lonely, but not understanding that she has many friends that love and support her! She eventually turns to drugs feeling that they are her last option to get rid of her pain. Fortunately, her friends stay by her side during this period of her life, especially Ann who is constantly trying to reason with her to show her why she doesn’t need drugs. Ann will always be there to love Lucy no matter what she’s going through, and try to help her in the best ways that she can. Lucy has to learn that she is very much loved; the love she has isn’t romantic, but it’s stronger and more reliable. She needs to appreciate it, and realize what she has because if she truly did she wouldn’t feel lonely anymore.

“Maybe my family was upstairs, taking a shower, and I was walking into a party of lovely strangers,” (155).
Calling someone family is the ultimate form of friendship. It proves that you love them and care about them as much as you do your parents, siblings, etc. They’ve been together since college and are there for one another through everything, through the good times and the bad. However, saying someone is closer to you than your family shows how much you do love them. This quote illustrates how much Ann really cares about Lucy.

“’I need the structure,’ Lucy said. ‘It will force me to organize my time’” (163).

I thought it was funny that Lucy could handle a job that Ann couldn’t. Knowing both of their characters, I would think that it would be Lucy telling Ann teaching is a horrible job and Ann saying she liked the structure. Throughout this novel, there are very few things Lucy did that had any sort of structure to them. However, out of all the things that she has done, I thought it made most sense to pick a job with structure. This way, she could actually make money by doing something that she had to do every day. With writing, she could write a couple pages here and there without any kind of daily requirements except that in which you give yourself. With teaching, she had to go to class and she had to grade papers, etc. Although it makes sense why Lucy could handle a job Ann could not, it stood out to me as a character switch.

“She had practical friends and emotional friends, friends with big houses to crash in and friends who were good for wild fun, and she knit us together to find the perfect balance of what she needed from all of us” (208).

This shows the kind of person Lucy was. She not only had a ton of friends from every corner of her life, but she also had a ton of friends with different personalities. She had a mixture of friends that could give her what she needed for all different situations. If Lucy only had a friend like Ann, she would never have a friend to party with or one that wouldn’t be brutally honest. However, if she only had a friend that was good for parties, she would never get the sensible advice Ann could give her. This made me think of my friends and their different personalities. It is important, especially for a person like Lucy who has a mixture of personalities herself, to have friends with different behavioral traits.

“She had a nearly romantic relationship with Death. She had beaten it out so many times that she was convinced she could go and kiss all she wanted and still come out on the other side” (256).
It’s interesting to see how many different ways people react to near-death experiences. Some people are afraid to even peek outside again after handling a near-death experience, because they are afraid of running into something that tragic again. But Lucy seemed to get a thrill out of coming so close to dying, and somehow pulling through in the end. I think she was really fond of being the “exceptional patient”. Most people die, but she is the exception and can defeat death. It was unfortunate to watch Lucy underestimate death. Now it cost her life.

“I didn’t tell Lucy because she would have wanted to come and if she had come, she would have ruined if for me” (250)

Ann had been with Lucy through everything, through all her surgeries and recuperations and even all her bad decisions. No matter what, she could be seen at Lucy’s side cleaning up the mess Lucy and made. Not once before had Ann abandoned Lucy. Now, Ann stops telling Lucy when she comes to New York in fear of Lucy wanting to see her. This quote shows how awful Lucy had become. In order to neglect a friend that means as much as Lucy once meant to Ann, a catastrophic event had to occur to their friendship.

I am going to add to Katie’s quote, “’I need the structure,’ Lucy said. ‘It will force me to organize my time’” (163).
Katie, I agree with your thinking. It never really hit me while I was reading the book, but your idea makes sense. Its strange how Ann, the structured ant, hated teaching while Lucy, the unstructured grasshopper, seemed to fit into a routine teaching job easily. I think the reason why the teaching job helped Lucy out so much is because it seemed to balance out her irregular schedule. It is always nice to have a balance of routine and surprises throughout the day. This also might be why Ann didn’t like the teaching job. Her life was already pretty consistent, so she needed more routines to be switched up in her life to balance the structure she had, and the teaching job didn’t fulfill this for her. There is definitely some irony in this idea. I appreciate your thoughts Katie!

“The compromise was that I would do all the cleaning and cooking and that neither of us would complain about it, which suited both of us fine” (24).

After going through the first couple chapters of the book, this passage made me think of Lucy and Ann’s relationship. Even from the very beginning, Ann was the one that did the work. At first it was the cooking and the cleaning, but later on it was bigger issues. She took care of Lucy both physically and emotionally. She went out of her way to make Lucy happy and comfortable. In my opinion, though, Lucy uses Ann in several ways throughout her life. It seems that Ann is always giving to Lucy and Lucy doesn’t return the favor. Even Ann, who clearly loves her, got tired of Lucy right before she passed away. She doesn’t tell Lucy she’s coming to New York in fear of Lucy wanting to tag along. Needless to say, I do not have a positive view on Lucy. After reading two books on her life, she seems selfish and careless. Although it is obvious that Ann enjoyed being so close to Lucy, I still believe that Lucy was self-centered in the relationship.

“In the darkness I complained to Lucy: I was divorced, I’d quit my job to get away from my husband, I was broke, and I felt impossibly far away from writing. I had missed my own sister’s wedding. ‘Oh, you’ll fine,’ she said lightly wanting to move ahead to another topic. I stopped walking and after five steps or so she stopped too to find out where I’d gone. ‘I’ll be fine?’ I said. ‘That’s it? I’ve wrecked my life, come to Scotland, and all you have to say is that I’ll be fine?’ I had spent plenty of time on her sadness and now I wanted a minute for my own.” (Patchett 72)

This quote really upset me and made me dislike Lucy very much. I was angered by this because of the fact that Ann does so much for Lucy. She talks to her when she is upset and she never complains about it. However when Ann is the one who needs support and wants to discuss her problems, Lucy can’t even have a five minute conversation to get Ann through it and felling better about herself. I think that Lucy feels as if she is the only person with significant problems and everyone else’s problems don’t really matter. This relates back to Lucy’s need to be the center of attention because she can’t even talk about someone other than herself for more than a minute.

“The State of Emergency lifted and lowered like a fog until I couldn’t quite tell if we were in one or not. She took my phone calls either way. Lucy looked at writing the way other people thought about diets except she was pulling for her numbers to go up while everyone else was trying to get their numbers down. She used the State of Emergency for essays she had promised to anthologies and magazines. Writing was always something that was owes, always overdue.” (Patchett 164)

Throughout this book we hear about how desperately Lucy wants to be a writer. Lucy’s goal in life (besides looking normal) is being a writer. However she is always putting it off. She makes excuses for not writing, she sets goals for herself that she never achieves and she never gets her writing done on time. This confuses me because if Lucy really wanted to be a writer than I would think that she would be writing all the time and when she isn’t writing she would be thinking about writing. I know that’s how I would be if writing was my passion. Lucy is an amazing writer which makes me wonder even more why she never writes. I just don’t understand why a person who loves writing so much is always avoiding writing.

“‘You weren’t here,’ I said in a low voice. ‘You were in Vermont. You don’t know how it was.’ It was the meanest thing I could say to her, because Lucy couldn’t stand the thought of being anywhere other than exactly in the middle of where everything was happening.” (Patchett 221)

In this passage we see, once again, Lucy’s need to be in the center of everything. She is so upset by the fact that Ann told her she didn’t know what she was talking about because she wasn’t in New York City after September 11th. What angers me is that Lucy isn’t upset about what she had said about people’s attitude after the tragedy, she was upset by the fact that she wasn’t there. Most people felt bad for all the people who had lost their lives and those people’s families but Lucy feels bad for herself because she wasn’t in the place that everyone was talking about. I was very annoyed by Lucy’s attitude and it made me feels as if she thinks she still has suffered more than all the people who were hurt by the terrorist attacks.

“‘So listen to me, the voice of experience, I know it doesn’t seem now like things are going to get better, but they will…that’s why you’ve got all these nice friends to take care of you” (Patchett 195).

Lucy Grealy was fortunate to have many caring friends visit her after her numerous surgeries. Lucy had to live in different hospitals for a large portion of her life. Luckily, she had many friends, including Ann, to keep her company. Lucy’s friends supported her and gave her the attention she craved. Even though Lucy had friends visiting her on a daily basis, she just wanted to be loved. I thought it was quite silly for Lucy to constantly pose the same question: “Do you love me?” But it’s evident that Lucy just wanted to be cared for. In the hospital Lucy was the center of attention. She received all of the care she needed from her nurses, doctors, and especially her friends. Lucy was blessed to have friends beside her when she was in need of support.

“I realized that night that there was nothing in the body I was afraid of. There was no wound I couldn’t clean and dress, noting that made me feel squeamish or ashamed. Even the pain didn’t make me turn away. With the body I could be tirelessly helpful, but with her psyche, her heart, I simply froe sometimes. Past a certain point I did not know what to say. I wanted to run down the hall and find Stuart, demand that he love my friend and for that love I would give him anything he wanted in return, not that that would have been the answer or that the love could have been enough, I would have done it just to stop her from crying. It was this suffering I couldn’t stand.” (228)

This passage shows how much Ann truly cares for Lucy. Throughout this novel, Ann has helped Lucy through everything. She has been with Lucy through many of her surgeries and she is always there to take care of her when she is recovering from her surgeries. Whenever Lucy feels down on herself, Ann is always there to bring her up. She is always saying things to make her feel better. In a way, Ann acts as Lucy’s mother. Ann is always taking care of her and in my opinion she kind of babies Lucy. She puts up with her no matter what and she never really gives up on her. She always has something to say to make Lucy feel better except when she talks about nobody loving her. Lucy brings that up a lot. She is always saying something about how nobody could love her even when there is a room full of people that clearly do. All she wants is that one person, she wants one man to fall in love with her and be with her forever and bring her away from her loneliness. When Lucy asks why Stuart doesn’t love her, Ann doesn’t know how to respond to it. Ann wants to end the loneliness that Lucy feels, she wants to help her out of that too, but she can’t, and I think that because she cares about Lucy so much, it hurts her to see her friend suffer over that.

“Lucy’s loneliness was breathtaking in its enormity. If she emptied out Grand Central Station and filled it with the people she knew well, the people who loved her, there would be more than a hundred people there. But a hundred people in such a huge space just rattle around. You could squeeze us all into a single bar. With some effort you could push us into a magazine shop. If you added to that number all the people who loved her because of her book, all the people who admired her, all the people who had heard her speak or had seen her on television or listened to her on the radio and loved the sound of her odd little voice, you could pack in thousands and thousands more people, and still it wouldn’t feel full, not full enough to take up every square inch of her loneliness. Lucy thought that all she needed was one person , the right person, and all the empty space would be taken away from her.” (Patchett 171)

I really liked the way Ann described Lucy’s loneliness through this passage. It helped me understand how lonely Lucy feels. However I was also angered by the fact that Ann says thousands and thousands admire and adore Lucy but she is still focused on being lonely. Lucy is more focused on the empty space than the space that is occupied by people who love her and care for her. I feel as if Lucy isn’t appreciative and grateful for what she has and what all those people do for her. Because Lucy is so depressed about not finding her true love she is just making her situation worse. I believe that it is Lucy’s attitude that is causing her to be alone and not the fact that she is missing half of her jaw.

“She had a nearly romantic relationship with Death. She had beaten it out so many times that she was convinced she could go and kiss all she wanted and still come out on the other side. Even when she wanted to die she couldn’t seem to pull it off. Lucy, weighing about a hundred pounds, having survived thirty-eight operations, had become officially invincible. She believed that the most basic rules of life did not apply to her, and over the course of our friendship, without me knowing when it had happened, I had come to believe it myself. The sheer force of Lucy’s life convinced me that she would live no matter what.
That was my mistake.” (256-257)

Because Lucy had gone through so many surgeries, as well as near death experiences, it led the people around her to believe that she would never die. Even when she started with heroin, she didn’t die, she hurt herself and the people around her, but she was always able to start over or at least try to. I think that’s why Ann sort of blamed herself for Lucy’s death. Right before her death, Ann started getting impatient with Lucy, she didn’t tell her she was going to New York because she didn’t want Lucy to be there to ruin it for her. When she returned and received the call from Stuart that Lucy was dead, she started to blame herself. She felt that if she had been around, Lucy would have been able to put the heroin off for a while, and live longer. I think that the reason Ann is most upset, is because she let Lucy convince her that she would never die, and in the end, it just made Lucy’s death much harder on Ann.

“After spending so much of her youth trying to turn people’s attention away from her face, she now pulled the light directly onto her jaw, her childhood, her humiliation. It was a decision that sent her in another direction entirely” (Patchett 106).

After publishing her autobiography, Lucy brought attention to her face and her rough past. This was quite a change because for her whole life she worked to hide the imperfections of her face. Lucy always tried to find ways to mask her disfigured jaw line. When the book came out, however, people began to pay more attention to it, and Lucy had to adapt. This changed Lucy’s life greatly. She became famous for her face. While this may not have been exactly the way Lucy wanted to come to fame, it was the way she got there. It must have been a rough change for her, but probably a good one. It probably would’ve helped her come to terms with her face, at least temporarily, knowing that people were accepting and embracing her struggle and her very visible scar of that struggle. In the long run, the book most likely helped Lucy both with her struggle to be known and to accept herself.