Analysis Of Lucy Grealy's Autobiography Of A Face

When we speak of Autobiography, we mean life writing which is considered to be a way to write and tell our own struggles and hardships in our lives. As an example of Autobiography, Lucy Grealy’s “Autobiography of a face” as the protagonist in her book, she is relatable to many Greek Mythical creatures, because of her life experiences, life events and the difficulties she faced.

Lucy was born in Dublin, Ireland, her family moved to United States, to New York. She was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 9, which lead to the removal of her jawbone. Her childhood was not the typical childhood you would see in our daily life, it was harsh ,tough, full of insults, and taunts followed by the piercing stares of everyone around her, because of how she looked. Growing up like this, Lucy Grealy undertook the “... account of nearly twenty-year attempt to surgically restore a jaw lost to cancer” ( Mintz, Susannah B). but it never worked up

When we speak of the Physical bond, the Emotional bond always comes in mind, the following quote by Lucy Grealy “Autobiography of a face” makes this bond between the two characters apparent :

“I treated despair in terms of hierarchy: if there was a more important pain in the world, it meant my own was negated. I thought I simply had to accept the fact that I was ugly, and that to feel despair about it was simply wrong”. (Autobiography of a face) Lucy had to accept the fact she was an ugly “Monster” instead of being depressed and despaired about it, she had to live on with her life. In a sense Scylla is similar, she herself had accepted being a Monster and she acted upon that, she did not lock herself up somewhere like in a cell. She as sad as it sounds, took the role that was given to her by others.

All in all, Lucy and Scylla both were made into ugly Monsters, they did not choose this, but that title and form was given to them no matter how much they protested about it. They both shared the destiny of being an