Identity In Margaret Atwood's Hairball

In Margaret Atwood’s “Hairball”, Kat fools herself into believing she wants what she doesn’t and wants to be someone she’s not because she dislikes who she really is and is unsatisfied with her life. Firstly, she feels that she must always have control over her life and decisions, but comes to realise that she doesn’t. When Gerald fires her, she wants to scream at him, “I gave you life!” (41). At first she thought she had complete control over Gerald and had made the decision to stay with him herself. Kat was also unhappy at her job in Toronto, but stayed to be with Gerald, and he decided to leave her. This line shows her anger and resentment to how she ultimately couldn’t control the outcomes of her life when she thought she could. Secondly,

Later, a Friend will hand her the key. Connie admired herself and, “she knew she was pretty and that was everything,”(Oates). Connie spends a

but it was the fake Kayla from the billboards. She was as neatly turned out as ever in a bright pink sweater, matching short skirt, and high boots. Her bobbed hair shone and bounced as if she were in a shampoo commercial. Her silver lipstick and matching eye shadow were perfect.” This quote shows how she keelson recognizing how thats no her.

When she was young, she could not process the way her father raised and treated her, so she believed everything he said. When she is able to understand, her tone changes and becomes clinical and critical remembering the way he constantly let her

always stands with pride in everything she does in her life even when she doesn't get the right respect in life. First , from day one Katherine had always been smart through her school years , she always loved to count, her mom and siblings would always say “she was the girl who

While reading the story, you can tell in the narrators’ tone that she feels rejected and excluded. She is not happy and I’m sure, just like her family, she wonders “why her?” She is rejected and never accepted for who she really is. She is different. She’s not like anyone else

Who would do such a thing? Anyways, in the movie we see a glimmer of the same treatment but in a more lighthearted way. Kat Stratford is a hard- headed, independent feminist just like Katherine in the play. However, in the movie Kat is more aggressive towards the sexism yet generally more chill than Katherina in the play. Katherine was just angry at everything, if a chair looked at her wrong..

In the short story “Mrs. Buell”, Kate learns that everything is not as it seems through a series of events. When one considers certain factors such as abrupt personality change, encounters with unexpected people, and changes in first impression, it can be seen that there are many things to be discovered that may change our impression of one’s being. Kate is startled by Mrs. Buell’s actions when, she hurts her knee while walking into Mrs. Buell’s convenience store. Although, Mrs. Buell shows compassion towards her, Kate can’t quite believe that Mrs. Buell had shown any type of sympathy. This is evident when Kate assumes, “She was probably sorry now that she’d fixed my knee.

They reflect upon how their lives cannot compete with how the posters, and that they will never have the innocence of the girl. They crave for intimacy, and Paul was disheartened when the French ladies they meet was unable to provide him with what he needed. Along the story, they also jest with irony about their future. They show signs of envy towards Kat’s family, and feel at loss about their own lack of

Her hand seemed to enclose it. She thought for the first time in her life that it was nothing that was hers, that belonged to her, but just a pounding, living thing inside this body that wasn't really hers either” (336). Connie experiences this through her fear of Friend. She becomes fearful of him when she realizes his true intentions. Connie realized that she could not escape and that she “had never seen before and did not recognize except to know that she was going to it” (337).

Katherine is seen as abusive and mean in both stories, but when taking a closer look most of her behavioural issues seem to stem from her insecurities. Bianca, Katherines younger

In an array of behaviors, it is evident that she is not truly invested in Mr. Kip and that she is dating someone merely because she has to. If she is to remain single, people would look at her as if there is something wrong with her to not attract someone else. These actions are done due to the imposed standards for women in society, thus obligating her to do what she necessarily doesn’t want to do. In addition, this follows up on her appearance, in both the way she presents herself as a person and in the physical attributes she acquires, it is purely synthetic and these actions are all done to appease her lover. Gillian exemplifies the idea that when “men act and women appear.

This quote helps to demonstrate the notion that she wanted to be someone different than what was expected of her since she believed this would give her a “strong sense of identity” (Bell,

Young girls in high school are at a very impressionable age. Rather than the movie choosing to sugarcoat and glamorize the abuse, it changes it into basic sarcastic banter and a stereotypical “love/hate” storyline. Although many scholars have argued over whether or not the marriage in the play is abusive, the evidence is surmounting. Regardless of whether or not one sees Katherine as a likable character, she is not deserving of this mistreatment.

That's what allows her to be accepted in the end. She ends up being accepted for who she is which is a pretty universal want for a lot of different people. “ (Ward, 2002, 95) Like in Hercules and Tarzan, obviously the main theme is finding the true self. However, in order to be accepted by the society, the protagonist must go through some changes, of course, to reach the acctualization.