Literary Analysis Of Cheryl Peck's 'Fatso'

Every individual is different and unique in their own way, may it be their body size or the color of their skin. No individual is similar, which is precisely the point that Cheryl Peck makes in her essay “Fatso”. The essay portrays Peck’s view of the conflicts that she goes through in her life as an overweight person. She makes a point by point contrast to her imaginary life, repeating the phrase “I have never”, and her real life where she faces discrimination because of her weight. Peck’s use of tone and word choice highlights the purpose of her essay, which is to raise awareness about discrimination against overweight people to audiences who are thin and have not experienced any judgment from others.

Cheryl Peck uses a sarcastic tone in her

She becomes sarcastic once more as she states “ I have never been called crude names, like “fatso” or “lard bucket.” In reality, she has been called all of those crude names which is precisely why she does not want to call others of size the same names that she is being called. The crude names that others have called Peck demonstrates her point of view of discrimination against people of size. Progressing on, the author addresses more about how she never picks up magazines and reads the criticism that the authors receive for portraying overweight women. Peck is highly cautious with her words as she says “I have never picked up a magazine with the photograph of a naked woman of substance on the cover, to read, in the following issue, thirty letters to editor addressing sizeism..” (290) Peck uses the phrase “woman of substance” as a non-judgmental way to describe the woman because she understands and ponders on what they might feel to being called impolite names. She portrays the fact that people who do not have any struggles with body weight do not understand that people of size are humans too and will sympathize or judge them which is a form of