Analysis Of Future Perfect, By Jen Larsen

Jen Larsen, author of Future Perfect, also faced issues with her body weight. The main character of the novel, faces the struggle being pressured into weight loss surgery. Larsen herself also faced society's pressure to be skinny. She gives the reader a look into her personal struggle with her weight, “Larsen’s honesty and insight make for a searing account of precisely what it feels like to be fat and to have complicated relationships with food, family and friends” (Stranger Here). For Larsen’s whole life, she struggled with being overweight. There is a striking similarity between Larsen and the main character Ashley. The main conflict of the book is between Ashley and her grandmother on the topic of weight loss surgery. But unlike Ashley, …show more content…
But as it turns out, being skinny was not the answer to her problems. If anything, it allows formore selfesteemproblems to erupt. Larsen faced this resentment head on, “Then resentment set in. The honeymoon in her new body was over. Why should the world treat her different now that she was an "acceptable weight"? She was still the same person on the inside. How could she accept her new body identity?”(DuShane). Some people who are overweight fall into the trap of believing that being average or even below average weight will solve all of their problems. But people are often disappointed to discovered that losing weight often does not solve their problems. Although being overweight is an issue, it does not define one’s life. Those who are overweight tend to put themselves down, and hold themselves to lower standards. Future Perfect gives the life story of the author, who like many Americans, struggled with her weight. Her conflict with herself led to a decision which was the beginning of a whirlpool of …show more content…
People learn that slimming was never the answer to their problems. After weight loss surgery, Larsen was very unhappy with not only her decision, but her body as well. Losing the weight led her down a road of depression and resent, “‘I realized I was depressed,’ she says, ‘and even though I was way thinner, I was in no way happier’” (DuShane). The media portrays thin models, actors, and other celebrities as happy and healthy. But, this is often not the case. A person’s weight is not always an indicator of one’s health. Just because a person is thin, does not mean they are healthy physically or mentally. Larsen’s openness and honesty about her life struggles allows the reader to connect to her writings. The pressure of society affected her, and many others who are vulnerable to the media’s