Looking Within to Learn a Lesson About Surviving Violence Memoirists who articulate lessons that all readers can relate to tend to have the most powerful impact on readers. Alice Sebold is one of these memorable memoirists. She shares her experience of being violently attacked and sexually assaulted in her story ironically titled, Lucky. Throughout the memoir, she relays the message that "No one can pull anyone back from anywhere. You save yourself or you remain unsaved" (Sebold 60). Despite obstacles along the way, Sebold pushes forward to prosecute her attacker, she builds relationships with others to gain a sense of normalcy, and she fights off her demons to become healthier. These efforts prove that when individuals work to save themselves
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Sebold explains this further when she writes, "In rape cases, it was almost expected that the victim would drop out of the process even if she originally initiated it." (Sebold 166). However, Sebold persists, which proves that an individual can use inner strength to accomplish the most difficult tasks. Not only does she prosecute, but she does so with tenacity. Despite the fact that her rapist was a power rapist, Sebold does not take her eyes of Madison. She challenges him by staring at him. She saves herself from being intimidated by staring at him. She even tells the reader, "I wanted my like back" (Sebold 181), indicating that she realizes that if she is timid, he wins. She fights back by looking him directly in the eye and challenging him, thus saving herself from a lifetime of …show more content…
In the 90s, Sebold found a calling in teaching at Hunter College. She explains the importance of this move to teach earlier in the memoir when she writes, "teaching would end up being my lifeline, my way back" (Sebold 217). Reading her students' stories preoccupied Sebold, and because they were stories of assimilation, Sebold was able to relate (Sebold 244). Sebold combated the demon of loneliness by becoming an instructor and finding commonality with her students. Unfortunately, heroin addiction was another demon that riddled Sebold's personal life, but then she found a book titled Trauma and Recovery. The book educated her about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Because she educated herself through reading and she got a therapist, Sebold was able to save herself. She explains, "I had post-traumatic stress disorder, but the only way I would believe it was to discover it on my own" (Sebold 250). Through reading Herman's book and recognizing herself in his descriptions, Sebold chooses to learn about herself, thus saving herself from the unknown. The theme of survival is paramount in Alice Sebold's memoir Lucky. She poignantly writes that "No one can pull anyone back from anywhere. You save yourself or you remain unsaved" (Sebold 60). Though she encounters numerous obstacles, Sebold perseveres, proving that people can save themselves
Sebold explains this further when she writes, "In rape cases, it was almost expected that the victim would drop out of the process even if she originally initiated it." (Sebold 166). However, Sebold persists, which proves that an individual can use inner strength to accomplish the most difficult tasks. Not only does she prosecute, but she does so with tenacity. Despite the fact that her rapist was a power rapist, Sebold does not take her eyes of Madison. She challenges him by staring at him. She saves herself from being intimidated by staring at him. She even tells the reader, "I wanted my like back" (Sebold 181), indicating that she realizes that if she is timid, he wins. She fights back by looking him directly in the eye and challenging him, thus saving herself from a lifetime of …show more content…
In the 90s, Sebold found a calling in teaching at Hunter College. She explains the importance of this move to teach earlier in the memoir when she writes, "teaching would end up being my lifeline, my way back" (Sebold 217). Reading her students' stories preoccupied Sebold, and because they were stories of assimilation, Sebold was able to relate (Sebold 244). Sebold combated the demon of loneliness by becoming an instructor and finding commonality with her students. Unfortunately, heroin addiction was another demon that riddled Sebold's personal life, but then she found a book titled Trauma and Recovery. The book educated her about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Because she educated herself through reading and she got a therapist, Sebold was able to save herself. She explains, "I had post-traumatic stress disorder, but the only way I would believe it was to discover it on my own" (Sebold 250). Through reading Herman's book and recognizing herself in his descriptions, Sebold chooses to learn about herself, thus saving herself from the unknown. The theme of survival is paramount in Alice Sebold's memoir Lucky. She poignantly writes that "No one can pull anyone back from anywhere. You save yourself or you remain unsaved" (Sebold 60). Though she encounters numerous obstacles, Sebold perseveres, proving that people can save themselves