Blyth's Compare And Contrast Essay

and unfortunately this did not naturally develop between Blyth and Becca. The tense interpersonal relationship between the two women unfortunately prolonging Blyth’s anorexia, but fortunately Blyth was able to later find a therapist that she trusted and felt comfortable with. A positive interpersonal relationship that Blyth was able to develop throughout her battle with anorexia can be seen in her connection with her second therapist, Katherine. Blyth connects and trusts her from the very beginning, and this enables her to foster a healthy relationship. Blyth writes in her journal that, “For the first time in my life, I have someone to talk to that listened with their heart and mind” (165). The trust that Blyth places in Katherine allows for a meaningful interpersonal relationship to flourish. Katherine is a huge first step in Blyth’s …show more content…
America is known for having harsh, and unattainable standards in regards to the female body. The American image of beauty is typified in a tall, Caucasian, and skinny woman. Often times in high fashion, the skinnier one is, the more beautiful one is perceived to be. Blyth buys into the American image of beauty, and constantly relates her self worth to social norms of beauty. At the unhealthy weight of one hundred pounds, she writes in her journal that she must continue to lose weight and not get distracted; at least not “when [she] was this close to beautiful” (134). Blyth’s weight is so low, yet she still feels that she is not skinny enough to identify with the standard image of beauty. The constant drive to become skinnier and skinnier in order to obtain an unreachable goal wreaks havoc on the psyche of adolescent girls all throughout the Unites States. Cultures pressure to become thinner and thinner leads Blyth to hurt her health all in the pursuit of the American ideal of