Grade 10 - Blog Post THREE

Autobiography of a Face
(Grealy, Lucy.Autobiography of a Face. Houghton Mifflin Company. 1994.)

The book that I would like to introduce in this blog post is "Autobiography of a Face". I haven't been able to read too far into the book. Though I do know this book is an autobiography on Lucy Grealy's childhood and how she had to grow up with pain and suffering due to the surgery done on her jaw. She finds it hard to deal with everything as it is, since she was bullied, felt unloved and rejected and desperately wanting to be perfect.




1. Describe the character in your novel with three words.

• Self-conscious : The meaning of self-conscious is to be insecure with oneself. Two synonyms are anxious and bashful. Two antonyms are assured and secure.
• Destitue : The meaning of destitute is to be wanting something. Two synonyms are bereft and needy. Two antonyms are lucky and secure.
• Ashamed : The meaning of Ashamed is to regret or to be remorseful. Two synonyms are abashed and distraught. Two antonyms are defiant and shameless.

2. How do you know this character has these qualities?

The way I know the character Lucy Grealy has these character traits is because these of the hints provided within the text. Though it is not provided directly in the text, I can tell Lucy is self - concious because of the quote "I'd expertly turn my own head away, pretending I was only just then aware of something more important off to the side. I'd tilt away at exactly the same angle each time, my hair falling in a perfect sheet of camouflage between me and the camera." (Page 11). This quote explains how Lucy would hide her face from other's so they wouldn't have to stare at her distorted jaw, and because she never liked when people looked at her face. By doing this, she shows that she is bashful about her looks and dislikes when people look at her. This making her self - concious.

I can also tell Lucy is desitute because of the quote "Their approval or disapproval defined everything for me, and I believed with every cell in my body that approval wasn't written into my particular script." (Page 4). This quote explains how Lucy is needy for other's approval. She wants the world to accept her as she is, but she feels rejected by her peers because of her appearance.

By the quote "I took it as a sign to cry, which I did, ashamed of myself, unable to meet my mother's eyes as she began telling me not to, to hold it back" (Page 83) I can tell that Lucy is ashamed of herself. She is ashamed of how she turned out and how others perceive her.