Beauty by Jane Martin Essay

We live in a country where goggle box and advertisement is designed to entice muckle into unceasingly wanting more than what they already film. This enticement is achieved by feeding into the human hope for happiness. Advertisers create smooth-tongued campaigns that inundate the public with images of societies narrow interpretation of succeeder and beauty. These images are then presented as a judicial admission to the happiness that human bes are searching for. When a persons reality does not equal this narrow image, the message sent through tv and advertisements is that in order to be content people need to find a way to accomplish it. As a result we live in a society where people are always longing for a happiness that can nevertheless be achieved through things that are fleeting and external, which creates feelings of discontent In the satirical angiotensin-converting enzyme-act profligacy peach by Jane Martin the two sole characters are Beth some(prenominal) and Carla.Their behavior demonstrates the affects of discontentment caused by the media. Despite the fact that both of these women are reasonably successful, they individually want the things that they do no have that are present in each otherwisewise. Carla is beauteous and wants to be pert and Bethany is smart and wants to be beautiful. Under normal circumstances the longing to have what some ace else has, is usual either rasetually deserted or translates into negative emotions that are never acted on. However, due to the benefit of theatrics, these yearning become achiev fit because Bethany arrives at Carlas house armed with a blessed genie and one more wish (1108) The play is a microcosm of the discontentment in our society. This discontent is exhibited virtually in effect through Bethanys character since she was the one more willing take exaggerated measures to drive what she wanted.Although, Carla similarly voiced some discontentment with her sprightliness, she was no t willing to exchange her reality for someone elses. When we separate each character and situation for examination, we are able to see how Martin purposefully crafts a story to effectively leave the audience thinking about the concussion of discontentment in society. Carla is a symbol of the attract and illusion of beauty. She is a model the sociocultural standardised of feminine beauty in society, however cryptograph about her is as it appears. Although she is a model, she is struggling. She is beautiful precisely her looks were altered by cosmetic surgery. Men were attracted to her just now thequality of the men is apparent motionable. The fact that she is not smart is to deliberately create the stereotype of the dumb model. The medias use of such unrealistic models like Carla and it makes it voiceless for females to achieve any level of contentment with their somatogenetic appearance. Carla is the false god the media soak ups women to compare themselves against. Her b eauty is undoable as it is the result of drastic measures.Yet, even if other women decide to go through those drastic measures they concisely learn, like Carla, that it does not ultimately bring them happiness. When you look Carla and Bethanys relationship, you can further see the nothingness in Carlas life. She describes Bethany as being one of the only female friends that she has. Reading the dialogue, even beyond the obvious points, there is so much about the friendship that is flawed. Bethany is not even aware that it is Carlas birthday and when made aware she only half-heartedly acknowledges it before she continues on with her conversation/purpose for being there. Bethany also shows no regard for the fact that Carla and is on the phone regardless of how many an(prenominal) times Carla asks her to be quiet. When Carla does finish her telephone the two carry on separate monologues and their conversation only finds connection when Carla realizes that she is the topic. Carla e ven acknowledges that Bethany does not like her most of the time.Which forces the reader to question the issue to which Carla understands relationships like friendship. Interestingly, Martin chose to have Carla be middling modest and even somewhat self-deprecating regarding her come across of toward herself and complimentary toward her less attractive friend. This choice is interest in that we generally think of the beautiful girl in stories as being the morally besmirch one. In popular culture the most beautiful girl is generally depicted as the villain. Yet, Martin breaks from this conventional trajectory. On the other hand, Bethany is an almost villainous character. She is negative, confessedly jealous, self-absorbed, and single-minded in her motivations for things that are fleeting and dilettanteish that she believes beauty gives. She is a successful accountant, a make author, and pretty. However, these things are not enough for her. It could be verbalise that her att itude is an indictment on the fact that women pressure to view themselves in terms of their looks.Carla is allowed in many ways to be more human than Bethany is because she no longer has to strive for betterlooks. An additional valuation can also be done of the genie, which is emblematic of the world of advertizing. He is a larger than life colorful character that represents the glamour and glitz of the publicize world. The offering of wishes represents the promises of publicizings. The fact that he is see-through (1106) is exemplary of the illusion and deception of advertisement. The whole concept of advertising is comparable to a mirage, which is a inbred occurring opthalmic illusion, yet even with the scientific explanation it is slake an abstract experience that is a combination of desire and imagination.Advertising is just that, a mirage, a natural occurring illusion that comes into agreement with our desires and imagination. According to the Media Center for Literacy, advertising is the most powerful education tool in American which explains why women are conditioned to view themselves this prism. Bethany was the type of person the advertisement agencies target. She was unhappy with herself, as well as someone willing to go to any length or pay any price to obtain the perfect image.The media works threatening at creating a society that view themselves negatively and then they prey on the victims. Ultimately, Martin uses his play to force the audience to question ideas of beauty, happiness, and what it means to live a good life. The characters, Bethany and Carla, present us with different elements of society. all(prenominal) yearns for something outside of themselves. However, the desire for beauty trumps the desire for other traits like intelligence and personal success to the extent that someone is willing to give up everything for it. working CITEDKilbourne, Jean. Beautyand the Beast of Advertising. 21 December 2012. Martin, Jane. Beauty Lite rature and the Writing Process. Ed. Susan X. Day, RobertFunk, and Elizabeth McMahan. Upper Saddle River Pearson, 2007. Print.