Look in the Mirror

A look in the mirror word count: 1208 Take a long look in the mirror... Afraid of what's seen? Is the person in the mirror different from the one outside of it? Is the perception of the identity not the one hoped for? Strength and approval comes from ones inner self.

Without the approval of ones self a person cannot expect approval of someone else. A long look in the mirror tells people who they are. People don't understand what power that comes from within.That's why people die a fraction of what they once was because they let there peoples opinion become their reality.

Self love Is a great thing to have and self evaluation Is a great thing to have, but to much if either can leave to a miserable life. Finding one self Is a hard and stressing situation. Two good examples of these gifts and curses the story of "The Livelong of J. Alfred Froufrou" by T. S. Eliot and the story of Narcissus and Echo by the famous Roman poet Ovid.

In both of the stories the self love of each of the main characters leave them in a state of lonesome state.Being rejected or rejecting people out of their lives. In the Metamorphoses, the story of Narcissus he sees his reflection and falls in love with himself, " He looks in speechless wonder at himself and hangs there motionless in the same expression," (Ovid 55) In the story of" The Livelong of J. Alfred Froufrou". The mall character is subject to live his life alone and has no kind of self confidence, " Do I dare disturb the universe," (Eliot 4) In both of these marvelous Interpretations of how different people view themselves. One loved himself to much and one TLD love himself enough.

Each poems mall theme Foote 2 is how their own evaluation led them to their ultimate destruction. Staring in the mirror is deadly. In Metamorphoses a boy by the named lives a life most teenagers would fine acceptable. He is beautiful and the opposite sex finds him attractive, but unlike most teenagers he doesn't feel the same way about any girl. Was he mean or did he feel as if the opposite sex could not fill the void, " Unwittingly he desires himself; he praises, and is himself what he praises," (Ovid 55). His denial of the girls led the males who the girls didn't like revolt.

So finally he found himself In a reflection, but their was a problem because he couldn't love himself In the way he wanted to, "So may he himself love, and not gain the things he love," ( Ovid 55). Self resistance was the test and self love Is what he had Inside and If he could have left the pool. He would have realized that, " with you it comes, with you it stays, and it will go with you- if you can In the story of" The long song of J. Alfred Froufrou this man has been rejected by a woman later on questing his existence, " How should I presume," (Eliot 5 He is likeNarcissus in the way they both seek out love, but something inner or outer stop them. From insecurity to over admiration. They both go to edge, but unlike Narcissus he couldn't finish the Job of killing himself, " WSDL it have been worth it," ( Eliot 8 ).

He later would let his insecurities lead him down a path of craziness, " at times, the fool," (Eliot 7). In both situations it shows that looking in the mirror is dangerous to their self being. Narcissus and Froufrou shared a similar problem due to their self love problems. Both of their problems leads them to not have contact with others.

For Froufrou it is well evident that he knows what wrong with his appearance and he sees everything as a bad thing when it is really not, " How his arms and legs are thin," ( Eliot 4 ). Froufrou has a relationship with himself as Narcissus, but Froufrou has a negative relationship. His lack of self confidence leads him to down spiraling events. Which leads him to isolation between him and other people. His lack of confidence was Foote 3 definitely shown when it came to women, " Is it the perfume from a dress that me so digress? "( Eliot 5) and later on saying, " And how should I begin? Eliot 5). He lacked in self love and had no respect for himself.

Narcissus on the other hand a little bit to much of self love for himself. Many of his classmates had envious feelings not because he was cocky or full of himself is just that he didn't like anyone, " At last one of the scorned youth," ( Ovid 55 ). This hatred that these youth had for Narcissus led him to find himself in a pool with the help of the god Nemesis. That is when he really found what the girls had been chasing and he feel helplessly in love with himself, " he admires for which he is myself admired," ( Ovid 55 ).

He was unable to form a real bond with anyone because he cared for himself way to much. Which caused him to become isolated from the community as Frock. He couldn't create relationships with qualified females because he had a self love that was to strong to be broken, " equally he kindles love and burns with love," ( Ovid 55 In both situations it shows that a looking to long in the mirror is a bad thing and self confidence is needed to survive. In both cases as seen that self evaluation is a bad thing.

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If its done to much. Not saying that self evaluation is a bad thing.It is seen in The Metamorphoses Narcissus plummets to his doom in a watery grave. Froufrou dies a lonely man because he thinks his appearance is not acceptable to anybody. They both feel that their appearances make them who they are.

Narcissus believes that no women nor man is Justified to be with him. Froufrou feels as if he is not Justified to be with anyone. Nonetheless, both people are insecure in a way. They being Narcissus and Froufrou had a stare in the mirror for to long.

If they had have been focused on their selves for to long.They could have a long and fulfilling life. Narcissus took the positive look in the mirror. Froufrou took the negative look in the mirror. Both in a way they Foote 4 both received negative outcomes. So taking a long look is usually a good thing, but in over arrogant (Narcissus).

The lives that they lived were not fulfilling causing to become insane in a way. They both because of how long they stayed in the mirror. They let their own perceptions of what they thought was beautiful cloud their judgment. So people are right when they say looks can kill .