Lusus Naturae Essay

Many times, through our journey in life, we become impacted by something that we’ve either seen, heard, or maybe read that left a memorable imprint in our minds. Sometimes this could even be a reality check or a life learned lesson for us to do better. If I were to decide which two stories that I believe for most had a memorable impact to their life, I would say “New Boy” by Roddy Doley and “Lusus Naturae” by Margaret Atwood. Both stories share a powerful meaning behind them and deal with similar conflicts that we should learn from.. In the story written by Roddy Doley called “New Boy,” Doley shares a very realistic story about a refuge’s first day in class, named Joseph. While reading his story, at first you begin to wonder, what a strange…

A major theme in short stories is isolation. In “Lusus Naturae” by Margaret Atwood and “Recitatif” by Toni Morrison illustrates the theme of physical isolation. Robert Carver shows the narrators isolation is self-inflected in the story “Cathedral”. Self-inflected isolation is also displayed in “Lusus Naturae”. The narrator of the story “Lusus Naturae” had the disease Porphyria causing visible signs that resemble a monster appearance. She also explained that her father once held her in his…

The feelings of emptiness and hopelessness are factors in which may influence an individual’s decision to commit suicide to put an end to their insufferable emotions. It is not normal for one to seek for death if there is not an ulterior motive that had triggered them to do so. Margret Atwood’s short story “Lusus Naturae” is written in a first person point of view, in which the setting of the story is during the mid 1800s when modern medicine and faith clashed between one another. Atwood had…

Character Analysis of Lusus Naturae The short story of Lusus Naturae is about a young girl who has been struck by a life-altering disease. Lusus was only seven-years-old when she became ill with the measles and shortly after her life turned upside down. This young lady was appeared to be strong, beautiful, and wanted by others until she had become diseased. Lusus was a very loyal girl who always put others above her own needs or wants. Lusus was described to have, “yellow eyes, pink teeth,…

Margaret Atwood's "Lusus Naturae" is a story about a young girl who is diagnosed with porphyria. Porphyria is a group of diseases in which substance called porphyrins build up affecting the skin or nervous system. This in turn causes abdominal pain, chest pain, vomiting, and many more symptoms. This also causes severe disfiguration in the skin all over the body. In the story the girl suffers many mental and physical ailments because of the verbal abuse from her family and also from the villages…

In the story Lusus Naturae, it is believed that the most effective style elements utilized by the author are the story’s linear timeline, its somber tone/ mood, and its descriptive imagery in the form of literal/ figurative descriptions. These three style elements used by the author allow the reader to stay invested in the story, leaving them constantly The first effective style element used is the linear timeline in Lusus Naturae. This style element allows the reader to comprehend the changes…

Gloria Steinem once stated that “Being misunderstood by people whose opinions you value is absolutely the most painful.” Society can be a cruel place to live for those who do not fit the mold. This mold excludes deformity and so called strange or abnormal behavior. But this cruel treatment does not exclude people who cannot control certain aspects of themselves. Margret Atwood’s “Lusus Naturae” portrays humanity as cruel and harsh to those thought of as monsters or unworthy people who cannot…

In the short story “Lusus Naturae,” by Margaret Atwood, A little girl is introduced to the story that has a very rare disease which mutates her appearance by giving her yellow eyes, pink teeth, red fingernails, and long hair all over her body. The events that unfold throughout the story is described through the eyes of the mutated little girl, this is important to understand throughout the story to get an understanding of the innocence of the little girl and to show how cruel people can be.…

Margaret Atwood's short story “Lusus Naturae” demonstrates how people reject others, or things that are not easily understood. Having the tendency to shun what is not understood and what is thought is not morally acceptable. Not only does it demonstrate how humans reject others but it has a view on women's roles and the idea of feminism. Margaret Atwood intertwines the idea of feminism and discrimination. Woman for ages have felt they have been put inferior to men even to this day and age. They…

There is a thin line between normal and abnormal. Normality is completely relative to the society in which one exists. Each culture has its own definition of average and each person is expected to live up to that definition. When someone does not meet that expectation, they are often ostracized from the group and labeled an outcast, or even a monster. Although the “monster” itself faces many struggles throughout life, the family of the “monster” is often left conflicted between fitting in with…