Skinny, by Ibi Kaslik is a book about two sisters, one who is battling anorexia. As this book unravels, you begin to see how one sister's deed can affect the other sister's thoughts. After a while, I realized that most of the thoughts that the sisters have of each other seem to almost always have something to do with jealousy.
When I first realized that this was a recurring theme, I was only at the beginning of the book. Gisele (the girl with anorexia)'s mother forces Gisele to go to a clinic. Holly (the other sister) follows along. Even when Gisele is almost delirious and screaming hysterically, Holly can't help but notice that her own arms were wider than Gisele's, and she was jealous of Gisele because of that. I was slightly horrified by this. Holly knew that her sister had anorexia, but for some reason she still cared that she was wider (in other words healthier) than Gisele? I felt that Holly almost wanted to have anorexia, just so she could be as skinny as her sister. Did this jealousy go as far as wanting to have a disease? Does she not see how her sister's anorexia was tearing her family apart?
Gisele's jealousy of her sister almost runs deeper. The main reason why Gisele was almost always jealous of Holly is that Holly always seemed to be getting more love from their father. In this instance, I can see where Gisele is coming from. Not only did Gisele's father not love her as much as Holly, it is very possible that he hated her. But that's not the point. Right before Gisele finished high school, her father died. Ever since then, this jealousy of Holly has been consuming her. Gisele is now in medical school, so a great amount of time has passed. Even though time has passed, Gisele's thoughts still resort back to the jealousy of her sister. And this happens often. This jealousy combined with the anorexia makes me wounder when, not if Gisele is going to come crashing down.
This book helped me realize how much jealousy can consume someone, and even take over somebody's life. Jealousy is no longer a petty thing for children. It is always there, even if we don't realize it. Does this mean that we not only strive to be good, we strive to be better than anyone else? Does this mean that, even unconsciously, we are always striving for perfection? The problem is, perfection does not exist.
When I first realized that this was a recurring theme, I was only at the beginning of the book. Gisele (the girl with anorexia)'s mother forces Gisele to go to a clinic. Holly (the other sister) follows along. Even when Gisele is almost delirious and screaming hysterically, Holly can't help but notice that her own arms were wider than Gisele's, and she was jealous of Gisele because of that. I was slightly horrified by this. Holly knew that her sister had anorexia, but for some reason she still cared that she was wider (in other words healthier) than Gisele? I felt that Holly almost wanted to have anorexia, just so she could be as skinny as her sister. Did this jealousy go as far as wanting to have a disease? Does she not see how her sister's anorexia was tearing her family apart?
Gisele's jealousy of her sister almost runs deeper. The main reason why Gisele was almost always jealous of Holly is that Holly always seemed to be getting more love from their father. In this instance, I can see where Gisele is coming from. Not only did Gisele's father not love her as much as Holly, it is very possible that he hated her. But that's not the point. Right before Gisele finished high school, her father died. Ever since then, this jealousy of Holly has been consuming her. Gisele is now in medical school, so a great amount of time has passed. Even though time has passed, Gisele's thoughts still resort back to the jealousy of her sister. And this happens often. This jealousy combined with the anorexia makes me wounder when, not if Gisele is going to come crashing down.
This book helped me realize how much jealousy can consume someone, and even take over somebody's life. Jealousy is no longer a petty thing for children. It is always there, even if we don't realize it. Does this mean that we not only strive to be good, we strive to be better than anyone else? Does this mean that, even unconsciously, we are always striving for perfection? The problem is, perfection does not exist.
No comments:
Post a Comment