Alice Walker's Beauty: When The Other Dancer Is The Self

Alice Walker’s essay, “Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self,” has more than one great theme. The theme that seems to stand out above all is that beauty does not define a person. Throughout the essay, the phrase, “You did not change” was repeated. By repeating this statement, the author stresses that looks are not what defines people, but their character and personality do. The most important part of a theme is translating it to the real world. Walker, does an outstanding job of speaking to what scares people the most: their looks. After the author’s injury, she is scared to look at anyone. She continuously looks at the ground and avoids any eye contact. The author describes how important beauty was to her during the story when she says,