An Informal Look Into the Theme of Acceptance
The book I chose for my final project is “The Ugly Duckling” by Hans Christian Andersen. The text was adapted and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney. This text is a childhood favorite that explores the survival story of an ugly little bird who struggles to find his value in various groups. While traveling the countryside, he must survive harmful and scary situations. The main theme presented by this text, is the theme of acceptance and how the feelings of acceptance are unique to every individual.
The title, “The Ugly Duckling,” promotes a feeling of negative self-worth. This suggests that the ugly duckling in the story is seen as an outcast by his peers, therefore unaccepted. Throughout the story, the ugly duckling begins to notice his differences from his peers. He also notices how he is treated differently than his siblings. As the story develops, the duckling begins to acquire feelings of loneliness and bitterness towards his appearance making him feel as if he will never be accepted. The events that lead him to this conclusion start with his family and those closest to him, then strangers he meets look down upon him; finally, he truly begins to see himself as others see him. Ugly and unwanted. Feeling alone, he begins to mature into the very animal he had admired, a beautiful swan. Soon enough, he was flying next to the swan and experienced true acceptance.
Words that are often associated with loneliness are empty, unattended, homeless, withdrawn, isolated, and companionless. The settings and images in the text represent each of these words. In the beginning, the author creates a mood of loneliness by showing the ugly ducking being unattended to and withdrawn from the rest of the farm. The mood gradually shifts into a more depressing and isolated state. The setting and images reflect this by having the ugly duckling be continually rejected by different groups and finally, showing the ugly duckling alone, freezing, and close to death in the middle of winter. The colors in the images seem to get gloomier and depict the sad and depressing state of the duckling. However, as the mood shifts into feelings of acceptance and love, the images are brighter and happier. The story ends with the final message that things get better and somewhere and somehow you will experience acceptance.
I believe that acceptance is unique to every individual, not only in this story, but also in our day-to-day life. How I feel acceptance can be extremely different to the way some one else feels acceptance. I found acceptance within my God, church, and my family. I used to feel as if I was an outcast when certain health issues ended my sports career. After I was outcast from my sports family, I was left feeling alone, isolated, and depressed and seeking acceptance places where I could not find it. Soon after I found that all my answers were found in Jesus and I immediately found acceptance within Him. This led me to feeling accepted by my church and my family. I find that my story of acceptance is similar to the story of “The Ugly Duckling.” I believe that many people follow a similar path to acceptance but they may find acceptance in different things. This is why I believe that acceptance is unique to every individual.
The title, “The Ugly Duckling,” promotes a feeling of negative self-worth. This suggests that the ugly duckling in the story is seen as an outcast by his peers, therefore unaccepted. Throughout the story, the ugly duckling begins to notice his differences from his peers. He also notices how he is treated differently than his siblings. As the story develops, the duckling begins to acquire feelings of loneliness and bitterness towards his appearance making him feel as if he will never be accepted. The events that lead him to this conclusion start with his family and those closest to him, then strangers he meets look down upon him; finally, he truly begins to see himself as others see him. Ugly and unwanted. Feeling alone, he begins to mature into the very animal he had admired, a beautiful swan. Soon enough, he was flying next to the swan and experienced true acceptance.
Words that are often associated with loneliness are empty, unattended, homeless, withdrawn, isolated, and companionless. The settings and images in the text represent each of these words. In the beginning, the author creates a mood of loneliness by showing the ugly ducking being unattended to and withdrawn from the rest of the farm. The mood gradually shifts into a more depressing and isolated state. The setting and images reflect this by having the ugly duckling be continually rejected by different groups and finally, showing the ugly duckling alone, freezing, and close to death in the middle of winter. The colors in the images seem to get gloomier and depict the sad and depressing state of the duckling. However, as the mood shifts into feelings of acceptance and love, the images are brighter and happier. The story ends with the final message that things get better and somewhere and somehow you will experience acceptance.
I believe that acceptance is unique to every individual, not only in this story, but also in our day-to-day life. How I feel acceptance can be extremely different to the way some one else feels acceptance. I found acceptance within my God, church, and my family. I used to feel as if I was an outcast when certain health issues ended my sports career. After I was outcast from my sports family, I was left feeling alone, isolated, and depressed and seeking acceptance places where I could not find it. Soon after I found that all my answers were found in Jesus and I immediately found acceptance within Him. This led me to feeling accepted by my church and my family. I find that my story of acceptance is similar to the story of “The Ugly Duckling.” I believe that many people follow a similar path to acceptance but they may find acceptance in different things. This is why I believe that acceptance is unique to every individual.