A Story About The Body
A Story About The Body
A Story About The Body
Name
Instructor’s name
Course name
determines how people see other things in life. Robert Hass’s poem “A Story About the Body”
examines the different notions and views about beauty. The poem is about a young composer
who falls in love with a Japanese painter. Although both are attracted to each other, the Japanese
painter has a secret that turns away her young suitor. The poem is an excellent portrayal of the
The poem’s central message is about the various perceptions of beauty in society.
Perceived beauty is not in the quality of things but rather in the viewer’s mind. While one person
may perceive as deformed may be perceived as perfect by another, showing how people view
beauty differently. In the poem, the young composer is attracted to the sixty-year-old Japanese
painter for her outward perfection and beauty. The young man “loved her work, and her work
was like the way she moved her body…” The young composer thinks that Japanese work is
excellent just as her body. He is awed by her outward perfection. However, the young
composer’s feelings were more of an infatuation than real love. On learning about the woman’s
mastectomy, he walks away from her to her dismay. The poem is a perfect portrayal of how
people perceive things from their outward nature. The poem emphasizes how looks can deceive
people, as beautiful things tend to be more attractive. However, a closer examination may bring
NAME2
out the hidden faults. The poem thus teaches the readers that life’s reality is will always be lesser
than expectations and that people should be ready to counter any disappointments.
Lastly, the poem uses symbolism to send a moral lesson to the readers. After the young
man walks away from the painter, he wakes up to a small blue bowl outside his door, filled with
rose petals at the top and dead bees at the bottom. The roses and bees are symbolically used to
portray the Japanese painter’s external beauty, and the reality about her body, how her beauty
masked her imperfection. The poem illustrates the difference between real love and infatuation.
A person who has genuine intentions will not allow physical appearance to ruin their love. The
composer’s shallowness and inability to accept the painter’s reality show that his intentions were
not genuine. This emphasizes the need to appreciate people despite their differences.
Additionally, although people may seem okay on the outside, they might be dying on the inside.
The poem asks people to consider checking on each other, even when things seem fine.
NAME3
Works Cited