My Other Self
Uploaded by screamingbutterfly on May 03, 2000
In "My Other Self" the essayist takes the reader on a journey through a girl’s torturous emotional problems during a short period of time. The essayist believes that to each person, there is an "other self". This other self is a side of us that no else knows exists. I think it is created by the repression of our strongest emotions.
The girl in the essay is at a skating rink with her friends when one of the boys expresses a personal interest in her. When he asks to walk her home, the girl’s "other self" begins to feel trapped and nervous.
"...and making my other self very, very nervous. She can not bear to be held or confined." The above sentence from "My Other Self", shows how the character refers to her other self as a completely different person. She does not realize that the emotions building her other self are really just a part of her normal psyche that she has pushed aside.
In the sentence, "my other self slips towards hysteria." The essayist also shows that the girls "other self" is far less composed than the self that she shows to acquaintances. Her other self is confused, and anxious to explode.
In the events with the young boy eventually the girl feels overpowered by the feelings and thoughts that her "other self" is thrusting into her mind. She flees the scene - leaving the young man quite confused, as he does not know what is bothering her. When the girl flees home she is overcome with emotion, and this her parents do not understand, so she pretends that she is upset about her skates - once again not allowing the honest expression of her other self.
The conclusion of this essay is very powerful. "Flinging myself onto my bed, I pound the pillow till my body is seized with convulsions, releasing the rage my other self can no longer control." I think the essayist wrote an intriguing essay that illustrated that emotions can not be ignored, and do not just disappear.