“I wanted all signs of my body’s idiosyncrasies and deficiencies to be promptly hidden if they could not be permanently removed. At the same time, I knew that no matter how well the leg worked or how clean the hinges or the new foot, I could never have what I wanted, which was the leg I’d prayed for years ago at my First Communion: one made of soft, pliable flesh and strong bones, with real blood running through its veins. Whatever Vince did, no matter how hard he worked and no matter how ardently I hoped, it would never be enough. I hated him for that.”
-Emily Rapp, Poster Child page 116
Emily, I believe, writes her memoir in first person form so that she can accurately relay each and every feeling and emotion that comes along with each event in her life. This paragraph was so raw in my opinion because you see the maturity level of a young adult and how she, as a typical teenager, could never be satisfied with anything given to her. What really stuck out in this passage however is how despite having the exterior appearance of a teenagers maturity level, she is still wishing for a leg the way most children wish for a puppy for Christmas, or for their hair to grow longer. It is so innocent and heartbreaking because since she was a baby she was deprived of this sense of normalcy and unlike other children doesn’t have the privilege to wish for such mundane things. Instead she is wishing for a real live leg instead of the prosthetics she has been unfairly forced into choosing from. That is why the point of view is so important in this memoir because it makes us care about Emily and her situation, because now we are in her mind, she is revealing her innocence and disappointment, and even rage to us that we never would have been able to experience if she decided to write this differently. People want to feel emotion, any emotion when they are reading a piece of work and Emily is an artist in the way she is revealing every emotion to us. I also thought that it was interesting the way she wrote this passage with a few long sentences instead of breaking her thoughts up into smaller chunks. It is as if all of this was just rapidly spilling out of her head onto the page, which makes this passage that much more real to me.