An Essay on “Ice Cream” by Helen Dunmore
The term of a dream is a strongly desired goal or purpose, something that fully satisfies a wish. A dream is something that all needs to have. It is a vision. Dreams are our world; they are the inner workings of the mind. Some dreams gives ideas and some help solve problems. To succeed a dream, you have to believe in yourself. Once Theodore Roosevelt said, “believe you can and you are halfway there”. But sometimes believing is not enough. Sometimes everything is fighting against you.
Clara, who is the main character in this short story, is battling with a lot of struggles. As a 23-year-old, she already had a tough life. As a 14-year-old “she was as wide and sleek as a whale”, (page 84 line 13-14). Which is not easy for a 14-year-old, where appearance starts to mean a lot and others are judging on the look. Clara always wanted to be a model, so she went from booking agency to booking agency, but she always got told that she weighed too much, (page 84 line 28). The way she describes herself on page 84 lines 12-14, shows that it had affected the way she perceives herself. But on page 84 line 25-27, she believes what the booking agency, they confirms her in the way of thinking about herself. She is now struggling of always looking the best that she can, but the image of the booking agencies judging on the way she looks, will always be a permanent injury, as so are the way she pictures herself. After the many rejections, she got help from Elise, her personal trainer. She is surrounded by many people who supports her, especially professional. Life as a model can be hard. Which does not leave much time, than doing anything else but concentrate about reaching the ideal body. Clara has this strong obsession with ice cream at her birthday party, where she is surrounded by models. One of the first models appearing in the short story is Julie, who is suggesting to do what every other model does, throw up, (page 84 line 34-36). They do not approve of eating unhealthy; it is a taboo in the model industry. Clara, got this clear obsession and hunger for ice cream, which Elise, which her personal trainer Elise describes as one of her crown jewelry, (page 85 line 11). Elise does not approve of Clara eating ice cream. It is a battle between Elise and Clara, where Elise wants Clara to ignore the temptation of ice cream, however Clara is ready to sacrifice her carrier for ice cream. If Elise had not been there, she would have eaten every single ice cream. Elise was the one to order her a double espresso, because she knows that she cannot control her hunger for ice cream. The way she describes the ice creams they have in the café is intense, “then there is a breath of wood-strawberries, a burnt aroma of coffee, the silk-sweet innocence of vanilla, the spice of ginger, the ice-green tang of lime”, (page 85 line 34-36), she knows her ice cream, and they know when she swallows the first bit of ice cream, it is hard to just walk away. When she swallowed, it was like she gave up; the ice cream concurred. The ice cream symbolizes the loss of control for Clara and the failures as related to measure up to the ideal body, as the model industry demands. In the moment she is giving up for her craving, she is losing control over herself; she shows that she cannot control her impulses. The lost of control causes a disappointment at her personal trainer Elise. Elise is an expression of Clara lacking self-consciousness. Elise has to control what Clara is eating, if she has to stay in the model industry.
Women today are trapped in stereotypes. Stereotypes have created a distortion of how every individual should be. It affects women who perhaps like different things or do different activities, but feel ashamed of doing so because of stereotypes. Women all over the world are striving for the ideal body, and the models are setting one high and unachievable. The models industry have a high admission standard, you have to be a size 2 or less, where the regular female is a size 6-10. Clara is giving up on one of her biggest pleasures to pursue her dream. She had to give up on the ice cream to meet the high admission standards. To fit into the stereotype that the model industry demands.
The message that this short story contains is that it is okay to let go, let go of some control, and do what makes you happy, and to be whoever you want to be, and never doubt it twice. Maybe it is time to set a new stereotype in the world of today, it have to be okay for women today to be whoever you want to be, despite of what other people says and thinks about you.
Clara wanted to achieve her dream, which meant she had to sacrifice her desire for ice cream to pursue her dream. She does not believe that she can concur her cravings for ice cream. She sacrifices her dream being a model for ice cream. Which means she does not meet the model industry’s admission standard. But is it worth sacrificing your dreams and believes for a craving?