Training in a burning building
The last scene in the book is arguably the most important one, which is where Elizabeth sees a health center burning down, though one of the people that are training doesn’t stop, even though they are in immediate danger. This is where Elizabeth has her final epiphany: Life itself is more valuable than straining to be beautiful.
Looking for attention
Elizabeth’s best friend, Mel is overweight and confident from a young age. She enjoys that she has more boobs than most and uses it to get attention from men. Elizabeth, on the other hand, thinks that her extra weight makes her less beautiful and wished to lose it from an early age. The scenes of the young girls as they were young is important, as they continue thinking the same way as they grow up. This shows that the way one thinks of oneself is important, even from one is young.
The consequences of morbid obesity
Obesity runs in Elizabeth’s family, and her mother is heavily and morbidly so. She states that she often looses her feelings in her legs, as well as not being able to breath. In the last part of the middle stages of Elizabeth’s live, where she calls herself Beth, her mother dies. As the book is generally positive about weight, it is an important addition to include the dangers of bad health as a precaution.
