Alice Walker’s Beauty is her account of how an accident from her childhood caused her to go blind in one eye and alter her appearance. However, it is not this incident alone that she explores in the work that focuses on events that can have long-lasting consequences. Walker recalls aspects of her life that are out of her control, with themes such as race, social class, family dynamics, and the cultural standards for ‘beauty’. The responses Walker received from the world and people she knew in regards to her race, social status, and appearance have deeply impacted her self-worth in her early years as well as throughout her whole life. Her experiences have universal connotations, as people live under certain expectations, and if they are not met, consequences in the form of self-esteem issues can occur.
Group membership has several processes that can offer advantageous and disadvantageous consequences for individuals within them. Spending increased time in a collaborative environment helps people adapt to such work styles, which they become proficient in over time. This is especially prevalent in club activities such as sports teams, choirs, and bands, in which individuals can excel at a specific skill set due to their time spent on it. However, group membership may also result in the inability to gather in sufficient time due to group size, available space for meetings, or availability of group members. Additionally, group members may have varied standards, methodologies, or opinions and may not be able to work with others. As such, group membership is likely to have both negative and positive effects on members and the group as a whole. Many of the issues are complex, such as social adaptability and development as a person.