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Allyssa Guerin
Eng-101-64
Maxwell
Compare and Contrast
December 6, 2012
Inner Beauty vs. Physical Beauty
Beauty, by definition, is the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that
gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit (“Beauty About..”).
Although most people think of beauty as being physically beautiful or attractive, there is also
another type of beauty that often goes unnoticed, inner beauty. Inner beauty includes
personality traits, habits, or even a sense of humor. Although physical beauty seems to be
extremely important in today’s society, I believe inner beauty is equally --if not more—
important for a happy and successful life.
Physical beauty is the fortunate ability of having attractive features. This is the beauty
that everyone can see and comment on. Some people are naturally beautiful while others strive
to change their appearance to be as beautiful as possible. Think of physical beauty as being the
outside cover of a book. Unfortunately, this gives other people the ability to look at you and
judge you by how you look. For instance, how skinny you are, your skin color, hair color, and
facial features. There are both positive and negative sides of being physically beautiful. For
instance, a positive contribution could be attention. Physically beautiful people tend to get a lot
of attention from other people, mainly the opposite sex. This attention often results in
confidence, in some cases too much confidence, which can lead to a snobby attitude and selfish
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actions. It has been proven that society is led by the media to believe in physical beauty as
being more important than having inner beauty. People who are considered physically beautiful
are often respected more, get better jobs, and are higher up in social standards.
Although it might seem like people who are physically attractive have an advantage in
life, there are also some negative aspects of being physically beautiful. Often people who are
beautiful are only looked at as being attractive and their true personality and abilities go
unnoticed. They might also be taken advantage of without being aware of it. For example, if
someone is pretending to be their friend just to be associated with them to make themselves
look better. However, people who are physically beautiful on the outside could also possibly be
the ugliest people on the inside.
Inner beauty is a lot more important, but unfortunately this is a misconception in
society. People who are beautiful on the inside are the people who have a positive insight on
the world and everyday life. These people can be described as having a “good head on their
shoulders.” They are generally good people who like to help and affect society in a positive way.
They often have a high respect for other people and receive it in return. Though, these people
are some of the best people on Earth, they often go unnoticed. To see someone’s true beauty
you must know him or her and what they stand for. People who are beautiful on inside but not
the best looking on the outside might be very shy and don’t let a lot of people see their true
beauty. They often go unnoticed and have very low self-esteem and confidence in themselves.
It is very unfortunate because these are often the people who can help our society the most.
Shakespeare often referred to beauty in his sonnets. In number 54, he states the conflict
of how inner beauty affects the appearance of outer beauty.
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“O how much more doth beauty beauteous seem
By that sweet ornament which truth doth give!
The rose looks fair, but fairer we it deem
For that sweet odor which doth in it live.
The canker-blooms have full as deep a dye
As the perfumèd tincture of the roses,
Hang on such thorns, and play as wantonly,
When summer’s breath their maskèd buds discloses;
for their virtue only is their show,
They live unwooed, and unrespected fade,
Die to themselves. Sweet roses do not so;
Of their sweet deaths are sweetest odors made;
And so of you, beauteous and lovely youth;
When that shall vade, my verse distills your truth (Crowther).”
In this sonnet, Shakespeare is basically saying that beauty so much more beautiful when it
comes with honesty and integrity. He is comparing beauty to a rose and saying that a rose is
beautiful but is more beautiful because of its lovely aroma, which comes from within. He
compares the rose to a wildflower, which might have the same beauty as a rose but the scent is
missing and therefore is seen as being less beautiful. The flower stands for physical attributes
and the scent stands for inner ideas and behaviors. I truly believe that every single person is
beautiful in his or her own way. Whether it is being physically beautiful or being beautiful on
the inside, every person has the ability to affect society with either their looks or their ideas and
personality. All in all, it is important that everyone makes an attempt to show their inner beauty
even if they have the fortune of being physically beautiful as well. The problem with our society
is that the wrong kind of beauty is recognized and praised. Hopefully if more people focus on
their inner beauty as much as they do their physical beauty, then it will become more
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recognized and we will have better, more respectful and respected people in our society in the
future.
In conclusion, we can say that both types of beauty are important in life. Although
physical beauty seems to be more important in official life, and inner beauty more important in
personal life, they both play a huge part in who we are as people and how other people
perceive us (“Compare and Contrasts”). Physical beauty is just the surface of the world while
inner beauty goes deeper to morals and ideas in people throughout the world.
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Work Cited
"Beauty About Our Definitions: All Forms of a Word (noun, Verb, Etc.) Are Now Displayed on
One Page." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beauty>.
"Compares and Contrasts.": Physical Beauty and Inner Beauty. Blogger, 5 May 2011. Web. 18
Nov. 2012. <http://comparesandcontrasts.blogspot.com/2011/05/physical-beauty-andinner-beauty.html>.
Crowther, John, ed. “No Fear Sonnets.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2004. Web. 8 Nov.
2012.