The purpose of this paper is to define the term "self-fulfilling prophecy" as it relates to a story or narrative. .
Definition: Self-fulfilling prophecy is a concept in which an individual believes a situation to be true, thus he or she finds real consequences, and by his or her reaction to the situation make the outcome true.
Description: Sarah always had a crush on Robert, but she thought Robert saw her as too ugly to date. Robert liked Sarah, and thought she was a pretty girl. He wondered why she had begun to avoid him. Sarah became depressed as a result of her perceptions. Sarah felt if she could not get her best friend to notice her in a romantic light, then no guy would notice her. Sarah stopped caring about her diet and her clothing, because she felt as if she didn"t have a chance with Robert. She began to over-eat, so her weight increased. She began alter her wardrobe to include baggy shirts and loose blue jeans. She stopped brushing and combing her hair, and began bathing infrequently. Due to depression, she behaved as though her appearance was immaterial. After some time, she had become very ugly in Robert's eyes. Thus, Robert would not have considered dating Sarah as an option in his future.
Analysis: This narrative demonstrated the concept of self-fulfilling prophecy. Sarah thought she was too ugly to attract the attention of Robert. She became depressed, and began to behave as if she was not worthy of his attention. Finally, she became fat, and unkempt, so Robert would not date her. Since Sarah believed the situation to be real, the situation had real consequences for her. She reacted to the situation based on her perception, and the original situation became real in the end. This makes the difference between self-fulfilling prophecy, and definition of situation.