An Ounce of Cure

            An Ounce of Cure is Worth a Lot of Trouble.
             Was growing up ever difficult or confusing? Everyone has a different story about finding oneself. Sometimes it might take a drastic event to bring forth the real personality in an individual. In fact, everyone has probably heard the old saying "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." This story's title foreshadows events to come by implying that something emotionally tragic happens. Everyone knows how difficult it is to break away from the mob of his peers. After all, nobody wants to be thought different or be neglected. Every person copes with this time in his life in a different way. Alice Munro writes a comical story about one girl's journey in "An Ounce of Cure." This short story is about developing individuality and discovering oneself. .
             At the beginning, the narrator appears a typical teenage girl. Low self-esteem might seem prevalent through the comments she makes when she catches a boy checking her out. She cannot understand why he is attracted to her "home permanent [that] had turned out badly" (452). She states that she is "not looking like anybody but me" (452). This first impression might point to the low self-esteem that most teenage girls possess. However, perhaps there is another alternative. Is she instead quite assured of herself and does not proceed to swoon over some random senior boy who is checking her out? The narrator has a strong personality and does not need a boy as a crutch. This one occurrence shows the intense self-sufficient qualities in the character. However, in a moment of longing to be loved and accepted, she lets herself fall.
             The narrator makes the mistake of becoming engulfed in her relationship with the young man, Martin Collingwood. They date for only two months, but after the break-up she can think of nothing else (452). Now she is showing signs of a normal, superficial teenager.