Analysis of The Bad Case of Stripes by Sarvessh Senthamarai Kannan

 To start off, the theme of the short story The Bad Case of Stripes is to be yourself even

through criticism because only you know yourself best in and out. In the fictional story The

Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon it states, “Camila Cream loved lima beans. But she

never ate them. All of her friends hated lima beans, she wanted to fit in. Camila was always

worried about what other people thought of her.” This shows that even though Camila knows

she deeply loves lima beans, she is afraid of what others might think of her. This triggers a

precautionary relationship between her and the lima beans; she wants to eat them with all her

heart but she is too occupied with what others think of her.

To further explain, a confident person is always someone who believes in themselves

and doesn’t listen to others' criticism. Being a confident person is the only way to pursue your

own dreams without obstacles. However, Camila is too focused on the other’s opinion and

thoughts about herself. This exposes Camila’s unconfident exposure and weak mindset which

collapses under others' negative pressure. To add on, in the story The Bad Case of Stripes it

also stated, “Camila wanted a big, heaping plateful of lima beans more than anything, but she

was still afraid to admit it.”

This proves Camila, who is diagnosed with a “contagious and harsh skin disease” even

now still doesn’t want to admit she loves lima beans more than anything. This shows that

even though Camila knows her situation is worsening she still wouldn’t take a lima bean

medication.

This exposes a very vital trait in Camila, the only reason she isn’t eating the lima beans

is because she is afraid of how others will interpret and judge her unique actions. To explain

further, even at a time of almost certain life and death, Camila is still precautious of what

others will think of her actions. This implies that she has a very low level of confidence and

assertiveness. To conclude, everyone should be assertive to themselves and not back down

for something they believe in because only they know best about themselves.