What do you think all of these poems have in common? Identity. The metaphors of being somebody in I'm Nobody, Who Are You? By Emily Dickinson, the caged bird in "Sympathy" By Paul Laurence Dunbar, and the rock and the island in "I Am a Rock" by Simon and Garfunkel represent how the speaker's identity is expressed in many ways. The metaphor "How dreary to be somebody" in "I'm nobody, who are you?" By Emily Dickinson. It connects to identity by saying it is dull to be somebody. This poem is like a conversation with someone where the speaker is telling the reader it is boring and sad to be someone, especially this line, "How dreary to be somebody" (Emily Dickinson Line 5). This line in the poem especially tells you that it's those people who …show more content…
By Emily Dickinson, the caged bird in "Sympathy" By Paul Laurence Dunbar, and the rock and the island in "I Am a Rock" by Simon and Garfunkel represent how the speaker's identity is expressed in many ways. Emily Dickinson uses the metaphor "how dreary to be somebody" in I'm nobody, Who are you? The metaphor emphasizes the underlying significance of one's identity, indicating that being anonymous is preferable to having a distinct persona. It strengthens the idea of self by demonstrating that you don't need to be anyone else to possess an identity. Paul Laurence Dunbar uses the metaphor "caged bird" in Sympathy with the speaker empathizing with the bird, as they feel confined within the limitations of their life due to being a black person and all that comes along with that. They recognize there are many possibilities and adventures not available to them. The speaker desires autonomy and to be able to explore the external world without being judged based on their identity. Simon and Garfunkel uses the metaphor "I am a rock, I am an island" in I am a rock, with the metaphor illustrating the speaker's innermost sense of self and expressing a longing for solitude. It boosts an individual's sense of self by demonstrating that one does not need to be emotionally driven in order to have a distinct identity. From these poems, we can see that society has a big impact on someone's identity emotionally. It makes people not want to be someone. The question is that will society ever change in a way so that people's identity doesn't get affected by it? We will never know until it