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Why is identity important in literature
Personal identity in literature
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Why is identity important in literature
Personal identity in literature
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
In the historical fiction book, A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. The character statement, though Salva has gone through so much, he persists, is proven in many ways throughout the story. Two pieces of evidence to prove the statement, are shown towards the beginning and end of the story. The claim is generally expressed shortly after the main character, Salva’s, uncle gets shot by the Rebel soldiers. Though Salva was feeling down at times, he always remembers his uncle's words, “You need to walk only as far as those bushes.”
One will eventually come across the day where they are able to figure out who they truly are as a person. A discovery like this will lead to new chapters of life and start new beginnings. Although finding one 's identity can be difficult to understand and accept, it is crucial in life to discover oneself. In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, a teenage girl, who had to overcome and deal with an awful tragedy, takes readers on the long journey she walked before finding meaning and value in who she is as a person.
Ever wondered about the reason why people are the way they are? Many people call this identity. This is seen best through the book, Speak. The main character, Melinda, goes through a continuous journey through high school, trying just to survive. But what shapes her identity through that journey?
The author, Sandra Cisneros, uses literary techniques in “Eleven” to characterize Rachel by using metaphors, comparisons, and repetition. In the beginning of Sandra Cisneros’s short story, she states that when a person becomes an age older they will not feel a difference. The character Rachel explains that in different situations, for example, “Like some days you might say something stupid, and [you will feel ten]” a person might feel different from their actual age. She then competes growing old to layers of an onion, rings of a tree, wooden dolls that fit inside each other because, according to her, “that’s how being eleven years old is”.
Throughout literature the constant theme of identity has been explored, with Northrop Frye even suggesting “the story of the loss and regaining of identity is, I think, the framework for all literature.” For characters, true identity isn’t always apparent, it needs to be searched for. Sometimes the inner struggle for identity stems from ones need for belonging. Whether one finds their sense of identity within friends, family, or in a physical “home”. It’s not always a place that defines identity.
Shaped by the journey of life, each and every human develops an everlasting identity from their perception of the world. Everyone’s identity sticks, but humans contain the capacity to change their identity throughout life; an attribute Esperanza shows greatly. Oppressed by male figures and because of her wealth, and race, Esperanza develops her sense of identity from negative aspects of her life, causing her to feel shame and develop an aspiration to form a new identity. For so long she develops her worth from what others think and say about her, but contains the power to see beyond and what her really life holds for her.
In the novel Saving Francesca, the author Melina Marchetta thoroughly portrays the toll that depression can take on a family as a whole as well on an individual; whilst accurately depicting the complexities of what it means to be a teenager dealing with those around you with mental illness. Saving Francesca exposes the reader with themes such as identity, transition, change, friendships, family and perception; and confronts the reader with the reality of depression, showing how unexpected the illness can be and not as much trying to fix it; but live amidst it. A common struggle that teenagers experience is loss of identity – often changing themselves for the approval of others to feel accepted. The author, Melina Marchetti accurately explains the messy emotions that teenagers experience, especially through the main character Francesca, who throughout the novel her life goes through an upheaval, forced to begin at a new school, separated from old friends and dealing with what was her loud and exuberant mother descend into an agonising depression.
Analogous to Connie’s personality, this setting is split into two opposite places: Connie’s house, a place where Connie feels trapped and lost and suffers from insecurity, low self-esteem, and a general feeling of being unloved, and the nearby town, where she feels content and secure and gains a sense of confidence and power. Constantly being exposed to these two sharply contrasting environments leads Connie to develop an unstable identity, one which is always changing to match her surroundings, reflecting both the characteristics that others attribute to her and the atmosphere of the setting. Therefore, it can be argued that our own identity is not something that we are born with and that remains constant, but instead is something that acts like a mirror, only a reflection of what others see in us and the influences of our own
Sandra Cisneros’ short story “Eleven”, poem “My Wicked Wicked Ways”, and book The House on Mango Street have many similarities and differences in terms of style, tone, theme, character and setting. In the short story “Eleven”, Sandra Cisneros manages to convey a powerful message about growing up from the perspective of an eleven year old. The story starts out with Rachel, the protagonist, who is turning eleven today. It starts out with her at school while she's in math class.
Adolescence can be described as a period of awareness and self-definition. According to Erikson (1968), it is an important period in the enduring process of identity formation in the life of an individual. The movie ‘The Breakfast Club’, focuses on a group of five adolescents, and their pursuit to find their prospective identity. This essay will focus on the process of identity development in these five adolescents, with particular reference to the character Andrew Clark. In addition, it seeks to highlight the different identity statuses, as well as, the factors that facilitate or hinder identity formation.
Throughout my life I have come from and created a few identities for myself. Perhaps, the most dominant identities that have been apart of my life are being an athlete and being a family orientated man. In this paper I will write about how my identities have shaped my life. First off I believe my biggest identity is being an athlete.
The tone of the story is important in making the story sound like it is being to through the eyes of an eleven year old girl, such phrases like “pennies rattling in a band-aid box” and “my whole head hurts like when you drink milk too fast.” All these are certain phrases that would be used in an eleven year old's life, bandaids for the bumps and scrapes, and the milk that your parents would make you drink. That is the tone Eleven sets, a young girl telling us her humiliating story while she is still a child. Sandra Cisneros does an excellent job at using literary devices to characterize Rachel in “Eleven”. By using imagery, simile, and tone we can see that Rachel is a empathetic, bashful, wise, but still naive in her own ways.
This because she is a capricious protagonist who can be perceived as utterly, unstable and unreliable. In one passage she cries and feels pity for herself, and in the following she expresses maternal compassion and care for others. Alice’s constant changes in size are puzzling for her. She seems to struggle in order to comprehend her identity, but the various oscillations in size and in life phases cause considerable confusion on her. The concept of identity can be also associated to an adolescent’s socio-emotional development.
Identity is often a cornerstone in a many important works of literature. The struggle of a protagonist to reconcile with their identity and the expectations or restrictions that accompany this struggle often mirrors real life endeavors and makes important critiques on social structure. The essay A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf makes an influential claim that a woman’s identity as lesser than a man’s in society prevents her from the opportunity to fill her role as a writer while the novel The Bell Jar written by Sylvia Plath describes a woman’s struggle to reconcile with her expectations as a woman in the 1950s. Both pieces make a statement about the impact of identity and its influence on the women faced with the consequences of these societal expectations.
Self-identity is defined as the recognition of one's potential and qualities as an individual, especially in relation to social context. In other words, self-understanding. Finding self-identity is more more difficult for some people than others. In the autobiography Black, White, and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self by Rebecca Walker, the author reflects on her identity as a mixed raced individual which is illustrated through Walker’s reflections. People define themselves in many different ways.