In W. D. Valgardson’s story “Identities”, The author them treats that in our society, people judge individuals by the type of clothing they wear or what they look like and by doing so, society gives the individual and identity. The author uses imagery and shift to prove this point. Firstly, the author uses imagery to prove that people are judged by the types of clothing that they wear or what their physical appearance look like. As the speaker gets to his car, he recalls memories of his childhood such as "yellow leaves " (Valgardson 171) and "salmon glinting with silver” (171) The bright colors that the author uses in the text such as yellow and silver represents how the speaker grew up in a safe neighborhood. The speaker who grew up in a safe neighborhood and who earned the right to enforce laws to make safe neighborhoods dies because the speaker did not look like a good guy but is mistaken to look like a thief. Furthermore, the author uses darker colors to show that the protagonist’s safety is gone. As the speaker drives past a "grey stone gate” (171) and a school with "yellow bricks" (172) the speaker knows that he is in the wrong place. The colors that the author uses to describe the gates and the school’s bricks are warnings to stay away from the neighborhood. The speaker knows that this place does not look promising when the houses in the neighborhood looks run-down. When the speaker drives …show more content…
When the officer thinks that the speaker is a potential thief who could not be the owner of the car he feels that his safety is gone,