In the memoir the Color of Water, James McBride spends most of the time finding his true identity. To understand his inner confusion and turmoil, he had a need to understand his mother’s past. James McBride takes an epic life quest to discover and learn more about his heritage in his memoir. As the book begins, the author has a curiosity and was consumed with the need of learning about his mother and her past.
The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore is about identity. Throughout the book, Wes Moore questions why he and the other Wes Moore had such different lives, even though, they shared a name. In doing so, it caused him to look deeper into his background and himself and wonder how he ended up where he was, along with the other Wes Moore. According to Wes Moore, “As I’ve puzzled over the issue, I’ve become convinced that there are some clear and powerful measures that can be taking during this crucial time in a young person’s life” (Moore 179). He had discovered that he and the other Wes Moore had similar upbringings, but the choices he made differed from the other Wes Moore’s choices.
Garnet Journey of Finding His Identity in “Keeper ‘N Me” The “Keeper ‘N Me,” by Richard Wagamese is about a young Anishinaabeg boy named Garnet Raven's identity and spiritual journey. The book tells the tale of Garnet's adventure of being separated from his family and being returned back. In "Keeper 'N Me," inspires readers to discover their true identity by Garnet's journey in life. A finding identity tale, Keeper 'N Me centres on the life of an Anishinaabeg boy.
In Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld, the main character, Lee Fiora, decides to go to the north eastern boarding high school called Ault. Though once an outgoing person when she lived at home, Lee begins closing up at Ault. As a result, Lee finds herself living in two worlds: her old life at home and her new one at school. However, she doesn’t adjust herself to either. Because Lee feels she is living in two worlds, she does not let herself fit into either of them, separating herself from both of them.
In this excerpt, R. Eric Thomas learns essential lessons about identity. One of the most important lessons R. Eric Thomas
The novel Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld follows the life of Lee Fiora in her four years spent at a boarding school called Ault. Ault is a prestigous high school in Boston which is made up of wealthy kids and very few kids on scholarships. Lee is one of the few students there on a scholarship since her parents could not afford to pay for Ault. She struggled from her Freshman year to her Senior year of high school trying to find who she really was and how she could fit into the community there. Lee struggles with her identity at Ault and begins as a responsible, smart, social girl but then becomes confused, lonely, and embarassed.
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.
The book, “SLAM!”, by Walter Dean Myers is based on a seventeen year old boy and his everyday life as well as narrating his basketball career. The book starts off with him explaining how good he is as basketball, to how he moved schools, from one where everybody knows him, also more povert than his current, magnet school, where the basketball team isn’t as good and where he has to make new friends. Everybody calls him Slam, a nickname because of his basketball dunking prowess but his real name is Greg Harris. He has trouble in his classes in the beginning of the year, as well as trouble with his new team, trouble making new friends, and trouble throughout. His mom is a caring, sweet mother like any other and his dad is having trouble finding
“All discomfort comes from suppressing your identity”(Bryant H. McGill). We can not decide upon our own identity; It comes from our hopes, dreams, memories, culture and experiences. We can not suppress or change who we are or where we came from and must except ourselves. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros introduces the main character Esperanza, who is initially ashamed and tries to repress parts of her identity. One of the main themes in The House on Mango Street is E. acknowledging her name and mango street as part of her self identity.
In Julio Polanco’s poem, “Identity”, the author develops the theme that one should be true to himself through the extended metaphor of ugly weeds feeling beautiful. The narrator wanted to be freed from the burden and pressure of trying to fit in so he’d “rather be a tall, ugly weed” (Palanco). This expresses the idea that inward appearance trumps outward appearance and inner beauty is achieved through being yourself. The metaphor conveys how he wanted freedom and to live an adventurous life without being forced to be something other than himself and that had a greater meaning than beauty.
Many people may not know much in the way of their identity. The challenges can help people learn about themselves through the actions they take and what they can achieve in the face of adversity. Learning about your identity is represented quite well by Santiago in Paulo Coelho’s fantasy novel The Alchemist. The the start of the story Santiago is lost with no goal in life and has little knowledge of what it outside of the plains and towns of Spain. Then Santiago is faced with massive amounts of adversity in the form of a threat of death he learn about his identity and learns that he can face and overcome the challenge.
The Search for Nwoye’s Identity. Our lives leads us in different directions. Nwoye at first struggled with identity, but then he found himself through Christianity. For the first time he desired something other than satisfying his father.
The identity a person holds is one of the most important aspects of their lives. Identity is what distinguishes people from others, although it leaves a negative stereotype upon people. In the short story Identities by W.D Valgardson, a middle-aged wealthy man finds himself lost in a rough neighborhood while attempting to look for something new. The author employs many elements in the story, some of the more important ones being stereotype and foreshadow. For many people, their personal identity is stereotyped by society.
Identity speaks of who we are as individuals but it also comes from two different groups: social and cultural. These groups are connected to power, values and ideology. Social identities are related to how we interact with people and how we present ourselves. Meanwhile cultural identities relate to society in whole such as religion, values, etc. In this paper I will talk about the dominant and subordinate identities.
1. The movie I have selected for the identity analysis assignment will be the Breakfast Club (1986). The movie is about five teenagers who are from different groups in high school cliques; the popular girl (Claire), the loner (Allison), the athlete (Andrew), the nerd Brain) and the outsider (Bender). They spend the Saturday in detention together.
