Identity In Gretel Ehrlich's Looking For A Lost Dog

The environment in which an individual grows up in can affect life greatly. Our surroundings influence one’s personality, self-expression, and individuality, otherwise known as identity. Finding one’s true self is the most grueling stage of life and expectations of family and society make the process even harder. One’s true identity can sometimes clash with hopes of others, thus breaking tradition and/or family ties. Pressure to change will always be present, but staying true to uniqueness will prevail. In “Looking for a Lost Dog” by Gretel Ehrlich, the narrator starts her journey searching for her missing dog, Frenchy, however the hunt goes much deeper into context. The hunt for identity becomes prominent while the actual search for her pet is left behind. The narrator is struggling with her own conscience and emotions, hearing “lots of noise, but noise that’s hard to hear.” Dazed and confused, she has become lost in the idea of becoming and having more that a sort of tunnel vision clouds her reality. Although she has an end goal in mind, the obstacles along the way prevent

A family’s judgment has a big hold an individual, therefore self-expression is hard especially when that way of life is denied. Eventually one has to choose: fulfill family expectations or stray away to a new path. Breaking away from family can be hard, even hurtful. In “Digging” by Seamus Heaney, the narrator chooses a different lifestyle than those of his ancestors. He chooses to write instead of dig for he has “no spade to follow men like them.” His true passion is writing, however the family does not see this as work rather as a hobby. The family does not see that writing is a lot like digging, but in this case the pen is the spade. For there are two forms of digging, both requiring hard work and dedication. As Heaney says, “The squat pen rests. / I’ll dig with