Our identity is everything to us. It makes us who we are and how we act. It is our skin and our personality. Sometimes our identity can be put into question and ripped from us. In some cases, our identity could determine the rest of our lives. How we are treated and how we are accepted. In the shorts stories “Mirror Image” by Lena Coakley and “The pose” by Anwar Khan, the protagonists are having a difficult time understanding their identity and where they stand in society. In the beginning, the characters are put in a position where they are self-conscious of their own bodies. Eventually the further in the stories we see the characters more accepting of their bodies and their places in society. As a result, both begin to accept their identifies. …show more content…
To elaborate, in “Mirror Image” When Alice met Mr. Jarred the father of the donated body, they had a conversation about how they both feel about having Alice be in a different body. “‘Your hair. The way you stand, even. Our Gail, she was an early bloomer, always slouched. Your accent is different too.’” (Coakley 18). We can tell that that Alice is finally accepting herself and her place in society by talking to the father of the girl who donated her body and understanding the other perspective, and being confident enough to go talk to the father of the girl. As well as in “The Pose” , we are shown that the protagonist is finally accepting her identity and her place in society, she is shown doing this by walking out of the store extremely confident and happy. “Confidently she strode away, briskly but lightly, happy and satisfied.” (Khan). She is exiting the store with a new found confidence and happiness, knowing she has accepted who she is and her place in society In conclusion, one must accept oneself's identity before being accepted into society. In the two short stories, “Mirror Image”, and “The Pose”, the protagonists were put into a position where they were doubting their identity, as a result they were beginning to feel as an outsider to society. However they both began to come to terms with their identity to ensure that they can feel like they fit into