Physical Evidence by Kelly Grey Carlisle is a nonfiction essay of herself when she was finding about her mother who she thought was killed during a car accident but was actually murdered. Carlisle is not only learning what happened to her mother but also is learning about her identity as she learns about her mother since she died when Carlisle was only a baby. This essay is not so much of a happy go lucky story but more about despair and real-life situations that can happen to anyone. The tone mainly used in this essay was sad and sort of depressing. It’s depressing in a way because Carlisle learns at an early age that her mother was murdered and her father was unknown so she really didn’t have anyone in her life but her grandparents. When Carlisle starts out her essay, it’s in an active voice meaning …show more content…
Identity was a huge theme because most of the essay is about the author learning about herself within every new thing she finds out about her mother. As for her showing a feeling of fulfilment Carlisle gets the answers about her mother’s death from her grandfather and the Cold Case Department and I feel like she now feels satisfied and somewhat complete with herself knowing a little of what her mother was like and how she actually died. The theme of loss whether it was people or items lost was also prominent in her essay. The first major thing Carlisle lost was her mother which is the basis for the whole essay, but later she also loses her grandfather, and then a very important picture of her mother was also possibly lost forever. I feel like this text can be applied universally although it was personally wrote. What happened to Carlisle’s mother and her trying to find out about her mother, happens to many people around the world all the time so I’m sure there are some readers that can actually relate to this