Who Am I?

Who Am I? (Whats my Name?) Snoop Dogg

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

This song, like many other examples of music from the hip hop genre, features lyrics proclaiming the greatness of the rapper. Snoop Dogg is self confident, and links his identity to things he values, such as sex, drugs, and money. His confidence is entirely based on his perspective of what makes a person successful. I thought this was an interseting selection because I think that although the song reflects a skewed perspective (one that I personally don't share), it still fits into my categorization concerning self-identity.

by Stephen Chbosky: This is the story of Charlie, who as a freshman social outcast, searches for a way to fit in somewhere in high school. This book is one of my favorite examples of Young Adult Literature, because Charlie's issues with discovering his own identity are poignant, and it is one of the most realistic and moving novels I have ever read in the genre.

Who do I think I am?

Each of these texts has an example of a character who is either unsure of what their identity is and who they want to be, or characters who have a firm self identity. The characters' insecurities or confidences are a result of inward reflection and personal perspective rather than entirely reflecting or depending on outside perspectives.

American Born Chinese

Zoolander

by Gene Yang:

This story deals with the self inflicted Identity crisis of Jin Wang. Although this story features societal pressures and perspectives on identity, I placed it under this categorization because of Jin's tendency to believe that he is inadequate. Ultimately, He comes to terms with who he is, based on something other than what society or anyone else says.

Derek Zoolander is a really really ridiculously good-looking male model nearing the end of his career. He begins to feel self doubt when Hansel, a hot young model takes his place as the most famous male model in the world. Zoolander, through a series of wacky adventures, discovers that he alone can define himself, and that he truly is the greatest male model in the world. I selected this movie because it is one of my favorite comedies, but also because I think that Zoolander moves back and forth between self-confidence and self-doubt, both of which fit this category.

Who Am I?

Differing Perspectives on Identity

In The Desert

In the desert

I saw a creature, naked, bestial,

Who, squatting upon the ground,

Held his heart in his hands,

And ate of it.

I said, "Is it good, friend?"

"It is bitter – bitter", he answered,

"But I like it

Because it is bitter,

And because it is my heart."

by Stephen Crane: This is one of my favorite poems, and I think it fits in really well with the theme. The creature in the story seems to have a different opinion of its own identity than the beholder. It is “naked and bestial” and yet as it feasts on its own heart, it eats of it fondly because it is his own. To me, perspective of the beholder is what the reader sees, and yet the creature loves itself for what it recognizes as his own identity: the bitter heart. I think this poem reflects once again how perspective influences identity.

Feed

Who do others see?

by M.T. Anderson: I decided to use this novel because the social pressures from society have two very different effects on Titus and Violet. Titus accepts his shrinking personal identity in order to fit in, while Violet tries to prevent herself from conforming to the feed’s idea of who she should be. They respectively accept and reject their roles based on society’s perspective of social and financial class.

by Rene Magritte: This painting speaks to how much the perspective of others can form identity. The man’s identity is entirely contolled by the perspective of the viewer. Magritte said of the painting, “Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see. There is an interest in that which is hidden and which the visible does not show us. This interest can take the form of a quite intense feeling, a sort of conflict, one might say, between the visible that is hidden and the visible that is present.”

The Son of Man

by Orson Scott Card: I picked this novel because of the very pointed loss of identity that the main character experiences at the end of the novel. The identity problems that Ender experiences are a result of outside forces, and his ultimate discovery at the end of the novel breaks down his self-identity based on what society expects him to be rather than what he wants to be.

These texts all show how the perspective of others can alter identity. They are similar in effect to the societal perspective, although they deal specifically with individual relationships and characters, rather than with a group of people. I included two works of art in this section because of the inherent subjective nautre of the medium, in which there is no definite identity for the subjects.

Ender's Game

Who am I in Society?

by Pablo Picasso: This is a little known painting for Picasso’s early blue period. The painting, done in blue watercolor, is of Picasso’s friend Sebastian Junyent depicted as a mad man. To me, this painting represents how Picasso controls the identity of his friend through his art, and how through the painting, Picasso’s own perspective becomes the identity the viewer understands.

These texts all exhibit characters who experience identity crises due to the pressure of what society expects them to be as part of a larger group. The perspective and pressure of society changes how each character perceives themselves, specifically as part of a larger racial or social group.

El Loco

Invisible Man

by Ralph Ellison: Perhaps one of the most highly acclaimed American novels, Invisible Man is a wonderful social commentary about racial imbalance and stratification. The main character, whom the author never names, describes a period in his life where he thought he fit in and could be accepted for his intellect, only to find that his identity is entirely defined by his race. The societal perspective of a black male does not fit who the main character believes he is, and he eventually confines himself to a basement rather than face the pressure and ridicule of society.