Depiction Of Personal And Social Identity Forming In Literarure
Stay yourself! Often heard, often said, never questioned. But is it indeed possible to stay the same person? What even defines an individual’s personality and makes people the way they are? The concept of someone’s personal identity is an outcome of all the different experiences they have encountered in life, paired with various philosophical questions. Another important form of identity is the social identity, often being in conflict with the personal one. It mostly develops and reveals itself under social pressure, when somebody is trying to fit in or to fulfill expectations for instance.
Even small influences contribute to an individual’s identity and shapes it in a unique way. As portrayed in Langston Hughes’ “Salvation”, Maxine Hong Kingston’s “No Name Woman”, Brent Staples’ “Black Men And Public Space”, Gary Soto’s “Like Mexicans”, and Jon Katz’ “How Boys Become Men”. There are a variety of aspects to consider that influence identity formation, such as community, family, religion, and culture. The individual’s social surroundings have a big impact on their personal identity. A community can stay the same for an entire lifetime, or modify several times. Nonetheless, it changes a person in many ways.
In the short piece “How Boys Become Men”, the author Jon Katz describes the well-known issue of toxic masculinity and how it is already forced on boys at a very young age. He also illustrates the consequences like emotional insensitivity and even shares his own experience regarding that topic. The author believes that “Boys live in a world with its own Code of Conduct, a set of ruthless, unspoken, and unyielding rules”. Growing up learning to accept and adapt those harmful standards without further ado can cause serious damage mostly shown in behavior. For instance: A lot of men don't know that they are also entitled to have emotions and weaknesses and it is not a seldom that they have to learn it at an advanced age.
Brent Staples, on the other hand, isn’t able to change how people view him, as described in his essay “Black Men And Public Space”. It is about the struggle a man of color inevitably has to face, especially in urban settings. Fittingly, he also describes his personal experiences regarding discrimination and prejudices engendered only on appearance. Given his circumstances, Staples already realized at a young age that he apparently has the same appearance as a criminal. And although he didn’t read much into those false assumptions and accusations (“to do so would surely have led to madness”), they nonetheless imprinted on him. He writes: “Where fear and weapons meet … there is always the possibility of death”. With this statement, the author addresses an undoubtedly important issue in the USA, mainly concerning people with an ethnic background. People who have to fear for their lives in seemingly non-dangerous situations. Even though it seems almost impossible to prevent such events as elaborated above, both authors found a way to at least give those issues a voice.
A person’s family could be considered as a smaller community, but smaller doesn’t mean less powerful. In fact, it is the reverse. In most cases, family is present from the day a person is born, until the day they die. People want to make their families proud, but that often is accompanied by adherence to given guidelines. “Like Mexicans”, written by Gary Soto, is a short piece about the discovery that differences don’t overshadow similarities. It also brings to light that he’s entitled to make his own decisions, regardless of how he was raised. Soto’s Grandmother used to tell him “No Okies, hijo” whenever the topic about romantic relationships came up. The fact that she mostly answers in Spanish or at least Spanish fragments shows her present attachment to her culture and values. This philosophy actually imprinted the author in his thinking, even though his best friend was an Okie named Scott. When Soto told Scott about his preferences, Scott replied that he “would never marry a Mexican” in return. Considering this statement, there is a great possibility that Scott also experienced a similar influence by his relatives and/or surroundings regarding the choice of an ideal partner. That’s why they already grouped girls solely based on their appearance when they were little boys.
Another big factor in someone’s personal identity is represented by their religious beliefs. Children most times just accept the religion that was chosen for them, regardless of their true ethos. In his short piece “Salvation”, the author Langston Hughes reveals an incident of deception he encountered caused by pressure that culminates into disbelief in his own sincerity and in his faith into religion. When Hughes was twelve years old, his aunts' church held a special service for the youth “to bring the young lambs to the fold”. Hughes, the lamb, has no personal encounter with Jesus, the fold, that night. Simultaneously, he also doubts the honesty of the children who apparently do. During the whole event, Hughes shows a pronounced sense of honesty; however, this favorable trait is overridden when he witnesses the conned salvation of Westley. He also starts to feel the urge to lie in order to relieve the praying and partly crying people surrounding him. Forced into pretending to believe in something he didn't experience leads to anxiety, sadness, as well as helplessness. His aunt, presumably the only one who received real redemption that night, doesn’t even notice Hughes’ despair. Hughes felt like a worse sinner than before and even lost his faith in Jesus “since he didn't come to help“. Certain religions often come with specific rules their followers should obey, but for a lot of people their culture sets the most important rules. Depending on how strict and serious the individual's surroundings are about those statutes, not following them can lead to big trouble.
Soto had a hard time overcoming his doubts about marrying a woman from another culture. He is told, and therefore knows, that the usual Mexican is supposed to marry another Mexican. He luckily found relief after meeting his Japanese girlfriend’s parents. Soto figured that these people are “like Mexicans, only different”. The author’s observations during the visit calmed down his initial doubts about having a non-Mexican girlfriend. The Japanese family lived almost the same way as Mexicans and, more importantly, was poor as well. He felt like their love now was validated, maybe even approved by some higher law. Not everybody is lucky enough to experience that kind of freedom, especially if the culture and traditions don’t leave any room for negotiations right ahead. Maxine Hong Kingston, author of the narrative “No Name Woman”, elaborates the struggles of growing up in a rigorous structured Chinese culture. For better illustration, she reveals the dark family secret about her aunt, who committed suicide due to the cold-blooded society, after giving birth to an illegitimate child. Even though her mother delivers this story to her daughter, it is not entirely sure how much truth there is to it. Her mother’s warning “You must not tell anyone” is a perfect periphrasis to the cruel and incomprehensible story that follows. It implies the general setting in relation to the author’s aunt. The main reason her relatives still refer to this tragedy is to intimidate and frighten the listener. The sole purpose of the story is to serve as a warning. Kingston’s mother even adds the threat “what happened to her could happen to you. Don’t humiliate us”. It discloses, that it truly isn’t hard for women to bring shame on her family and culture. A shocking, but unfortunately real occurrence in several cultures.
All of the authors discussed ways of how personal identity as well as social identity can be formed. Of course, there are various more topics than just the individual’s surroundings, their family and religious beliefs, as well as the culture they grow up with or adapt. The essays are more or less examples of unpleasant experiences, which doesn’t mean that there aren’t enjoyable ones in a person’s life. Sometimes even the bad ones can lead to something good.
