The Theme Of Identity And Identity In Mirror Image By Lena Coakley

     Sure, some of us have this great confidence within ourselves about looking great, but that does not hold true for everyone. I understand the pain or disgust, or even disappointment one feels when they look in the mirror and say, “I wish I could change this or that about myself”. Although this piece is written about the author’s life, it holds meaning and connects with for many people; one only has to dig deep enough to find one. For me, it was to realize what is important in life can change, adapt and that we must explore our inner selves and find our own path in life.

The short story/essay “Beauty: When the Other Dancer Is the Self” written by Alice Walker demonstrates the story of Alice accepting herself despite her flaws. As a child, Alice is a pretty, outgoing, and messy girl; but that all changes in a matter of seconds. Alice loses sight in one of her eyes, changing her perspective on life for a majority of her life. She went from the outgoing girl whom everybody seems to love, to the girl that doesn’t look up anymore in fear people will see her messed up eye. Growing up in 1947 with her family, she is not a rich child, in fact, almost dirt poor, so her parents can’t afford a car to take her to the hospital, contributing to her losing sight in her eye. Although she tells her parents a reason causing her to injure her eye, it is a lie, so that she is able to protect her siblings from becoming in trouble. Alice Walker demonstrates a theme of lying to protect siblings in her life which I can relate to because I oftenly as a child had to lie to protect my siblings as well.

Through the lens of her struggles to remember parts of her identity, and attempts to

People’s identities are formed by what they hold valuable, at a young age, however, those value can be greatly influenced by his/her surrounding society. In all three essays, Cathy Davidson, “Project Classroom Makeover”, Karen Ho, “Biographies of Hegemony” and Susan Faludi, “The Naked Citadel” the authors share their personal experiences with how different educational institutions operate and to what extent they value and echo their surrounding society. It is evident that those institutions can shape, or in the least influence, their attendees' identities by injecting the surrounding society's belief and influence onto them.

In the short story “The Chrysanthemums” the author creates a dilemma in identity by displaying different personal conflicts involving the main character. The main character, Elisa Allen, seems to be discontent with her place in life. However, she seems to be aware that she is doing what is expected of her and is almost afraid to change her way of life. More than Likely, this is due to the influence her husband has over her. There are three main characters in this story, Elisa, Henry and a lone traveler that rides up to Elisa asking for directions. Elisa seems to be more interested in the wandering man she encounters than her husband. The traveling man seems to find Elisa more interesting and attractive than her husband. The traveler sees the

Connie and I have an extraordinary amount of stuff in common. The way that she was compared with her more settled sister really hit home for me, which helped me relate more to the story. I was always compared to both my siblings, by my parent, teachers, and close relatives. I was encouraged to not standup for myself at school and to let stuff everything go as my sister did. Being contrasted with them at that time made me contend with my mother and carry on as Connie did, with her contending with her mother and not letting her know her whereabouts. I used to walk around always focused over how I looked also. I did this for different reasons than Connie, but I can still see myself in her. I was always focused on how I looked, because I was continually singled out for barely noticeable subtle things like little hairs standing up or for having wavy hair when I permed my hair. She was looking at herself persistently to look how pretty she was. Even though, I wasn't ever considered the pretty one, I still tried to look my best at all times. I can say that I would dress differently at home than at school as Connie did. Connie and I both were trying to draw more attention to ourselves. In the story this made her enter a dreamlike state and was she was forced to recognize what she was doing and how it could antagonistically impact her. She dreamt of man heading coming to her home, trying to get her to come out so he could rape her. I was not given that decision in my child hood. Nonetheless, I didn't get attacked either. I was seen as she may have been, as a "basic" individual, nevertheless, I was not sexually changing or achieved. I was amazingly surprised to analyze this story, and it be so much alike the story of how my teen years. I am to a very happy that she came to peace with herself at the end and seen everything as what it was and not just a fantasy. I just wish

The feeling of not knowing who the person really is and how they feel can be hard. This emotion was described in the story “Mirror Image” by Lena Coakley. This short story had a girl named Alice who had to go through a brain transplant. This changed her whole life. Because of this brain transplant, she sometimes felt that she was not really herself but felt that she was Gail, who was the body of the person she was in. This is also an allusion to another Alice in the fantasy world but that book was written by Lewis Carroll and the name of that novel is Alice Adventures in Wonderland. The book mentioned right above had the same type of allusion in which the main character is pretty much lost as to who she is and how

Don Robertson and Charlotte Perkins Gilman explore the theme of personal identity throughout their works, from Robertson’s The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread, to Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper. Though both Don Robertson and Charlotte Perkins Gilman both illustrate and explore the theme of personal identity in very different ways, there are also many similar ways it is illustrated and explored by both authors as well. Don Robertson shows this theme of personal identity through Morris Bird’s cautious sense of right and wrong and how he tries to atone for his mistakes throughout the book and wanting to earn self-respect for himself as well as through his journey to see his best friend, Stanley Chaloupka while Gilman shows this through the

Understanding there’s been a change in her body, Alice questions the probability that she might not be herself any longer. She believes she may have become someone else through the transformation, another typical child theory when growing up. If your appearance has changed, it may be likely that you’re not who you used to be, so of course, you must be someone else. This is also portrayed in the instance when she meets the Caterpillar. When asked, “Who are you?” by the Caterpillar, Alice honestly answers, “I hardly know”. The Caterpillar represents Alice as well, as it will also transform into something greater as it ages.

What makes your identity? Is it your past, your family, your hopes, dreams, fears? It is all that and more. Your identity makes up who you are. It is always growing and ever-changing. Your identity is what makes you human. Finding it can be a struggle, maintaining it can be even harder. Katniss and Peeta in The Hunger Games were two examples of finding and holding onto your identity. Katniss was the girl who had to grow up to fast. She had to learn how to provide for her family, to be strong. Katniss thought to do this she had to create a wall to hold back all the childish things that were apart her. She put on a mask to grow up but to also protect herself from those who would wish to abuse her innocence. The mask, the wall they kept her

A major influence on Alice's identity was when she was a young child and her grandmother would tell her stories about events that occurred in Cambodia. In Alice's teenage years, her beloved grandmother has a stroke, developed disabilities and eventually had passed away. It is around this time where serious psychological problems occur for Alice. This almost forces her into a mental state in which she knows she does not fit in with the Australian culture. She believed she had to do everything she could to change that otherwise Alice knew she would break down mentally. Alice was forced to attempt to fit the social standards of Australia.

In the article “‘Too Terribly Good to Be Printed’: Charlotte Gilman’s ‘The Yellow Wallpaper,’” Conrad Shumaker explains the genius of “The Yellow Wallpaper” and how its themes reflect the patriarchal society of the time period. Shumaker identifies one theme as the detriment of suppressing the narrator’s sense of self and that “by trying to ignore and repress her imagination, in short, John eventually brings about the very circumstance he wants to prevent” (590). John confines his wife in a yellow “nursery” in order to “cure” her of her illness, banning her from writing and discouraging her imagination. His plan backfires when her mind, unable to find a proper outlet, latches onto the yellow wallpaper that eventually drives her to madness. Another theme that Shumaker points out is that the dynamic of a domineering husband and an obedient wife is a cage that the narrator is desperately trying to free herself from. John constantly dismisses the narrator’s opinions and thoughts and insists that he knows what is best for her. Shumaker points out that the husband, a representation of the patriarchal society, is clearly depicted as the villain and that he “attempts to ‘cure’ her through purely physical means, only to find he has destroyed her in the process” (592). At the end of the story, because of her confinement and inability to express herself, the narrator fully descends into insanity, “escaping” the

Disability is a topic viewed differently by each set of eyes. To truly understand a disability, one must live through it or frequently view the lives of another, struggling with an infirmity. Living with a disability may be hard, but it does not mean it is not worth living. Nancy Mairs, author of the essay “On Being a Cripple,” has written about her views and experiences, explaining to the public the truth behind being a “cripple,” and proving that disease does not control you. Explained in the paper, able-bodied people make assumptions to how low quality life must be, living with a disease and that these individuals are constantly unhappy however

An identity is the state of being oneself. Your character is comprised of your past, present, and future. Some individuals are ashamed of who they really are and try to change themselves, or mask their identities. One of the dominant themes that is conveyed throughout The Namesake is the theme of identity. In the novels, everybody is a little lost, or a lot lost, frankly. Practically every individual struggles with his or her identity, because every person feels the tug and pull of different cultures, different traditions, and different dreams. The Namesake is about this perpetual dilemma faced by immigrants as they fight to maintain their identities while trying to shake them off at the same time while The Great Gatsby is about people

The way in which others perceive us can occasionally play a part in the shaping our identity. Our teenage years and our desire to belong both significantly impact who we are today. However, in saying that, it’s evident that as we mature the opinions and views of other become less relevant and are less likely to affect our sense of identity. Your identity defines who you are and is something influenced by various contributing factors.