Have you ever stopped and thought are you really being you? Many people in this world are also struggling like you to find their identity and where they fit in. Being someone else to fit in is not staying true to yourself and being who you are. Many short stories made by many different authors people are struggling to find their identity in life and end up being someone they are not. In the short stories “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, “The Bass, The River and Sheila Mant” by W.D.Wetherell and “Papa’s Parrot” by Cynthia Rylant, the characters learn about their identities through significant moments. First, in the story “Two Kinds” a Chinese girl, named Jing-Mei, learns about what her mother was really attempting to get her to accomplish in her childhood. For Instance, when Jing-Mei is a child, she is being forced to be the best against her will by her mother. Many years later when Jing-Mei is grown up she is …show more content…
For example, when the narrator is in the canoe with his date [Sheila Mant] he is forced to cut the line to one of the largest bass he has ever seen because Sheila dislikes fishing. After they arrived at the concert and danced a few times he realized his big mistake as she left with Eric Caswell. And, “It was these secret, hidden tuggings in the night that claimed me, and I never made the same mistake again” (5). The quote explains that after cutting the line to the bass and losing Sheila to Eric he didn’t make that same mistake of losing his identity to something or someone else. But, he also realized his identity in the fact that there would be other Sheila’s and other bass in his life and he should not risk being someone else for Sheila or a bass. In conclusion, the narrator realizes that he should be himself because there will always be more people he will love and hobbies he will care
Identity is the fact of being who or what a person/thing is. People will often change their identities to impress people. Some people don't actually know what their identity is. Learning and accepting the identity can be a hard thing to do as shown as the stories we have read. In the short stories “Fish Cheeks” by Amy Tan, “The Bass, The River, and Sheila Mant” by W.D. Wetherell, and “Papa's Parrot” by Cynthia Rylant, the characters learn about their identities through significant moments.
In this quote she rightly states that, in the world there is only one of us, and by trying to be identical to someone we forget who we really are. Sometimes in life, we are so determined to get what we want that we forget who we really are. Characters in these stories struggle with their identities at first but late realize that they need to be themselves. In the short stories “Fish Cheeks”by Amy Tan, “The Bass, The River and Sheila Mant” by W.D. Wetherell and “Papa’s Parrot” by Cynthia Rylant, the characters learn about their identities through significant moments. To begin, Amy Tan from “Fish Cheeks”, learns about herself through the events of a christmas
Finding true identity can be very hard or extremely easy depending on the person. In the novels Into The Wild and The Scarlet Letter, both characters struggle to find their true selves, until discovering the real version. The common theme of finding one’s true identity is used in the works of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne uses a theme of true identity as well as “The Scarlet Letter Poem” by Sarita Milliner. Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, uses a theme of man vs. nature.
Our identity is what makes us unique and it always changing. This differentiates us from each other. Discovering our identity can be challenging journey to find who we truly are. Through the characters in the ‘Sapphires’ by Wayne Blair, ‘Brown Skinned Child’ by Gary Cooper and the song ‘Hello’ by Adele we learn the difficulties faced when forming our identity.
Finding yourself is apart of the journey and struggles of high school, and being a young person trying to find a strong sense of identity can be one of the toughest struggles to face. In Willa Cather’s short story, Paul’s Case, developing a stronger sense of self is troubling for art-loving Paul. Desperate and money-obsessed, Paul escapes the industrial city of Pittsburgh to live his luxurious fantasy in New York city. Paul’s creativity, pretentiousness and unhappiness play a large role in his downfall and ultimately leading to his tragic end. Paul moves through Pittsburgh quite differently than his peers and father, he never seemed to fit in at school or at home.
One will eventually come across the day where they are able to figure out who they truly are as a person. A discovery like this will lead to new chapters of life and start new beginnings. Although finding one 's identity can be difficult to understand and accept, it is crucial in life to discover oneself. In the novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, a teenage girl, who had to overcome and deal with an awful tragedy, takes readers on the long journey she walked before finding meaning and value in who she is as a person.
on the other hand Jing-Mei is America born and has more of an American culture mind set, which cause her to seem rebellious to her mother. Said by Jing-Mei’s Mother, “only two kinds of daughters!” she shouted in Chinese “those who are obedient and those who follow their mind! Only one kind of daughter can live in this house. Obedient Daughter!”
The Rebellious Daughter: Analyzing the Theme of Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds” The story “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan explores the deep familial emotions between a mother and her daughter. Jing-Mei’s mother had left China to come to America after losing her family, and had been raising Jing-Mei in America with her second husband. Despite her mother’s grand hopes for Jing-Mei to become successful in America by becoming a child prodigy, Jing-Mei did not share the same opinions.
Throughout literature the constant theme of identity has been explored, with Northrop Frye even suggesting “the story of the loss and regaining of identity is, I think, the framework for all literature.” For characters, true identity isn’t always apparent, it needs to be searched for. Sometimes the inner struggle for identity stems from ones need for belonging. Whether one finds their sense of identity within friends, family, or in a physical “home”. It’s not always a place that defines identity.
Someone 's identity defines who they are. There are no two identities that are the same. , Everyone is unique in different ways. Finding oneself may take time and might not be exactly what you are expecting. In the novel “Milkweed” by Jerry Spinelli, the protagonist Jack assumes many identities but ultimately does not know who he is.
Although June never was as successful as her mother had hoped she’d be, her mother was very proud and believed that she had a good heart. June finally understood her mother’s intentions in her parenting. Suyuan wanted June to realize her internal worth, rather than monetary and academic success or fame. Suyuan had to grasp that her daughter wasn’t a traditional Asian girl with traditional goals for her life. She was June, and she was
The identity a person holds is one of the most important aspects of their lives. Identity is what distinguishes people from others, although it leaves a negative stereotype upon people. In the short story Identities by W.D Valgardson, a middle-aged wealthy man finds himself lost in a rough neighborhood while attempting to look for something new. The author employs many elements in the story, some of the more important ones being stereotype and foreshadow. For many people, their personal identity is stereotyped by society.
Both her and her mom want her to be a prodigy of Beyonce. Both of their parents want them to become a prodigy of somebody. Jing-Mei’s mom wants her to be a prodigy of Shirley Temple. One other allusion in “Two Kinds” and modern day society is Peter Pan. Peter Pan never wants to grow up and neither does Jing-Mei.
Jing Mei, while portrayed as an obedient child, is only willing to listen to her mother to a certain extent. Throughout the story, it is consistently hinted that Jing Mei would eventually explode against her mother as an attempt to free herself from her mother’s chains. In addition, after the fiasco at the piano recital, she eventually derives further from her mother’s wishes as she “didn 't get straight A...didn 't become class president...didn 't get into Stanford...dropped out of college.” (54). On the flip side, Jing Mei’s mother is a stereotypical Chinese parent who is fully determined to ensure her daughter’s success in a new environment.
Paul- Michel Foucault was a French philosopher also known as a historian of systems of thoughts whose influence extended across a broad array of disciplines especially in the humanities and social sciences and a social critic. He created his own title when he was promoted to professorship at one of the most prestigious colleges in France “College de France” in 1970. He is perhaps best known for his ruminations on power, self identity, epistemology, and the evolution of systems of thought and meaning. He is often described as post-structuralist or post modernist, however Foucault himself rejected such titles, preferring to analyse their significance rather than identifying with them.