Factors That Makes Us Who We Are?

Submitted By sal011
Words: 2010
Pages: 9
Open Document
Noman Saeed
Crotwell
English A
10 June 2015
Factors That Makes Us Who We Are Identity plays a vital role in today’s world. It can be defined as who a person is or what differentiates one person from another. A person’s identity is what makes him/her special or unique from others. There are some literature that discusses identity, like ‘A Doll’s House’ written by Henrik Ibsen, where he writes about a woman, Nora, who pretends to be a doll for her husband, Torvald. Also, in ‘The Alchemist’ written by Paulo Coelho, where Paulo discusses about a boy, Santiago, who wish to travel around the world, became shepherd to fulfill his wishes. And in ‘The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake’ written by Aimee Bender, where a girl name Rose is a food psychic, she tells the feelings of a person just by tasting their food. Identity is formed by a variety of factors such as society, family, gender and personal legend.
Starting with Identity formed by society. Society plays most important role in formation of Identity. It helps in building one’s identity as well as ruining it like in ‘A Doll’s House’ written by ‘Henrik Ibsen’ where a woman name, Nora, who pretends to be a doll for her husband, Torvald, forge a signature just so she can save her husband’s life when he was in danger. She does everything that he wants just to make him and the family together and happy. But because of her one mistake, her husband forgets everything she has done for him and for family. He fears about his reputation in society. As he tells Nora ‘I may be falsely suspected of having been a party to your criminal action’ (Ibsen 63) where he acts as a selfish husband and tells Nora that he will be blamed for everything that she had done, rather than protecting her and taking blame on his self, he reacts in a different way just because of the fear of society and his future. Society is also the reason for people believing in things that are not real, Stereotypical ideals play a profound role on societies, a perception towards an individual’s identity. Just like in an article ‘New York Muslim leaders Condemn Paris Terror Attack’ where Imam Moussa Drammeh, says "We are and we will always condemn any act of terrorism in the name of Islam" (1) where he speaks for the right of Islam, society has made very negative image of Islam on the world, a beard man, a woman in hijab are considered as a terrorist just because of some devils who uses the name and get up of Islam and do whatever they wants, who even don’t know the meaning of Islam are considered as Muslims, and society or media shows these peoples as a example of Islam. Identity is formed by society, making false judgement about an individual is so mainstream these days, in book ‘The Alchemist’ written by Paulo Coelho, a boy name Santiago who wishes to travel around the world, became shepherd to fulfill his wishes. Santiago who can read very well became the false judgement of a merchant’s girl whom he met during his journey, ‘I didn’t know shepherds knew how to read’ (Coelho 7) after watching Santiago reading the book the girl make her opinion about him that he cannot read or write, just because he is a shepherd, to her shepherd only knows about his sheep and that’s it. Society has crossed the line when it comes to the pressures placed on women to attain an unattainable level of physical perfection. As John Berger stated personality of woman is divided into two as "observer" and observed"(Berger, 46) where he tells about opinions of society on women, women who are only used as toys, a good display, a body that is only used to make something popular or famous. And due to this environment girls have started dieting from a very young age, so they can be appreciated by the society, if they are fat or ugly then they have no good reasons to live for Identity is formed by society, society judges a person without knowing the actual reasons, such as in A Doll’s House where Krogstad tells Nora ‘My sons are growing up; for their
Show More

Related Documents: Factors That Makes Us Who We Are?

Identity Salience Theory

Identity Salience Hierarchy of Black LGBT Individuals The dominant theoretical paradigm for explaining identity salience assumes that identities exist in structured social relationships and identity invocation is situational (Stryker 1968). Furthermore, identity theory argues that multiple identities could co-exist in a “salience hierarchy” according to their relative salience. In an organizational context, individuals consider their identities’ subjective importance and situational relevance in…

Words 1425 - Pages 6

Cultural Competence In Counseling Research

tasked with “honoring diversity and embracing a multicultural approach in support of the worth, dignity, potential, and uniqueness of people within their social and cultural contexts” (p. 3). The importance of accepting diversity and employing a multicultural approach in counseling is evidenced by the integration of considerations of cultural identity into ethics, research, and literature…

Words 1503 - Pages 7

Analysis Of Racism: Black Like Me By John Howard Griffin

group of people belong to a particular ethnicity, cultural or religious background. In the United States of America, racism is an old issue that has never been solved. The concept of racism and the impact on the lives of people are elaborated in the book Black Like Me written by a white American John Howard Griffin. He writes about his own personal experiences of when he changed himself to look like a black American so that he could figure out their real problems in the society of white people. The book…

Words 872 - Pages 4

Black Like Me Book Report

Life as a Negro in Black Like Me Introduction Black Like Me is a biography, fiction, autobiography book written by John Howard Griffin. The book won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award. It is an autobiography of a white journalist who goes for medical treatment to temporarily changes his skin color to become black; Griffins does this to experience being Negro in a land of racial segregation. For six weeks Griffins traverses four southern states of Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Georgia, in these states…

Words 631 - Pages 3

Biracial Identity Development Model

Literature Review Biracial Identity Development Model In the context of this literature review, the word "multiracial" involves individuals who identify with two or more racial identities. This broad definition includes those who identify as biracial, meaning they have heritage from two separate racial backgrounds. By categorizing biracial individuals within the broader framework of multiracial identity, this literature review acknowledges the diversity and complexity of racial identities. This inclusive approach…

Words 3226 - Pages 13

Re-Thinking Intersectionality Analysis

Theorizing Intersecting Identities: The Introduction McCann and Kim introduce intersectionality like a kaleidoscope, a shifting prism of differences to examine the mobile and multiple configurations of domination in our lives (pg.163). In the 1980’s, an explosion of writing was recognized from Black women, women of color, and transnational feminist scholars that redirected the White hegemonic feminist theory. This chapter is an archive of challenging debates from various forms of scholarship on…

Words 919 - Pages 4

Poc Solidarity Definition

Even more so, the development of the label People of Color (PoC) has taken those victimized by prejudice and now united these people, empowering those historically deemed powerless, foreigners, and inferior. With over 40% of Americans being non-White, according to the currently displayed 2023 U.S Census Bureau data, the make-up of this nation is undergoing serious change. This increase in diversity has not led to greater racial…

Words 1934 - Pages 8

Socially Transmitted Behavior Paper

University Abstract This research paper aims to explore different peer reviewed articles to validate how the author’s behaviors are socially transmitted through three layers of culture. The behaviors discussed are the author’s use of self-identification, prayer, and work. In discussing the behaviors, cultural inspiration and research is used to explain how they relate to and are affected by different aspects of culture. Much of the research will be influenced by the author’s culture…

Words 1421 - Pages 6

Mainstream American Culture Research Paper

Among all, Nagel Joane has contributed his efforts for study of ethnic identity and culture recreation in America. These and some of the other sources will help in constructing and formulating a research and studying the impact of movements on other communities of American society. These are available sources and other major source of the article will be scholarly and authentic papers based on research and efforts. The paper will reference the article which will have significance and…

Words 1042 - Pages 5

Multiracial Individual Paper

individuals identify themselves by more than one racial group, but society tends for people to choose one racial identity over another (Sue & Sue, 2016). Some issues and challenges that multiracial individuals may face are that individuals my compare themselves to other people surrounding them or they also face a need to choose one race over another, at a point in their lives, or deal with the need to find their identity. There are many ways that multiracial individuals are similar and different from…

Words 573 - Pages 3