Identites
...e she looks like a senior, they have assumed that she is feeble and a conventional senior. Therefore, one can conclude that appearances are a part of identity but not necessarily all that makes up an identity. Consequently, much of modern society perceives identity from outward appearances and does not go past this level to examine the other aspects of identity. The effect that identities have on individuals is astounding. It is only with the presence of other people can one truly discover their identity. One cannot have a distinguishing character or personality if there is nobody to compare to. Therefore, the presence of others is very important to discovering oneself. The English Patient describes Almásy as a central character. The other characters are all linked to him in some way, and if he were not present, they would not have figured out their own identities. He helps them figure out who they are solely on his presence. Though his identity is not revealed at the start, the other characters focus their desires and expectations on him. Little by little, they discover their own identities as well. Furthermore, in Miss Brill, she is an example of a person who does not have her own identity or developed it yet. She instead chooses to live her life through observation of others. “Oh how fascinating it was! How she enjoyed it! How she loved sitting here, watching it all! It was like a play” (Mansfield, 267). This statement explains how she thought the world was a stage and she was an actress taking part of a play. However, the fact that she thinks there is a play going around her proves that she is not really part of the world. Consequently, she doesn’t talk to anybody but just watches. To discover one’s identity, one must interact with others. Because of the lovers on the bench, she discovers that she is living in a fantasy world and has relied on other’s identities to give her a false sense of security. She has not realized until that moment that she had no identity of her own. One can truly find out about their character through other people. National identity is also an unavoidable part of a person. For example, Almásy’s identity in The English Patient is used against him. When he asks for help, the soldiers’ rebuff his pleas because they hear his last name (which is Hungarian) and respond negatively to his ethnicity. This is injustice because all he wants is help, yet his nationality is hindering him. Consequently the soldiers’ jail him because of their perception of his character. Another example is when Caravaggio states that he wants to kill Almásy because he thinks he is a spy. But as Caravaggio learns more about Almásy, he realizes that there is more to him than just his nationality. To summarize, national identity is unchangeable, yet it is not all that makes up an identity of a person. Society and environment are the foremost influences in the makeup of one’s identity. The way a person is brought up, vastly influences their thoughts and way of thinking. In Identities, the protagonist has been brought up in a white-collar environment. He has lived comfortably all his life; therefore, life is different for him than say a person from lower class status. Typically, when he sees a policeman, “he does not feel fear but relief” (Valgardson, 5). His environment has led him to think that police officers are there to protect him, rather than prosecuting him. His society protects the upper class and he identifies himself with this class. And yet, even though he dresses differently, and is in a new environment, he cannot shake off his identity. Valgardson describes the contrast in society when he mentions that “When the office, who is inexperienced, who is nervous because of the neighborhood, who is suspicious because of the car and because he has been trained to see an unshaven man in blue jeans as a potential thief and not as a probable owner, orders him to halt, he is surprised” (5). The officer, who has resided in a different environment, cannot see the man’s true identity. He cannot see that the man is of upper class, only a scruffy man. Society has trained him to think that if he sees a man that looks of lower class driving a fancy car, he should be wary. Th...