Edward SaidOut of Place:A Memoir
Said was a very confused individual. Confused about who he was as a person. He felt that language defines who a person is. Language was a major part of his life. His mother Hilda spoke several different languages to him known to her. By doing this, this gave Said advantages over other people, but he looked at this on the negative side of things. He couldn’t find his own identity. He had issues and concerns about his name “Edward” being an American name and “Said” being an Arabic name. Then by him speaking Arabic and English he did not know what to call himself. His parents never took the time out to give him a clear view of his background, their background. They gave him bits and pieces of his history which every time told something different was added or taken away. I do not feel that language defines or makes a person who they are. Your identity is within self. You are born with an identity, it is up to you to reach deep down within self and find it. It took Said a long time to find his true identity and to feel comfortable with himself and his name, which represented who he was as a person. If Said spoke only one language, (his native language Arabic), would he have then been less confused about who he was as a person? I do not think so. There are a bunch of people all over the world who speak one language and are just as confused as Said was. Language does not make a person who they are. Genes, family, society, norms……..etc. make and shape a person. Said’s family was very much screwed up. They kept too many secrets from him that they may have done to protect him but instead it affected him badly. Said was never told why his last name was Said and not Ibrahim like his fathers.