Identity is the fact of being who you are or what a person is. Everyone has an identity, but does identity shape you as a person? Many people can think it doesn't but in the short stories Passing by Langston Hughes and Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst, it is exemplified that identity does shape who you are. We see two characters Jack in Passing and Doodle in Scarlet Ibis face Identity difficulties and how these challenges build who they are as an individual. Accordingly, the first example that demonstrates how identity shapes who you are is written in Passing. Societal norms in the 1920s were an enormous thing considering racism was the main topic of conversion. The main character Jack has to “pass” as a white person in order to create a future …show more content…
Jack describes that “No matter how smart that boy’d get to be, they wouldn't hire him for a clerk in the office, not if they knew it”(Hughes 2). This proves how even if you were the smartest or strongest kid in town if the color of your skin was a little darker than what society thought was acceptable, you would not be given the same opportunities. During the 1900’s black people were enslaved and not expected to reach an actual job, let alone a job that pays a quarter of the same amount as a white person. The reader knows that Jack had to do what was needed in order to have a sliver of hope in his future but it gives the impression that he is not proud of his color and culture and he is ready to throw everything away including his family. Jack also expresses to his mother that he “...felt like a dog passing you downtown last night and not speaking to you” (Hughes 1). Jack states that he …show more content…
Many people need to hide their true identity from their families for fear of judgment and rejection. This statement is exemplified in Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst. The main character, Doodle is born with many genetic conditions that restrict him from doing numerous activities a normal kid his age can accomplish. In the story, Doodle's family's opinions about his life affected his self-esteem which eventually shapes his identity. Doodle’s Brother unravels “It was bad enough having an invalid Brother but having one who was possible no all there was unbearable, so I began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow” (Hurts 1). Consequently, brother expresses that having a challenged sibling creates an unquenchable hatred in wanting to kill him. Although Doodle doesn’t realize it, Brother is ashamed of Doodle and wants him out of the family. This sets the mood for the rest of the story which is depression and disappointing. Brother could not just sit there and let Doodle embarrass him and the rest of the family, so he started to make plans to teach Doodle basic skills that he was not expected to be able to learn. They both took on challenges that Doodle had a 0% chance of being able to do. Brother describes “Once I had succeeded in teaching Doodle to walk. I began to believe in my own infallibility…He too now believed in my infallibility so we set the deadline for these accomplishments”(Hurst 3). Now that Brother
In the “Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, Brother’s personality allows him to solely focus on his motivation which is a result of his conflict being Doodle’s disability embarrassing him and the resolution of the conflict of training him until he is able to perform normally as someone his age. Brother’s personality traits include him being perseverant, naive, insecure and apprehensive. Brother’s insecurity and apprehensiveness cultivates the conflict of him being ashamed of Doodle’s inability to perform like a normal child. This insecurity and apprehensiveness of his also motivates him to train Doodle to be able to perform tasks, which is his resolution to his conflict. Furthermore, Brother’s perseverance motivates him to continue to cultivate
When Doodle is first born, Brother states how it, “was bad enough having an invalid brother … so [Brother] began to make plans to kill him by smothering him with a pillow,” (Hurst 485). Brother’s cruelty once again alights as he plans to kill his invalid brother for his own reasons and issues. His sense of morality vanishes as his thoughts take a turn for the dark without an ounce of love for his brother. Another example is when Brother thinks at times about how “[he] was mean to Doodle. One day [he] took him up to the barn loft and showed him his casket, telling him how [they] all had believed he would die,” (486).
Doodles Brother has this determination and used it very well. “ It seemed so hopeless from the beginning that it's a miracle I didn't give up” (Hurts 558). That shows how Doodle's Brother had some doubts but he was determined to complete his task of teaching Doodle to walk which he successfully did. ” Now we know it can be done” (Hurts 558). Being put in this difficult situation of attempting to do a task that was said to be impossible of teaching his brother Doodle to walk.
The brothers overcame the struggles one by one, pushing themselves to the limit. Doodle’s characteristics of being cautious, receptive and frightened proves that one should not lose hope in oneself or anyone else. Doodle took every move with caution,
Doodle’s older brother only helps him for himself. He’s Embarrassed of having a brother like Doodle. “he was a outset and disappointment ever since he was born when I was six”(462). Doodle’s brother knew Doodle was going to be different from the very beginning but could never accept it. When Doodle got older
Brothers arrogance got the best of him after teaching Doodle to walk he believed he could teach him anything, and so he developed a program for him, without anyone’s knowledge, Doodle also believed his brother could teach him anything they set out to finish the program for when Doodle was going to start school “I would teach him to run, to swim, to climb trees, and to fight. He, too, now believed in my infallibility.” no progress was made that winter since Brother was in school and Doodle sick throughout that spring they set out again, and began the
When Doodle told the family that it was Brother who taught him how to walk everyone was ecstatic and proud of brother, but brother thought, “They did not know that I did it for myself, that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than their voices,
During the short story, Brother relentlessly pushes Doodle to see him improve and defy his disabilities. To begin, Brother’s persistent ambitions first became evident when Brother first began to teach Doodle how to walk. Brother becomes agitated by Doodles supposed lack of effort, so Brother “took him by the arms and stood him up. He collapsed onto the grass like a half-empty flour sack.
Brother can be characterized as cruel, and mean. Although the story starts and Brother wants a younger sibling, once he is given one he is very cruel to him. Doodle is fragile when born, and most thought he was going to die. However,
Brother, just like any child or adult who was given praise, swelled up. Brother was determined that he would conquer all that was lacking in Doodle and there would be no disparities in Doodle compared to him or others shortly. All of Brother’s dreams and aspirations for his younger sibling came with a deadline and Brother thought all was to be taught and learned by the time Doodle could attend school. Days spun away and like a spell, it was only a week before Doodle begun leafing through books with other children, but he was immensely behind Brother’s schedule. Brother, too welled up with pride would not stop at any cost and still gave to hopeful thoughts that Doodle would be able to do all before the bells of school freshly rung.
This evidence shows that Brother loves and cares about Doodle. He is characterized as ambitious because, he tries to train Doodle to walk. After that, he tries to train Doodle to run, swim, climb trees, and fight, even though Doodle’s at a disadvantage
He could not walk at all because of his birth defects, but his brother slowly but surely taught him how to first stand up, and then walk. Doodle accomplished an impossible feat. Even then he did not bask in the glory but “told [his family] that it was[ the narrator] who had taught him how to walk,”(206). Another instance of Doodle being selfless is when he is being trained by his brother. If someone made a person” swim until [he or she] turned blue and rowed until [he or she] couldn’t lift an oar”(209)
Throughout Doodle’s life, Brother finds continuously unpitying ways to be merciless and inhumane towards Doodle. For example, When Doodle begins crawling, Brother renamed him, calling him Doodle because, “nobody expects much from someone called Doodle.” (p31) When Brother does this relentless act, he believes
Brother wanted Doodle to learn that he could overcome anything he believed in. To help him with that Brother tried to teach Doodle how to walk and swim and he did not let him give up even when he was struggling. Brother said “Well, if you don’t keep trying, you’ll never learn.” (Hurst 3). Clearly
Identity is something people tend to think of as consistent, however that is far from the case. The Oxford English dictionary states that the definition of identity is “ The characteristics determining who or what a person or thing is.” The allegorical novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding tackles the issue of identity while following young boys from the ages twelve and down as they struggle with remembering their identities when trapped on a deserted island. Identity is affected by the influence of society and how individuals influence society based on their identities. By looking at Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the Stanford Prison Experiment, and Sigmund Freud 's philosophical ideas, it becomes clear that identity is affected by society through peer pressure and social normalities.