Literary Theme Of Self Identity Essay - 1806 Words

In Harper Lee s To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee writes, before I can live with other folks I ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn t abide by majority rule is a person s conscience (Lee, 108). As displayed in To Kill a Mockingbird and many others, the literary theme of self-identity coupled with coming of age has been a long running one in the history of literature. Certainly, we find this theme in novels such as Between Tides and Shadows of Your Black Memory, respectively. The development of character and self-identity is vital in the analysis of each protagonist. Between Tides follows Pierre Landu, a black Catholic Priest and revolutionist, on a journey to right his wrongs through rigorous self-examination. Pierre, having rejected his African ancestry during adolescence, in attempts to integrate into the Catholic Priesthood finds himself dissatisfied with the priesthood during his adult years. In attempts to reconnect to his cultural roots he joins a revolutionist movemen t to deconstruct colonialism in his African nation. Through growth and the tumultuous discovery of self, Pierre recognizes that there is no easy resolution in rediscovering himself or Africa. Similarly, Shadows of Your Black Memory, is largely about a young boy s journey into adulthood. Shadows is retold through the memory of the adult version of the young boy. Unlike Pierre, the Narrator, who is never a given a name is strikingly aware of the cultural and social parallels in which hisShow MoreRelatedThrough My Creative Writing And Reading Experience, I Have1156 Words   |  5 PagesThrough my creative writing and reading experience, I have been exposed to a variety of literary genres. My preferred genres have consistently been free verse poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. For the purpose of this class, I have chosen the genre of creative non-fiction. My focus will be literary essays that address humanity’s universal desire for a sense of identity and belonging; these essays will be written from a personal perspective, containing anecdotes, internal conflicts, and external opinionsRead MoreThe Theme Of Identity And Identity Crisis In Alices Adventures In Wonderland1138 Words   |  5 Pagesspecific piece of literary work, having been translated into 174 different languages and cited in numerous academic works since its initial publication, has an unrivalled amount of popularity with readers across the globe (Appleton 2015). The Alice series are among a group of enduring classics whose ideas, which tend to be distinguished as nonsensical, are enough to intrigue critics and scholars alike. The chaotic world that Carroll has crafted provides an infinite amount of literary and philosophicalRead MoreMajor Themes Of Us History During Slavery Essay1607 Words   |  7 Pages Major Themes of US History During Slavery During creation, God made man and gave him the free will to do and act according to as he pleases as long as it is in agreement with His teachings. Fellow human beings could not have control over their fellow men because it was against God’s will. A state whereby one person has absolute power over another and controls his life, liberty, and fortune is known as slavery. The history of slavery dates back to creation times where the Israelites were taken asRead MoreTheme of Identity in Summer Farm and The Bay1011 Words   |  5 PagesThe theme of identity is featured in the poems â€Å"Summer Farm† by Norman MacCaig and â€Å"The Bay† by James K. Baxter. Both poems are set in a natural foreground and address the issues associated with the theme of identity. Through the use of various literary techniques such as parallelism, metaphor and imagery, the theme of identity is presented in both poems. In the opening of â€Å"Summer Farm† by Norman MacCaig, the persona is in a state of thoughtlessness and presents the reader with images of lifeRead More Understanding The House Made of Dawn by Scott Momaday Essay1255 Words   |  6 PagesCultural and Literary Background, Momaday initially could not believe that he had won a prize for a work that began as a poem (93).   Schubnell cites one juror who explains his reasoning for selecting House Made of Dawn as being the works eloquence and intensity of feeling, its freshness of vision and subject, [and] its immediacy of theme (93).   For these reasons and many more, House Made of Dawn hailed the arrival on the American literary scene of a matured, sophisticated literary artist fromRead MoreUse of Literary Techniques in Into The Wild, by John Krakauer1073 Words   |  5 Pagesauthor skillfully uses literary techniques to convey his purpose of giving life to a man on an extraordinary path that led to his eventual demis e and truthfully telling the somber story of Christopher McCandless. Krakauer enhances the story by using irony to establish Chris’s unique personality. The author also uses Characterization the give details about Chris’s lifestyle and his choices that affect his journey. Another literary element Krakauer uses is theme. The many themes in the story attractRead MoreThe Harlem Renaissance1209 Words   |  5 Pagesthe United States and even abroad, to regions with large numbers of former slaves or blacks needing to construct ethnic identities amid a dominant white culture. The primary means of cultural expression during the Harlem Renaissance were literature and poetry, although visual art, drama, and music also played a role in the development of the new, urban African-American identity. Urbanization and population migration prompted large numbers of blacks to move away from the Jim Crow south, where slaveryRead MoreWilliam Carlos Williams Philomena Andronica And Gertr ude Stein s Identity1431 Words   |  6 PagesWilliam Carlos Williams â€Å"Philomena Andronica† and Gertrude Stein’s â€Å"Identity, a poem† are both visually and tonally very different texts. However, Stein and Williams have both used similar approaches to literary form in their poems as can be seen in their non-traditional approach to meaning generation and rejection of grammatical convention. The poems also both show an interest in the notion of identity and it’s fluidity, although Stein employs repeated images in her investigation whilst WilliamsRead MoreAlice Munros an Ounce of Cure1548 Words   |  7 PagesModern literary analyses and studies make the link between literary techniques such as narrative and storytelling and several other disciplines. Thus, one may find the theories of narrative and storytelling extending up to several major disciplines, such as philosophy, psychology, and literary criticism. In the view of different experts in li terary analyses, there is a close connection between narrative or storytelling and the definition of the nature of self and personal identity. The former hasRead MoreIdentity, By Toni Morrison s Sula1441 Words   |  6 PagesIdentity is who a person is or how they see themselves, but is this something they are born with or is it something they learn over time? Can this identity be changed? Or is it permanent once set? Identity is a major theme in Toni Morrison’s Sula. Scholars discuss the different identities that the characters possess, but tend to fail to mention character development or lack of character development. Character development or lack thereof is usually an important literary move in most writing. This