Identity Essays

Apartheid was a major historical event, and perhaps the biggest event in South Africa’s history. Apartheid is a policy of racial segregation, the word means ‘separateness’ in Afrikaans. It was introduced in 1948 by the white minority and made sure that the whites were superior in every possible way. However, …

Much Ado About Nothing is a Shakespearian comedy set in Elizabethan society where men were dominant though they had a wide range of attitudes to the positions of women as is explored by the key male characters in the play. In order to detach it from the English audience it …

Do you think that where you live shaped your personality? Well, the book The House on Mango Street clearly shows how Esperanza struggles from where she lives because she wants to live somewhere else. The fact of where she lives, who she lives near, and what her house looks shapes …

Female and male can be biological categories, but “womanly” and “manly” express cultural ideas of gender, which may cut across and call in question normative lines of sexual difference. From the first scene, with its bearded witches, to the last, where we hear that a boy died “like a man,” …

Social class is central throughout the novel, and is the basis of which the plot is woven around. At the start of the novel Pip looks at the graves of his parents and tries to find out what people they were and what role they played in society. At this …

This novel is about the desire for wealth and social advancement yet was produced out of financial necessity. Dickens conceived of Great Expectations as a way of restoring his publication’s fortunes. It was begun in 1860 and was published in weekly instalments in his magazine, “All The Year Round.” The …

In the novel Go Tell It on the Mountain, James Baldwin develops his main character, John Grimes, on the basis of other characters’ pasts. He reveals each character’s past to the reader, and how these pasts affect the main character John in his quest for identity. Gabriel Grimes and Elizabeth …

Children could be heard through the grilled windows, black from times of neglect, of the warehouse. Summer had just begun, with the children now on holiday and more work to do. Laughter and shouting came from the wasteland outside, yet it was like the wind was alive, for no one …

The poets of both ‘half-Caste’ and ‘Search for my Tongue’ put a strong emphasis on the importance of personal identity. They both use similar devices to portray their personal attitudes towards the topic. The term ‘Caste’ means to be made, therefore ‘Half-Caste’ is a reacial term meaning half made. It …

In “Love after love” by Derek Walcott and “This room” by Imtiaz Dharker, the poets explore how outs own identity should be celebrated. Walcott portrays this by using positive language such as “elation” and “feast on your life” to show that once you have found your identity, you can celebrate …