In the novella, “Demian,” by Hermann Hesse, takes us through an insightful journey on the evolutionary road to finding one’s true self, by the protagonist Emil Sinclair. Sinclair’s evolution to finding himself comes with the help of Demian, Pistorius and Lady Eve, who act as his spiritual guides. At the age of ten, Sinclair lives in a world where all is protected, bright, correct and full of love. In Sinclair’s world, at this time, were his father, mother, sister and the maid Lena, all of whom he loves very much. In this white world Sinclair learns what is true through his family and the church. Even though he realizes there is a dark side through Lena’s private, after-dinner stories, he has never really experienced it.
This is all about to change when he meets up with a bully from the neighborhood named Franz Kromer. Attempting to fit in with the crowd, Sinclair tells a boastful story about his stealing apples. Kromer knows Sinclair is lying and uses this to extract money and have Sinclair work for him. Kromer forces Sinclair to do things he would not normally do, such as breaking into his money-box. Sinclair realizes that he now has a secret from his family and is feels guilty. He thinks about confessing the situation to his Father. However, when he encounters his father who dwells only on Sinclair’s wet shoes, he realizes his father is ignorant of his plight. Sinclair begins to feel superior to his father. (“It was the first rift in my father’s sanctity, it was the nick in the pillars on which my childish life had rested, and which every human being must destroy before he can become himself.”) This is a pivotal point to Sinclair’s development when he first learns about the dark side of life and the power within him.
As Si...
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...f reliance to make him self complete, no longer needing Demian (“I need only lean over the black mirror to see my own image, which now looks exactly like him, him, my friend and guide.”) and has completed the road to attaining his true self.
The evolutionary road to finding one’s true self is a long journey of self discovery and requires specific actions. It begins when you realize there are good sides and bad sides to life. To proceed, you need to reconcile these two sides into some kind of unity. In order to do this, you need to begin looking at events in your life from different perspectives, not just what you are taught. Once you are able to do this, you have the ability to interpret your dreams and thoughts as to who you truly are, making you complete. This is beautifully illustrated through Emil Sinclair and his guides, Max Demian, Pistorius and Frau Eva.
It was after I had lost someone in my life that was my other half. I didn’t understand who I was, what my purpose was, what made me who I am. As far as I was concerned I was reduced to nothing more than an individual that was now alone. I didn’t realize that my identity was partly crafted from simply just being by their side all the time, that whenever I was introduced to someone, or was talking to mutuals about them, I was known for being their best friend. After the fiasco that became the end of our relationship, I felt as if I was just floating through the days and nights. This feeling went on for about 2 months until I slowly came out of it. I didn’t experience a grand epiphany of any sort that inspired me to change myself. I was painting and listening to music and the thought just slowly came to me. I love to paint, and I love listening to and creating and playing music. I began to gain back my sense of identity by engaging in activities I loved. I’m a painter, a musician, a writer, a passionate lover of movies. I’ve learned that identity can isn’t set in stone, there’s always room for
A story of a young boy and his father as they are stolen from their home in Transylvania and taken through the most brutal event in human history describes the setting. This boy not only survived the tragedy, but went on to produce literature, in order to better educate society on the truth of the Holocaust. In Night, the author, Elie Wiesel, uses imagery, diction, and foreshadowing to describe and define the inhumanity he experienced during the Holocaust.
Our identities are constantly evolving throughout our lives to adapt to certain people and environments. Lars Fr. H. Svendsen states “Self-identity is inextricably bound up with the identity of the surroundings” One’s morals and characteristics are forever changing and these self resolutions are influenced by the encompassing aspects of life such as significant events, environmental revolutions and one’s relationship with another. Due to factors sometimes beyond our control, one’s self prowess is merely an expression of their own prior experiences which conclusively preserve and maintain a state of fluctuation for one’s character. A similar concept is evident in the film ‘The Sapphires’
Christopher is a fifteen-year old boy with Aspergers Autism whose life is full of uncanny surprises. His main focus is on school, and his ability to take the maths A level exams. Unfortunately, that was his focus until he finds Wellington dead on Mrs. Shears’ lawn. Christopher wants to know who killed Wellington and why. He investigates and finds out not only who killed Wellington, but he discovers secrets about his mother and father. In the book “The Curious Incident of the dog in the night-time”, the author, Mark Haddon, shows us how courageous Christopher is throughout his journey. According to Aristotle, a man is courageous when he sets himself free from his fears, pain, and poverty instead of running away from it. According to Aristotle’s theory, Christopher profusely shows courage when he investigates Wellington’s murder and travels to London to find his mom.
From society to family to media, external influences never seem to disappear from everyday life. These outward forces tend to leave a lasting impression on us for as long as we live. Because they are so prevalent in our daily lives, exterior factors will have a significant influence on us, specifically our sense of self and happiness. When defining our sense of self, it eventually comes down to how we interpret our individual self-image. In most cases, we do not truly know who we are from our own mindset. Therefore, we take into account the reactions that those around us have an influence on our actions and decisions. From these external effects, we create the persona of who we are. In his article, Immune to Reality, Daniel Gilbert explains
Humans are, by nature, filled with curiosity. We incessantly seek to learn about the universe. Not surprisingly, we simultaneously strive to learn about ourselves. What is our place in the world? How do we grow into the people we are meant to be?
Thinking back now, I can see we were just at that age when we knew a few things about ourselves – about how we were, how we were different from our guardians, from the people outside – but hadn’t yet understood what any of it meant. (36)
It is a difficult and long process to find yourself. Erickson tells us that is is a natural stage in life to question who you are. Everyone goes through it, regardless of age, sex, race, or time. Take Chang Yu-i for example. She pulled good experiences in her life, such as having unbound feet and getting some education, and used them to help form who she was becoming But she also took the experiences she did not like, such as discontinuing her education as such a young age to get married, and accepted them as part of who she was. She grew up strong, and eventually became her own person.
Sigmund Freud provides a concept of how a person’s personality is structured and to have a healthy personality requires a balance in the interaction between the id, ego, and superego. Bandura’s theory of observational learning plays a vital role in the persons conditioning process. By understanding the basis of observational learning that includes modeling, disinhibition, and trolling, one can recognize the different types of reinforcements that contribute to how one learns and then behaves in situations throughout their life. The experience and knowledge of self-discovery comes gradually without an instantaneous impact. Although, moments of true realization can give one a release from past insecurities, doubt, and shame just to name a few. Such realizations can change how one views or feels about their past, which includes their choices, successes, failures, and the different relationships they have had from birth to the present. In conclusion, one should invest in getting to know their own personality to educate themselves and receive the benefits of a healthy state of mental
When we tackle the question of 'What makes us the individual persons that we are?', one approach that we can take is to seek an answer to the question of what it is that is required for a person to continue to exist over time. If we could agree on what is required for it to be true that you continued to exist, then we would have good grounds to believe that we had discovered what makes someone the particular person they are, and by extension, what makes any person the person they are. In essence, what we are searching for are the necessary and sufficient conditions for personal identity over time.
These three themes combine to support a compelling argument of how truly important it is to gain a greater grasp of one’s subconscious and inner self.
“It’s a blessed thing that in every stage in every age some one has had the individuality and courage enough to stand by his own convictions.” The part of me that sums up my identity best is not the adjectives given by family, or the faults I find in myself. My identity is my desire to better myself, and my passion for children. My identity is who I want to be and what I do to accomplish my goals My identity is the feelings and emotions I pour into my journal every day, and the way I feel when I do something right. My identity is not what others thing of me or what I think of myself after a bad day. My identity is the love and confidence I have in myslef, and the beauty inside.
As a young man Bigger was a magnet to trouble; however, his identity is unveiled once he attains a job at the home of the Dalton’s. Operating in the mind of double-consciousness prompts two murders, the rape of his girlfriend and fleet from the police; result in Bigger facing a trail for such charges. Wright depicts Bigger, as uncertain of his actions, “I didn’t want to kill,” Bigger shouts. “But what I killed for, I am! It must’ve been pretty deep in me to make me kill”(Native Son
A person’s identity is shaped by many different aspects. Family, culture, friends, personal interests and surrounding environments are all factors that tend to help shape a person’s identity. Some factors may have more of an influence than others and some may not have any influence at all. As a person grows up in a family, they are influenced by many aspects of their life. Family and culture may influence a person’s sense of responsibilities, ethics and morals, tastes in music, humor and sports, and many other aspects of life. Friends and surrounding environments may influence a person’s taste in clothing, music, speech, and social activities. Personal interests are what truly set individuals apart. An individual is not a puppet on the string of their puppet-master, nor a chess piece on their master’s game board, individuals choose their own paths in life. They accomplish, or strive to accomplish, goals that they have set for themselves throughout their lifetime. Individuals are different from any other individual in the world because they live their own life rather than following a crowd of puppets. A person’s identity is defined by what shaped it in the first place, why they chose to be who they are, and what makes them different from everybody else in the world. I feel that I have developed most of my identity from my own dreams, fantasies, friends, and idols.
Our ideal self is who we wish to be, and the real self is who we are. When there is an imbalance between who we want to be and who we are, a person can develop defense mechanisms to try to alter the real self (McLeod, 2007).