Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
What is identity in literature
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: What is identity in literature
The fabrication of ones identity is dependent on existential and religious circumstances throughout an individuals life, that lead to intellectual development and transformation. David Gutterson’s Snow Falling on Cedars (SFOC) explores the spiritual and psychological journeys experienced by Ishmael, Hatsue and Kabuo by subjecting each character to moments of peripeteia that provoke personal transformation. In Life of pi, directed by Ang Lee, Pi is a castaway that relies on his faith in god to guide him through a gruelling physical journey through which his strength, both spiritually and physically, is tested. Stephenie Meyer’s The Host is a science fiction novel that explores the psychological and emotional journeys borne by the protagonist, …show more content…
Wanderer, that cause her to question her beliefs and existence. All three texts portray journey as a catalyst for transformation, as the characters endure inner complications that aid in them developing a sense of self or existential and nihilistic demeanours. Emotional journeys within an individual cause a distinct transformation in their character and beliefs. Ishmael descends into a state of psychic void as a result of Hatsue’s rejection and his experiences at war. Prior to the inevitable break-up between Ishmael and Hatsue, Ishmael was an optimist and had an idealistic mindset. This can be observed when Ishmael whispers ‘I want to marry you, Hatsue’ , despite the fact that Ishmael and Hatsue can never marry due to cultural barriers, Ishmael desperately grasps onto the hope that they might have a future together. Hatsue’s rejection in the line ‘I don't love you, Ishmael’ causes him to develop pessimistic attitudes and become a misogynist. Sigmund Freud, the father of psychology, developed the stages of grieving which include denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. As Ishmael progresses through the stages of grieving for Hatsue, he becomes transfixed in the stage of anger which can be seen when he refers to her as ‘That goddamn jap bitch’. Ishmael’s involvement in the war leads to him becoming psychically wounded and losing the essence of himself. During his childhood Ishmael felt the presence of god as said by his mother in the line ‘You felt him as a child…I remember, Ishmael. You felt him’. Following Ishmael’s return from the war, he becomes an atheist as he looses his faith in a greater being above and develops a nihilistic mindset. In the film Life of pi, a young Indian boy, Pi, looses his family and becomes stranded at sea with a menagerie following the sinking of his ship. Pi embarks on a religious journey throughout his childhood to young adulthood. Before the event of the ship sinking, while Pi was still residing in India, he was uncertain about his belief in God. Through his regular visits to church, we are able to glimpse his thoughts regarding religion. He asks questions such as ‘If God is so perfect, and we are not, why would he want to create all this? Why does he need us at all?’ . Once Pi becomes stranded at sea, he begins to develop a stronger sense of faith and relies on God to help him through his hardships. Pi develops the habit of praying to god, he says ‘God, I give myself to you. I am your vessel. Whatever comes I want to know. Show me’. The arduous physical journey subjected to Pi provoked an enhancement in his spirituality as his faith in God was strengthened. Transformation within characters in a text are a result of moments that cause emotional imbalance, as seen with Ishmael post rejection, and with Pi following his isolation at sea and loss of his family. Conflicting emotions and beliefs can lead to an identity crisis within oneself and the transformation of ones ipseity.
In SFOC, Hatsue struggles to accept her identity as a result of her romance with a hakujin that causes her to become guilt ridden from deceiving her family. Hatsue had been carefully trained since her childhood with the intent that she would not forget that she was first and foremost Japanese by her culture teacher, Mrs. Shigemura, and her mother. She had always received warnings about the white race and was encouraged to marry a Japanese boy. Mrs. Shigemura believed in cultural isolation rather than integration and we are told by the narrator, ‘She claimed that white men carried in their hearts a secret lust for pure young Japanese girls…Stay away from white men, said Mrs. Shigemura, and marry a boy of your own kind whose heart is strong and good.’ Due to the strong perceptions of white boys pushed towards Hatsue she was forced to keep her relationship with Ishmael a secret and deceive her family, this caused conflict within Hatsue and she started to resent her own culture. ‘I don't want anything to do with them! Do you hear me? I don't want to be Japanese!’ this line expresses Hatsue’s refusal to accept her Japanese heritage and her struggle to uncover her true identity. The Host is a novel in which the protagonist (Wanderer) is a ‘soul’ that invades the mind of her host body, she finds residency within a group of rebel humans where she develops bonds and discovers feelings of love. Similarly to SFOC, Wanderer is also faced with an identity crisis as her former beliefs of the human race are proven wrong and she is left to question where she belongs. During the first chapters of the novel we are given the preconceptions about humans thought by Wanderer, she says, ‘Who would have the stomach to face the violence of this particular species, the hostile humans who killed so easily, so thoughtlessly?’ Once Wanderer discovers that her perceptions of
the human race were completely wrong she is forced to face the question of who she is. Towards the end of the novel she says ‘I already knew we were wrong to come here’, showing the transformation in her identity and her understanding of humans caused by the conflict created between her former beliefs and her present experiences. Both characters in the texts undergo revelations of and question their selfhood, due to events that cause conflict within themselves. Metamorphosing moments within an individuals life are catalysts for personal transformation and existential introspection. There are multiple events during the course of Kabuo’s life that lead to him developing a nihilistic attitude. The theory of karma is a fundamental doctrine in buddhism, the Buddha once said "All living beings have actions (Karma) as their own, their inheritance, their congenital cause, their kinsman, their refuge. It is Karma that differentiates beings into low and high states.” Before Kabuo was sent to the war he was a practicing buddhist and believed in the theory of karma. Kabuo was ambitious and determined to obtain the land that rightfully belonged to him. When Kabuo returns from the war he feels a greater connection to the dark side of kendo, passed on to him from his grandfather and the paradox of his grandfather’s sword of life. He undergoes an existential crisis as he ponders that he might be sentenced to the death penalty, for the accused murder of Carl Heine, and he perceives his possible death as appropriate karmic retribution for the four german soldiers he killed during the war and that his ‘sins were too large to climb in this lifetime’. This is expressed in the following lines, ‘The death penalty, Kabuo said to himself. He was a Buddhist and believed in the laws of karma, so it made sense to him that he might pay for his war murders: everything comes back to you, nothing is accidental.’ In Life of Pi, throughout Pi’s journey across the sea his intellectual capacity is developed. During Pi’s childhood, his father warned him of the danger of anthropomorphism; ascribing human qualities to animals, in Pi’s case, thinking of the animals as humans. His father says, ‘You think that tiger is your friend? He is an animal, not a playmate…That tiger is not your friend’. On the sea, Pi heeds to his fathers warning while still managing to live with the animals as if they were family. He learns to survive at sea with the tiger as his only companion by developing his skills and staying spiritually grounded. Events within both Pi and Kabuo’s lives lead to transformation within themselves both mentally and intellectually. Journeys within an individuals life are catalysts for transformation. Existential and religious circumstances throughout an individuals life aid in the formation of ones identity. David Gutterson’s Snow falling on cedars demonstrates the impact of journey on an individuals ability to undergo change. Life of Pi and The Host also depict journey as a catalyst for transformation and an aid in forming a personal identity. Moments within a persons life that cause an emotional imbalance lead to peripeteia within themselves.
Snow Falling on Cedars, a novel by David Guterson, is a post World War II drama set in 1954 on the island of San Piedro in Washington State. The story’s focal point is the murder trial of Kabuo Miyamoto, who is accused of killing a fellow islander, Carl Heine, Jr., supposedly because of an old family feud over land. Although the trial is the main focus of the story, Guterson takes the reader back in time through flashbacks to tell a story of forbidden love involving two young islanders, Ishmael Chambers and Hatsue Imada (Kabuo’s future wife). At the time of their romance, interracial relationships were considered strictly taboo because of racial bias. It is through both this love story and Guterson’s remarkable use of setting and imagery that the reader is informed as to why racial prejudice is so high on the island of San Piedro at the time of the trial and why Kabuo is not merely on trial for Carl’s murder, but also for the color of his skin.
Nature. Nature exists ever since the beginning of time when God created earth. Nature shaped and molded mankind in its cultures, societies, and philosophies over the course of nature’s existence. Nature influenced people’s way of living, the way they act and react, the way people view what they see, the way they think, and the way people learn and believe for centuries. People used nature in designing their art. People crafted art in forms of music, paintings, and literature overflowing with imagery, atmospheric tones and moods, symbols, and themes influenced by nature. David Guterson too used nature to mold and shape his novel, Snow Falling on Cedars. Guterson was able to make is themes flourish and shine through his artistic and symbolic use of nature incorporate in the novel’s plot. Guterson achieved capturing and touching readers’ hearts through his themes unfolded from the help of nature being used symbolically.
There are many unpredictable and ungovernable accidents, coincidences, and chances that drive the universe and can ultimately affect the events of a person’s life. One of the main concepts surrounding David Guterson’s novel, Snow Falling on Cedars, is the power of free will vs. fate. The last sentence of the novel: “accident ruled every corner of the universe except the chambers of the human heart” explains the lack of control that humans have on the forces surrounding them compared to the control they have over their actions or decisions and the impact that it has. Snow Falling on Cedars looks closely at the effect free will and fate has through the murder trial that occurs post World War II in the story where a Japanese American, Kabuo Miyamoto, is charged with the murder of an American, Carl Heine. As the trial takes place, the story interconnects the characters one of who is Ishmael Chambers, a journalist who may be Kabuo’s only hope but struggles with the decision to do what’s right as he was left burned by Kabuo’s wife and his childhood love, Hatsue. The notion of chance and free will can be seen especially in the character of Ishmael who struggles against the effects of the war and Hatsue leaving him. And as a Japanese American during the war, Hatsue herself displays the power of free will in her self-acceptance and in creating a balance in her life. Apart from the portrayal of free will vs. chance in the development of the characters, certain events in the novel such as the case of Carl Heine’s death and the war itself exhibits similar themes. However, unlike Carl’s death, the war shows that there are instances where circumstance may be the result of human actions. In David Guterson’s Snow Falling on Cedars, the events tha...
Last year, I read Life of Pi, and its focus on spirituality and the analysis of Pi’s religious experience moved me and heavily affected my own spirituality. I was an agnostic atheist beforehand, and that did not change, but instead, Life of Pi pushed me to find my own beauty and wonder, not in religion as Pi did, or in a vague spiritual sense as some others do, but in nature, science, and
The demand to survive in an extreme environment encourages certain individuals to proceed to live their life despite the hardships they may face. In the novels, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, and Life of Pi by Yann Martel, the individuals must discover what it takes to obtain the will to survive in these extreme environments they are presented with. Thus, resulting in comparisons between their mental states (internal challenges), and contrasts between their physical states (external challenges) by Louie Zamperini and Piscine Molitor Patel (Pi).
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson The novel Snow Falling on Cedars, written by David Guterson, revolves around the.. around a racially charged court case involving an innocent Japanese man accused of the murder of a German fisherman. The author explores the human traditions of war and social division and the inevitability of decay, suffering and death, using the murder trial of Kabuo. Miyamoto as a focal point. Guterson investigates the way in which personal ethics can transcend the conspiring effects of ‘fate’.
“Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. At all counts, it forms an unconscious snag, thwarting our most well-meant intentions” (Carl Jung). The archetype of the shadow self is the darker, animalistic self that a person represses and is forced into the unconscious by the ego. In Life of Pi by Yann Martel, the protagonist, Piscine Molitor is stranded in the middle of the Pacific with a Bengal tiger. It is on this journey that Pi encounters his shadow self. Unfortunately, in an effort to survive, Pi goes against most of his beliefs; and resorts a level of savagery by giving in to his shadow self, Richard Parker. Thence, Pi’s plight is quite challenging for his fruitarian, gentle, kind hearted persona; therefore, Pi would not have survived if he repudiated his shadow self, projected as Richard Parker.
Have you ever seen snow before? That white fluffy stuff that covers the ground completely. Well if you have, I am sure you have overcome an obstacle in your life and have reached something “irreplaceable and beautiful” (102). Just like Sister Zoe had said when she saw that snow falling from the sky. This story was very enlightening because the way the author brought in herself and portrayed herself through the character Yolanda was very intriguing. She brought the subject to life in many ways. However, the author of “Snow” uses two specific elements, its symbolism and its character to prove how overtime one individual will be able to overcome obstacles. Not only does theses elements point this out but the narrator also makes an impact of the reader as well.
In drastic situations, human psychology uses coping mechanisms to help them through it. In the novel, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Pi’s coping mechanism is his religions and his projection of Richard Parker. Martel’s Life of Pi shows how the projection of Richard Parker played a greater role in keeping Pi alive in comparison to his beliefs in his religions. During the period in which Pi was stranded on the lifeboat, Richard Parker kept Pi aware, helped Pi make the right decisions, and was Pi’s sub-consciousness.
What makes us who we are? Is this the real you? Questions such as these seem odd. Identity in today’s modern day society a person’s identity is based on how the person looks or where they come from, gender, race, and class.
A quick glance at Life of Pi and a reader may take away the idea that it is an easy read and a novel full of imagination, but take a Freudian view of the work and it transforms into a representation of the human psyche. Martel’s novel takes the reader on a journey with Pi as he struggles for his own survival. Pi experiences a breakdown of each component that makes up one's personality, according to Freud throughout the novel. One by one, ego and super ego both express a huge factor in Pi’s choices and emotions throughout his story. Readers are also introduced to an alternate ending to choose from.
Religion is and always has been a sensitive topic. Some choose to acknowledge that there is a God and some choose to deny this fact to the death. For those who deny the presence of a higher being, “Life of Pi” will most likely change your thought process concerning this issue. Yann Martel’s, “Life of Pi”, is a compelling story that shows the importance of obtaining religion and faith. Piscine (Pi) Patel is both the protagonist and the narrator of Martell’s religious eye-opener who undergoes a chain effect of unbelievable catastrophes. Each of these catastrophic events leaving him religiously stronger because he knows that in order to endure what he has endured, there has got to be a God somewhere.
On its surface, Martel’s Life of Pi proceeds as a far-fetched yet not completely unbelievable tale about a young Indian boy named Pi who survives after two hundred twenty-seven days on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. It is an uplifting and entertaining story, with a few themes about companionship and survival sprinkled throughout. The ending, however, reveals a second story – a more realistic and dark account replacing the animals from the beginning with crude human counterparts. Suddenly, Life of Pi becomes more than an inspiring tale and transforms into a point to be made about rationality, faith, and how storytelling correlates the two. The point of the book is not for the reader to decide which story he or she thinks is true, but rather what story he or she thinks is the better story. In real life, this applies in a very similar way to common belief systems and religion. Whether or not God is real or a religion is true is not exactly the point, but rather whether someone chooses to believe so because it adds meaning and fulfillment to his or her life. Life of Pi is relevant to life in its demonstration of storytelling as a means of experiencing life through “the better story.”
“The presence of God is the finest of rewards.” (Yann Martel, Life of Pi 63) In Yann Martel’s riveting novel “Life of Pi” The basic plot of survival unfolds, however, this essay will show how the hidden yet the dominant theme of religion throughout the story is what helped the main character Piscine Molitor Patel (Pi) survive.
The Life of Pi by Yann Martel was a fascinating and exciting narrative that described the journey of a young boys life starting with the formation of his beliefs moving all the way through an adventure that changed his life forever. I found it extremely engaging on both a philosophical level and a psychological level as I saw Pi, a young boy, curious about life, discover both religion and go through an extremely traumatic experience. I found Pi's devotion to God to be an uplifting example that many people throughout the world should see. Although I do believe that Pi was confused about how to best love God, I admire his efforts and believe that his dedication is sincere. I also found the psychological aspect of Pi to be almost as fascinating as religion. I could see from the beginning that Pi was quite thoughtful and always tried to think before he acted. However, what I found even more fascinating than his pre-planning cognitive abilities was how he thought when he was under great stress. Perhaps the best example of how he coped with stress was towards the end of the book when he tells what may be the true story, and we can see that he may have represented everyone as an animal in order to deal with the situation. This provides valuable insight into Pi's mind and opens a whole new area of possibilities when considering how Pi thinks. This ending leaves how Pi thinks open to interpreting which adds a intriguing aspect to the book. Beyond the religious and theoretical aspects of the book, the adventure seen kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. Every time it seemed Pi was about to die or give up hope, an astounding miracle would suddenly save him. I found the effect of these suspenseful moments to cause me to want to...