Identity
Identity is not only an eight letter word, it is how an individual identifies itself. The best way to describe what identity is, a conglomeration of inner characteristics and outer representation. As humans at some point we seek self-actualization, trying to find the best version possible. This quest begins at birth, and it end when one finally feels confident about themselves. Many people struggle to find out who they really are whether this has to do with their inner self, or their looks. Someones identity can be compare to a puzzle, every puzzle piece represent our gender, race, sexuality, culture, and nationality; it also represents our fears, morals, personality, and at the end every piece comes together to create a whole. Wayne
…show more content…
Joseph and Langston Hughes both struggle with trying to figure out their identity. Every individual embarks on an expedition to find its identity, one explores the roots of it, as well as how one define the experiences, and decisions that define one-self. A big part of someone identity its race, for some their race can determine their customs, religion, and ultimately their lifestyle. Humans crave acceptance, and a way to obtain this is through race. As early as the first settlers, people used race as common ground to built communities, and to identify themselves. Wayne Johnson built his whole life around his race, who he dated, how he acted, and his role in his community was all a result of his race. Yet, due to DNA testing he found out that who he thought he was, was not exactly who he was genetically. Wayne has a man vs. self dilemma debating whether he should reveal to other that he is actually not black. “Color marks you, but your membership in black society all gives you an indestructible house to love in and a bed to rest. I can not imagine growing up any other way.” (Kaplan, 111) Wayne is clearly invested in what race means to him, its not only where is ancestors are from, or where he comes from, its a way of living. His race clearly defines, what he eats, the music he listens to, and probably where he lives. Was Wayne identity created for him, of did he have a say in how he shape himself? In another statement in the essay by Kaplan it states “As much as he might want to, he can’t simply refuse his black past and declare himself white or Native American. He can acknowledge the truth but can’t quite apply it, which makes it pretty much useless to other.” (112) One can interpret that Wayne’s identity was chosen for him, and he didn't have a say in who he became to be, another interpretation of this statement is that no matter if a DNA test determines race genetically, ones culture is determine by many externalities, as well as the environment one grows up with. At the end Joseph’s did let his genes didn't find who he was, instead he to in count what he was thought to believed, and decided that his identity is defined by him. As much as race plays a big part in someones life another factor that plays a big role in someones life ifs their religion.
In some cultures religion is not only one hour Sunday morning, to some people religion is more like a lifestyle. Nutrition, characteristics, and morals all revolve around the concept of religion. Langston Hughes had create his own path, while trying to battle the influence of other. Hughes fought to truly find what he believed in, and in the process he found himself. Religion was a part of Hughes identity he was struggling with, he had let other people shaped what he thought about religion, therefore shaping his own identity. Many argue that one do not have conscious choice over who one becomes. Instead ones identity is molded by others, in respond to what is currently accepted. This can explain why Hughes decided to stand up even though he didn't actually see Jesus. “ And I kept waiting see him, but nothing happened to me. Nothing! I wanted something to happen to me, but nothing happened.” (Hughes, 225) Hughes actually believed that Jesus was going to appear in front him, he wanted to believed what others had told him. “God had not struck Westly dead for taking his name in vain or for lying in the temple. So I decided that maybe to save further trouble, I’d better lie, too, and say that jesus had come, and get up and be saved.”(Hughes, 225) Hughes let everyones opinions, and actions shaped how he reacted, therefore shaping his identity, and ultimately shaping his
beliefs. At the end of the essay Hughes reacts to everything that happened at the temple, and his reaction to this event represents his identity and who he is as a person. Hughes states “ But I was really crying because I couldn't bear to tell her that I had lied, that I had deceived everyone in church, that I hadn't seen Jesus, and that now I didn’t believe there was a Jesus anymore, since he didn't come to help me.” This experience showed the way he reacted, but as well it shaped his identity because now he does not believe in God. Identity is easy said, but hard to find. Ones identity is shaped since the day one is born and there is little action to change it. Yet others take the initiative to shape ones identity. At the end out identity consist of numerous defining characteristics the whole of who one is at a given moment. Our identity is the role as a character in a play, one can always improvise but the script is written already most of the time.
Identity is the essential core of who we are as individuals, the conscious experience of the self-inside.
Like most, the stories we hear as children leave lasting impacts in our heads and stay with us for lifetimes. Hughes was greatly influenced by the stories told by his grandmother as they instilled a sense of racial pride that would become a recurring theme in his works as well as become a staple in the Harlem Renaissance movement. During Hughes’ prominence in the 20’s, America was as prejudiced as ever and the African-American sense of pride and identity throughout the U.S. was at an all time low. Hughes took note of this and made it a common theme to put “the everyday black man” in most of his stories as well as using traditional “negro dialect” to better represent his African-American brethren. Also, at this time Hughes had major disagreements with members of the black middle class, such as W.E.B. DuBois for trying to assimilate and promote more european values and culture, whereas Hughes believed in holding fast to the traditions of the African-American people and avoid having their heritage be whitewashed by black intellectuals.
Before beginning the explanation of how an identity is formed, one must understand what an identity is. So, what is identity? To answer this, one might think of what gives him individuality; what makes him unique; what makes up his personality. Identity is who one is. Identity is a factor that tells what one wants out of life and how he is set to get it. It tells what kind of a person one is by the attitude and persona he has. And it depends upon the mixture of all parts of one’s life including personal choices and cultural and societal influences, but personal choices affect the identity of one more than the others.
Langston Hughes was one of the first black men to express the spirit of blues and jazz
Identity is a group of characteristics, data or information that belongs exactly to one person or a group of people and that make it possible to establish differences between them. The consciousness that people have about themselves is part of their identity as well as what makes them unique. According to psychologists, identity is a consistent definition of one’s self as a unique individual, in terms of role, attitudes, beliefs and aspirations. Identity tries to define who people are, what they are, where they go or what they want to be or to do. Identity could depend on self-knowledge, self-esteem, or the ability of individuals to achieve their goals. Through self-analysis people can define who they are and who the people around them are. The most interesting point about identity is that some people know what they want and who they are, while it takes forever for others to figure out the factors mentioned before. Many of the individuals analyzed in this essay are confused about the different possible roles or positions they can adopt, and that’s exactly the reason they look for some professional help.
James Langston Hughes was born February 1, 1902, in Joplin , Missouri . His parents divorced when he was a small child, and his father moved to Mexico . He was raised by his grandmother until he was thirteen, when he moved to Lincoln , Illinois , to live with his mother and her husband, before the family eventually settled in Cleveland , Ohio . It was in Lincoln , Illinois , that Hughes began writing poetry. Following graduation, he spent a year in Mexico and a year at Columbia University . During these years, he held odd jobs as an assistant cook, launderer, and a busboy, and travelled to Africa and Europe working as a seaman. In November 1924, he moved to Washington , D.C. Hughes's first book of poetry, The Weary Blues, was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1926. He finished his college education at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania three years later. In 1930 his first novel, Not Without Laughter, won the Harmon gold medal for literature.
An identity is more than just a name. Sometimes an identity is the first thing and possible the only thing a person notices about one or the other. A person's identity can represent their culture, their race and sometimes, even possible their family background. My identity is what represents me. For those who does not know me personally but knows my name, knows my identity. This identity is what people will recognize me as for now and possible for ever.
Langston Hughes was a large influence on the African-American population of America. Some of the ways he did this was how his poetry influenced Martin Luther King Jr. and the Harlem Renaissance. These caused the civil rights movement that resulted in African-Americans getting the rights that they deserved in the United States. Hughes was born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. His parents divorced when he was young and his grandmother raised him. She got him into literature and education; she was one of the most important influences on him. He moved around a lot when he was young, due to his parents divorce, but remained a good student and graduated high school. After this he traveled the world and worked in different places, all the things he saw in his travels influenced him. In 1924 he settled down in Harlem where he became one of the important figures in the Harlem Renaissance. He enjoyed listening to blues and jazz in clubs while he wrote his poetry. The music that he enjoyed greatly influenced the style and rhythm of his poetry. The poem “Dream Variations” by Hughes is about an average African-American who dreams of a world where African-Americans are not looked at or treated differently and they can rest peacefully. Yet in real life this was not so, black people and white people were not equal. And the world was not as forgiving and nice as in their dream. This poem is a good example of Hughes writing because it is typical of three things. The first is the common theme of the average life of an African-American and their struggles. Secondly, the style of his writing which is based on the rhythm of jazz and blues- he uses a lot of imagery and similes. Lastly, his influences which are his lonely childhood and growing up as an Afric...
Langston Hughes is a key figure in the vision of the American dream. In his writings his African-American perspective gives an accurate vision of what the American dream means to a less fortunate minority. His poetry is very loud and emotional in conveying his idea of the African-American dream. Most of his poetry either states how the black man is being surpressed or is a wish, a plea for equality. He does not want the black man to be better than everyone else, but just to be treated equal. Able to meet their dream with the same level of success and failure as everyone else.
What is identity? Identity is an unbound formation which is created by racial construction and gender construction within an individual’s society even though it is often seen as a controlled piece of oneself. In Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum’s piece, “The Complexity of Identity: ‘Who Am I?’, Tatum asserts that identity is formed by “individual characteristics, family dynamics, historical factors, and social and political contexts” (Tatum 105). Tatum’s piece, “The Complexity of Identity: ‘Who Am I?’” creates a better understanding of how major obstacles such as racism and sexism shape our self identity.
"The Negro Speaks of Rivers," "Porter," and "Refugee in America" are all prime examples of the way in which Hughes chose to use literature as a form of protest. His experiences in Dixie Land were never forgotten and very obvious throughout his literary career. While very remorseful about his place in society as a black man, Hughes still manages to convey a theme of hope that is still expressed every time his works are read to this day. Langston Hughes would be proud to see just how much the work of he and his colleges has paid off throughout the years.
Identity. What is identity? One will say that it is the distinct personality of an individual. Others will say that identity is the behavior of a person in response to their surrounding environment. At certain points of time, some people search for their identity in order to understand their existence in life. In regards, identity is shaped into an individual through the social trials of life that involve family and peers, the religious beliefs by the practice of certain faiths, and cultural awareness through family history and traditions. These are what shape the identity of an individual.
Webster's dictionary describes identity as sameness of essential character, individuality, or the fact of being the same person as one claims to be. So your identity can include your name, your age, your job title, or simply characteristics of your body. These things are facts, facts you don't care to share with the world. Just as the word suggests your identity is something by which you can be identified. These are things that describe a person in terms a stranger would understand. This area of identity is proof of who you are. However, your identity is also composed of what you are. They mark your role in society. Who you are and what you do make up your identity. This is essential in the human life span because people are always searching to find where they truly belong in the world.
Identity is very important to people because it is what defines them as individuals. Identity is a complicated topic because there are many questions regarding it and varying opinions. There are many factors that can affect one’s identity.
The English Oxford Dictionary describes identity as “The fact of being who or what a person or thing is”; your identity is defined by numerous characteristics a person holds, from their visual exterior to their internal traits and social standing.