Make Lemonade Essay On Identity

Reid Hoffman once said, “Identity is a core and unavoidable part of all our lives. Our actions shape our identity, and in turn, our identity shapes our actions.” This quote may imply that we can build our own identities with ease, however, at some points in life identity is uncontrollable. Like an ocean that chips away at a rock cliff, or a potter who molds their clay, identity is shaped through both internal and external factors within a society; Those of which you’ve been born into, or those that you’ve subconsciously created for yourself. The verse-novel Make Lemonade is a clear depiction of two characters who struggle to get by and meet their families’ needs as they face new inflictions both on a day-to-day basis, and on an inclusive level.

In the book, written by Virginia Euwer Wolff, there are many internal and external factors that affect and shape the identities of both Jolly and Lavaughn, such as the confinement of social class, certain desires that both of them have, like the ability to go to college and to provide for their family, and unplanned events that affect their way of living.
One of the first undeniable factors that affect both Jolly and Lavaughn as citizens living within a society is the stubborn reality of social class.

Social class is a category that is pre-determined; Something that people most likely can’t help but deal with. Usually, being in a specific social class comes with certain advantages, privileges, and/or disadvantages. Throughout the introduction of the book the realities of social class are made clear by describing both of the girls’ environment, social past and present interactions, and economic capital. Jolly is stuck in a social class indicated by the fact that she lives in a very low quality area, and even then she still can’t afford to pay rent for her apartment. Lavaughn sees this and comments “I go to meet this Jolly like she says / at her place. The building was broken-down looking, / it was even a worse place than where we live,” adding to the effect of poverty that shapes Jolly. In addition, Jolly is incapable of holding down any sort of job, even one in a factory. During a conversation with Lavaughn, she says “‘I’m canned,’ Jolly says, and she translates immediately. / ‘Fired.’” (p. 55), further revealing her status as a lower class citizen. This poverty shapes Jolly because she learns to live in a different way than others that are her age; she has to take more responsibility, she learns to live frugally, and is forced to be a hard worker. Furthermore, social class shapes Lavaughn as well. To begin with, Lavaughn’s

social class is shown when she references back to her father’s abrupt death; “I don’t tell Jolly about the gangs / and how my Dad got in the way / on the blacktop that time / when him and his friends were playing basketball / and there was the shooting and my Dad was hit by a mistake.” (p. 51), suggesting that she lives in a high crime area. This shapes Lavaughn's outlook because her father was someone who was important to her, so she wants to make a better life knowing that he would have wanted her too. Moreover, Lavaughn’s aspiration to climb out of her social circumstance has affected how she works in school and at home. She demonstrates her willingness to change her social class when she declares that “I know I wont end up like Jolly (p. 29),” meaning that she doesn't want to stay in the lower class. This molds Lavaughn’s work habits and determination, which is a large part of her identity. Social class is a major factor in shaping how one lives and thinks, as seen in the characters Jolly and Lavaughn.
Similarly, people who have high ambition and desires that are related to social class, or desires that aren't related to social class, are more strongly influenced in what they choose to do and be; much like Jolly’s desire to care for her family, which in turn affects her attitude, and Lavaughn”s wish to go to college when she is older, which affects her mindset and behaviour.

For instance, Jolly desperately wants and needs to keep a job, though can't for long. She displays her longing for a place of work by declaring ‘“I need a job,” and explains the reason why she was fired in the first place: “you blow the whistle on them, you're out of work for good.”’ (p.57), alluding back to the time when she got fired from her factory job for defending herself against sexual harassment. Jolly’s desire for a job, an internal factor, and inability to get one, an external factor, has created a bitter distaste for men in her mind. She cannot hold down a job because of what certain men have done to her, not relating to the workforce (unintentional pregnancy) and within the workforce (sexual harassment). This forms her as a character and shows a lot about her wavering views on equality and gender stereotypes. Moreover, although sometimes she doesn't show it, Jolly truly does want to do the best she can in making sure her kids are taken care of. By working to achieve this, Jolly has unknowingly shaped her identity because they bring her hope and something to work towards, instead of only

making choices for herself. Lavaughn, referring back to the time when Jolly saved Jilly from choking, thinks to herself: “And I’d tell how Jolly never once stopped doing what she was doing to save her child from dying in front of her on the floor” on page 193, characterizing Jolly as a loving mother. Jolly never gave up when in the face of adversity, even as she braves the daunting task of saving her child from choking to death. This shapes Jolly’s identity because after this incident, her self esteem raised from knowing that she did something right, and something to be proud of. In a like manner, Lavaughn also has great ambition that has molded her over the course of the book, ever since she was little. Lavaughn has had the dream of going to college ever since the fifth grade, deeply supported by her mother, too. Lavaughn explains her devotion to the idea on page 11: “That’s why the word COLLEGE is in our house / all the time, / it’s why I babysit, / it’s why I do homework all the time, / it’s what will get me out of here,” which is also the premise of the book’s plot. By having the dream of going to college next to her her entire life, Lavaughn has shaped and chosen her actions based on where she wants to be in the future. An example of this would be the fact that she has chosen to stay up late to do homework, or to study instead of hanging out with her friends, thus shaping her as an individual who works hard and who is devoted. She also must babysit regularly to earn money to put into her college fund, a time consuming, demanding task. Although she could choose a different job rather than babysitting, she also has a devotion to help Jolly out in her time in need. She shows her commitment to the task when she declares “I'm going back to Jollys after school while she hunts for job. She can’t pay me but she will when she gets one,” on page 73. Lavaughn still wants to help Jolly out, even though she isn't getting anything out of babysitting because Jolly can't pay her for her work. Throughout Lavaughn's experience in helping Jolly out in a rough time, she has learned the importance of helping others and found that sometimes you must sacrifice for your friends and family. To put it briefly, by desiring something it can greatly shape your views and outlooks, much like the characters Jolly and Lavaughn in the book Make Lemonade.
Though having desires is certainly an expected factor that affects identity, as a consequence of unplanned events that take hold of a person’s life, identity can be enormously influenced and changed as well. For Jolly, getting pregnant was definitely a life changing event that shaped who she currently is, much less getting pregnant twice. Once again, Lavaughn portrays Jolly’s scenario: “Three years ago/ she left school for Jeremy and was gonna go back/ and was gonna go back/ till she had Jilly/ and there was no more gonna left in her” on page 86, referring to when Jolly got pregnant two times. Because Jolly has had two kids that were both unplanned, she was forced to drop out of school both times, and was too exhausted and busy to go back after Jilly was born. This was an external factor that affected her way of living and her identity because it has shaped her priorities as a teenager and a student. Another unplanned event was when Jilly accidentally swallowed a plastic spider, resulting in her choking and needing medical assistance. On page 184 Lavaughn emphasizes the spontaneity of the event, in that she explains “One minute Jillys sitting on the floor all happy/ talking in her language to the jungle spider,/ and the next thing I know/ shes completely sputtering and waving her feet/ in a fight with Jolly/ whos trying to keep her from kicking...” In an instant, Jilly needs to be rushed to the hospital after she is saved from choking on a spider by her mother, Jolly. Later on, Lavaughn sees a news article about the accident and vaguely depicts it: “And there was a picture of her and Jilly in the school paper, / it said STUDENT SAVES OWN CHILD. / And in smaller letters it said, / Credits Moms Up CPR Class for Skills” on page 198. After Jolly saves Jilly, her name and story gets in the newspaper for everyone to see. This changes Jolly’s identity within the community because she is recognized and respected more by others. Furthermore, Lavaughn also went through a traumatic, random experience. Her father died when she was young, hence affecting how she lives and her independency now. She describes how she feels about him on page 46, “My dad he comes in little tiny pieces into my mind,/ like those remnants, in those samples you see/ in the home ec room...” After Lavaughn’s father died, memories of him still popped up in her mind, reminding her of what he wants her to achieve. Also, both her and her mother have learned to be more independant, resulting in a diligent family. As seen, events that happen at random can greatly affect the outcome of how one lives, thus affecting how one acts as an individual, which shapes identity in turn.
Identity is carved through various things in the book Make Lemonade, such as internal and external factors; This is shown in the characters Jolly and Lavaughn, in that they suffer from the repression of social class, having ambition and goals, and incidents that happen which affect how they behave and awareness. Although some outside forces and forces coming from within are sometimes hard to bare with, they also shape one's identity and give a person their character that makes them unique.