Predetermined Identity

The Predetermined Identity

Identity, the fact of being who or what a person or thing is. Defining oneself is not a simply a self determined process, it is influenced by religion, politics, relationships, and social constructs. Through the rhetorical strategies used by the authors of The Kite Runner, The Help, The Things They Carried, and Their Eyes Were Watching God their literature explains how characters develop throughout the novels and how their environments affect their lives.

Religion and politics are the two most controversial and widely disputed topics because of their strong effects on an individual's character and moral questioning. Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner takes place amidst a period of political unrest in the Middle East

during Afghanistan's widespread political corruption. The novel reveals the horrors caused by the Taliban, a fundamentalist terrorist militia, and how these injustices brought shame to the once peaceful name of Islam. “What mission is that?...Stoning adulterers? Raping children? Flogging women for wearing high heels? Massacring Hazaras? All in the name of Islam?” (Hosseini 284). The author uses anaphora in the form of sequential questioning to express the urgency and importance of what Amir is expressing. He points out how contradictory the Taliban's ideals are compared to those of Islam. Consequently, this outburst is a milestone for Amir's integrity because he speaks up against the terrorism being spread by the Taliban and by doing so he risks being killed for treason. In order to know morality and what is true one must question authority. The Vietnam War was one of the most opposed wars in the history of the United States, young people were protesting the draft and human rights against the authority of the federal government. In the novel The Things They Carried author Tim O’Brien creates a fictional biography on a man transformed by the violence of war. “The American war in Vietnam seemed to me wrong...I saw no unity of purpose, no consensus on matters of philosophy or history or law. The very facts were shrouded in uncertainty: was it a civil war? A war of national liberation or simple aggression? Who started it, and when, and why?” (Tim O’Brien, On Rainy River). Similarly to the excerpt from The Kite Runner, O’Brien utilizes anaphora to pick apart the questions everyone should ask about war. This action also disproves the logical fallacy appeal to authority through questioning the reasoning of a federal action. Tim O’Brien recounts this scene as his character receives his draft notice. Prior to facing the brutality of war he opposes the idea of the Vietnam invasion but as his character develops later in the novel, O’Brien appears indifferent to the morality of war because he has normalized it into his daily life. His identity changes from a questioning citizen to becomes that of a soldier, carrying his mental and physical weight through war. Questioning morals is not doubting God, it is confirming personal faith in the face of those who abuse it both politically or within a religious institution.
Relationships are what shape personal identity.

One’s sense of self is a reflection of those with whom the most time is spent. Both positive and negative relationships determine aspects of identity. Family relationships can often be the most complicated, Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner tells a story about a difficult father-son relationship between Amir, the protagonist, and his father Baba. “I let myself dream: I imagined conversation and laughter over dinner instead of silence broken only by the clinking of silverware and the occasional grunt. I envisioned us taking a Friday drive in Baba’s car to Paghman... We’d go to the zoo to see Marjan the lion, and maybe Baba wouldn’t yawn and steal looks at his wristwatch all the time. Maybe Baba would even read one of my stories. I’d write him a hundred if I thought he’s read one.” (Hosseini, 56). Amir creates a vivid anecdote in this chapter of what his ideal relationship with Baba could be but his mind quickly returns to the realities of his life. Hosseini uses strong imagery to describe Amir’s ideal relationship with Baba and parallels it to his daily confrontations with him. Amir yearns for his father's love and attention. His lack of unity with Baba hurst his identity because he feels neglected which results in Amir’s inability to communicate his feelings and contributes to his resentment towards Hassan. Neglect is a form of abuse, although Amir was never physically hurt by his father he faced the challenges of being in a impugnment relationship. Often times people become trapped in verbal and physically abusive relationships, living in constant fear of staying or losing the ability to escape. Similarly, The Help contains a subplot between a maid, Minny, and her abusive husband Leroy.” ‘If I didn’t hit you, Minny, who knows what you’d become.’...’Who knows what I’d become if Leroy would stop goddamn hitting me’ “ (Stockett). The author inputs anaphora, the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of

successive clauses to emphasize the meaning of Leroy’s words . Minny is expected to be a loving and devoted wife as well as maintain a job and care for her kids but in order to maintain his dominance, Leroy is physically suppressing Minny’s independence, safety, and self awareness through his constant abuse. Leroy failed to oppress Minny, her hardships made her a stronger, more resilient person.
From the minute a child is born he or she is placed in a social category depending on their economic class, race, and gender. These predetermined labels arbitrate individuals worth according to society, and can control the way one identifies with themselves and those around them. Novels like The Help by Kathryn Stockett and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston expose how detrimental society’s labels can be on an individual. The Help is set in Jackson, Mississippi and is written from many perspectives, one being an african american maid named Aibileen who is the nanny of a little girl growing up in a time of institutional racism. “ I want to yell so loud that Baby Girl can hear me that dirty ain’t a color, disease ain’t the negro side of town. I want to stop that moment from coming- and it come in every white childs life- when they start to think that colored folks are not as good as whites.” (Stockett, 112). Aibileen has raised this child since infantry and she does not want her to learn the prejudices inflicted from the generations before her. Stockett writes in a colloquial tone to describe Aibileen’s character by using words such as “ain’t” and “folks”. The author also uses a form of periodic syntax in this sentence by creating a long and involved description where the main idea is placed at the end. Aibileen communicates that racism is not something one is born with, but something that is taught by society and older generations. Much like racism, sexism has become institutionalized in all aspects of society and put limits on every gender. Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God explores the restrictions places on the protagonist Janie, solely because she is a black woman. “You ain’t got no mo business wid uh plow than uh hog is got wid uh holiday!.. A pretty doll-baby lak you is made to sit on de front porch and rock and fan yo’self” (Hurston, 28). This line is presented by Janie’s second husband Joe, he confronts her saying that someone as beautiful and fragile as her has no place doing anything but sitting pretty. Hurston uses multiple forms of figurative language to describe the parallels of gender. The first rhetorical strategy is the simile Joe uses that compares Janie working a plow to a hog celebrating holidays. There is a satirical tone in this comparison as he uses farce irony to exaggerate improbable situations that contain low comedy. He uses her beauty and labels it as weakness, objectifying her as an object for him to use. Janie’s identity changes between her different husbands because the way they view her as a woman. Both The Help and Their Eyes Were Watching God challenge gender and race norms with characters resilience and identity in the face of prejudice.