The Importance Of Identity

721 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Social influences on gender roles

That is the ultimate question of life. “What makes you, you?” could possible be the scariest question we can ask yourself. One that could potentially make our heads hurt or makes us panic. With over 7 billion people on this earth, not one person looks exactly the same. Different eye color, different DNA, different facial features, everything different. However, is eye color, or DNA part of the question that we are always wondering? We don’t answer the question of what defines our identity by going over our different physical features, that is the last things on our mind, but rather we challenge to understand ourselves by having a different. But how did we get to this point? It’s simple really; the answer to our question about what goes into the development of our identity is one word, socialization. If you are raised a certain way, you are put into that lifestyle. In his piece Existentialism, Sartre defines identity as, “man are nothing ellse but that whiich he makes hemself” (Sartre 349). Meaning he feels that our identity is what you determine yourself to be and nothing else. You can choose who you are and where you end up. However according to Sartre, but what Sartre doesn’t know, is that life is always going according to “God’s plan” we just don’t know it until we get there. Yes it is true that. However God knows the things we are going to do before we do them, he knows that we are going to take that sip of alcohol, he knows that we are going to tell that little lie to get us out of doing something we don’t want to do, he knows all of this a head of time. Which is why he has a “plan” for us as we move toward each decision we make. And for man to be “nothing else but that which he makes himself, makes man belie... ... middle of paper ... ... find this love by the same way we were raised. Our parents are the greatest example to who we end up to be and we often find ourselves loving the same type of person. Which is why socialization is the aspect of finding our true love and identity. We build a personality or identity by absorbing our interactions and experiences in an on-going life course. Gender, race, love, family are just some of the many aspects that go into making you, you. We ask this question often, and in reality, the answer is right there in front of us. Our family and parents help us grow up into young individuals searching for the next step in our future. Gender determines how we go about our daily endeavors. And lastly, love brings us closer to an individual that will help us figure out our true identity. Ultimately making socialization the answer to the scariest question we ask.

Show More
Related

  • Sensations And The Brain Essay

    1919 Words  | 4 Pages

    This paper aims to endorse physicalism over dualism by means of Smart’s concept of identity theory. Smart’s article Sensations and the Brain provides a strong argument for identity theory and accounts for many of it primary objections. Here I plan to first discuss the main arguments for physicalism over dualism, then more specific arguments for identity theory, and finish with further criticisms of identity theory.

    Read More

  • Identity In In The Skin Of A Lion By Michael Ondaatje

    1419 Words  | 3 Pages

    What makes us who we are? Is this the real us? Questions such as these seem odd, but the idea of there being a person’s true identity, is obvious. 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. There are many things in our culture around us which sort of reinforce the idea of us having a unique identity. Identity is more about the collections of personal experiences and the changes that they bring rather than it being about judging people by their gender, race and class.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Social Identity

    872 Words  | 2 Pages

    People go through many obstacles when they face their social identity. Some can overcome their differences, but others may not have they change to even face them due to the treatment that they get from society. Social identity is the one of many controversial and complex problems that many individuals deal with. Because, sometimes it used to be misunderstood making reference to racism and/or others complex matters. “On Being a Cripple” and “How It Feels to Be Colored” are two essays in which both characters suffer from some kind of discrimination. Indeed, in “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” by Zora Neale Hurston and “On Being a Cripple” by Nancy Mairs, each author shows different attitude, endures challenges, and change toward social identity.

    Read More

  • The Yin and Yang of Identity

    1736 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to Chinese philosophy, yin and yang is a philosophy that describes two seemingly opposing forces working together to create a perfect complimentary harmony. This concept creates a tension throughout Ruth Ozeki’s documentary, Halving the Bones. Ozeki, for lack of one, forges an identity for herself, uniting her contrasting backgrounds – specifically, her half-Japanese and half-American backgrounds - with the help of her documentary, Halving the Bones. Her disillusionment begins with her very own name and traces through her relatives’ lives, finally ending with her acceptance of the two opposing heritages.

    Read More

  • The Complexity Of Identity Essay

    1339 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • How Does Identity Affect Our Identity

    1511 Words  | 4 Pages

    In today’s society, the identities of ourselves and others control most of our thoughts and sometimes our actions. These ideas that people have created in which people of a certain gender, race, religion, economic class, etc. can only do certain things that they believe is meant for them. This thought process has ultimately damaged society and the people within it because it not only has created this illusion that a person can only do a certain thing but makes people lose hope and faith in themselves. The mindset that most people have nowadays is filled with what others are going to think or say about them. Our society has made us scared to do the things we truly want because we worry about our identity and how we will be able to do something while having that identity. How are we as a society

    Read More

  • Identity In Wonder Agust

    198 Words  | 1 Pages

    What makes you who you are?There are many factors that contribute to our identities and help shape our personalities.Two factors that contribute shape one's identity in positive and negative ways are good friends and family.

    Read More

  • Individual Identity

    1385 Words  | 3 Pages

    The quest to find one’s identity and have a sense of individuality is rampant in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. The humanistic urge to have purpose is embodied in the characters of Kathy, Tommy and Ruth very differently. They each know that their life’s purpose is to donate until “completion,” yet on the way there they explore themselves and find out there is more to each of them than their vital organs, even if that is how society has labeled them.

    Read More

  • The Quest For Identity

    645 Words  | 2 Pages

    Zora Neal Hurston’s book, Their Eyes Were Watching God, reveals one of life’s most relevant purposes that stretches across cultures and relates to every aspect of enlightenment. The novel examines the life of the strong-willed Janie Crawford, as she goes down the path of self-discovery by way of her past relationships. Ideas regarding the path of liberation date all the way back to the teachings of Siddhartha. Yet, its concept is still recycled in the twenty-first century, as it inspires all humanity to look beyond the “horizon,” as Janie explains. Self-identification, or self-fulfillment, is a theme that persists throughout the book, remaining a quest for Janie Crawford to discover, from the time she begins to tell the story to her best friend, Pheoby Watson. Hurston makes a point at the beginning of the novel to separate the male and female identities from one another. This is important for the reader to note. The theme for identity, as it relates to Janie, carefully unfolds as the story goes on to expand the depths of the female interior.

    Read More

  • My Personal Identity

    956 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Identity And Relational Identity

    1339 Words  | 3 Pages

    While much of the contemporary debate over identity is based on the problem of identity over time, there remains to be resolved the issue of what even constitutes identity and how that manifests itself in every individual. For this problem, it is necessary to consider how individual philosophers conceptualize identity, and one fruitful example is the concept of relational identity. In this concept, the individual identity is considered in how it relates to other individuals and the rest of their environment, so while several Francophone philosophers consider in depth the interpersonal connections and cultural phenomena that create relational identity, the issue of environment remains. Edouard Glissant and Barbara Cassin are two such philosophers

    Read More

  • Race, Ethnicity And Identity In Today's Society

    1648 Words  | 4 Pages

    The thought in society is that we can fully choose who we want to be. However, although we have the ability to choose, we cannot choose our race because of our birth; thus a part of our identity has already been molded, giving us the opportunity through experience and exploration to complete this mold and fill it with our ethnic identity. Our identity is plainly defined as who we are and what we are

    Read More

  • Adversity: A Short Story

    979 Words  | 2 Pages

    What makes us who we truly are? Some say our decisions define us, others our experiences, and still others believe our identities are all predetermined by our genetics. A simple story I have heard offers an answer to this controversy. If a person throws an egg, a carrot, and a coffee bean each into a pot of boiling water, the outcome is different for each of them. The egg will harden, the carrot will soften, and the coffee bean will change the water it was in. The water in this analogy symbolizes adversity. All of the objects faced the same adversity, but each responded in a unique way. Similarly, some people’s hearts are hardened by their negative experiences, but others take those experiences and transform them into learning opportunities.

    Read More

  • Importance Of Making Sense Of Identity

    888 Words  | 2 Pages

    As Oscar Wilde said, “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.” That is how I mostly interpret Professor Sen’s claim about making sense of identity. In the book, he generally discusses how an individual belongs to a plural of groups, and how one has to choose which one is more important, to make sense of one’s identity. He specifies how it is approached by using reductionism, which is identity disregard and singular affiliation. With the variety of groups we encounter and affiliate with, it all comes down to choosing how we make sense of our own identity.

    Read More

  • Construction of the Self

    1195 Words  | 3 Pages

    How does one create the “self”? How do we form as individuals? Whether a person is male or female, white or black, rich or poor, tall or short, pretty or ugly, fat or skinny, the most important factor is the development of the “self”. The self refers to the unique set of traits, behaviors, and attitudes that distinguishes one person from another (Newman 283). To distinguish between oneself from others, one must be able to recognize their unique traits and characteristics. One must be able to differentiate between one’s own physical appearance and another’s. There are many components such as gender, race, ethnicity, and social class, which shape and influence our values, beliefs, and impression of life. Understanding the difference between sex and gender allows one to grow into their own masculinity and femininity. Recognizing the history of one’s past in regard to their ethnic backgrounds and struggle will shape the development on one’s self. Having the luxury of money and power will affect the self and the way that one appreciates the value of the dollar or lack thereof. One of the most important factors may be one’s physical features which will eventually influence one’s self-confidence and affect the self as a whole. Once an individual has acknowledged the traits of their “self”, they’re in control of either maintaining their self, or changing their self to satisfy their standards.

    Read More

More about The Importance Of Identity

Open Document