'True Identity In Sean Gallagher's The Submission'

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In The Submission, Sean Gallagher apprehensively submits to the schemas of his family, as well as the public, which forces him to make basic generalizations about certain people in order to conceal the uncertainty he possesses about his true identity. Sean’s character shows his willingness to comply not only to his family’s beliefs but the publics’ as well, which forces him to create a disguise that allows him to make rapid and unreasonable assumptions about misunderstood individuals. Sean Gallagher continuously displays his biggest weakness as his inability to form his own opinions, for a majority of The Submission, Sean fearfully gives into others’ opinions instead of discovering his own desires. Following Sean Gallagher’s actions throughout …show more content…

When first discovering the winner of the memorial competition, Frank Gallagher displayed the generalizations he has formulated about Muslims following the death of his eldest son, Patrick, “Frank Gallagher, Sean’s father, was on the phone with a reporter:... They killed my son. Is that reason enough for you? And I don’t want one of their names on his grave” (62). For the entirety of the novel the Gallaghers possess an evident bias towards the Muslim religion as a whole. Similarly to his father, later in the novel readers see Sean adopt the same viewpoint as his father when arguing with Claire, “My mind closed toward Muslims the day they killed my brother” (98). The Gallaghers group the whole Muslim religion under one label, “terrorists”, when in reality their pain is preventing them from recognizing Muslims, especially Mohammad Khan, identity as ordinary Americans. Throughout the novel, readers are made aware of Sean’s admiration for his older brother, Patrick; Sean worships his brother’s bravery, as well as his ability to be a “man”. Along with Sean’s attempt to fill Patrick’s shoes, Sean also chooses to adopt Patrick’s mentality, “Patrick... had taught him to marry public sportsmanship with the essential psychological tool of the

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