Ansbacher's Identity

Brynnin Michel Mr. David English March 5, 2024 What is Normal? The short story Unusual Normalities by Ishmael Beah is about a man who moved to the United States and wanted to protect his identity from the rest of those in his new school. The reason that he wants to protect his identity is because he was in a war at a young age and experienced more than most young boys would. The main theme of the story is that sometimes protecting your innocence from others can also protect them from the truth. One of the main reasons why Ishmael protected his innocence was because he came from a place that was totally different from the United States, and most of the things that Ishmael did or said weren't normal and people would get confused and think he's

Out of these various components, I choose to describe the concept of equipoise. Brooks defines equipoise as the ability have the serenity, to read biases and failures in one’s own mind. He begins by mention the fact that human beings are an overconfident creature, therefore weak when it comes to comprehending our own weaknesses and flaws. To have this ability it’s considered to be a great accomplishment, due to that most people aren’t as capable of seeing clearly inside themselves. In order for someone be aware of their own level of confidence, one must

In the “Unknown Citizen”, Auden suggests that a person’s worth is more determined by his character than

But, during the time that greatness needs to be conquered many turn to the one opposing the obstacle, not knowing what is to come with the win over greatness, with hatred and misunderstand. In the speech of “The Soul of an Individualist” there are many examples given to why there needs to be egoism such as “the creation of fire” and “the creation of the wheel” revolutionary, innovative inventions and discoveries because without it many would not be thriving today. Without it those “transgressors”, the ones who challenged life and asked for purpose many would not have been “burned at the stake” because we, collectively, did not understand it at the time but now we need it because it makes life meaningful and more enjoyable. Now without it we would not live because we are dependant on the independants discoveries. In the end good and bad cannot can be put in a box or molded to fit a certain aspect. It is up to us as individuals to decide what is good and bad with our morals, religion,

James McBride has always struggled with his race and identity. Growing up with twelve brothers and sisters, both father figures in his life have passed away, and a white mother in a predominantly black community. In a time where being black is not so good. McBride never had it easy in his life. A lot of tragedy and self-discovery and acceptance had to happen in his life. Growing up in a time where all your heroes are white, in a school where you are just a joke and someone to pick on, and then trying to discover a part of your mother and yourself at the same time.

This book is divided into three parts. The first, 'Emotional Strategies: An Existentialist Perspective ' observes in some detail the ways in which we engage the world through sixteen different emotions, with several of their permutations. Following Heidegger; who believes that emotions tunes us to the world and Sartre; who reasons that emotions have a purpose, Solomon claims that we are responsible for our emotions. This coincides with the fundamental Stoic insight that we “are” our emotions. Aristotle discussed certain emotions at length, notably anger, which he described in remarkably modern terms. Commonly classified as a basic negative and destructive emotion, emotional reactions can usefully be read as, and ultimately even identified with, strategies we adopt as a way of dealing with the challenges of our lives- for example, prompting us to fight for justice and protecting our rights. Thus even

To Emerson, each individual possesses their own intelligence, however, “the whole character and fortune of the individual can be affected by the least inequalities in the culture of the understanding”, which can cause insecurities within the individual (Nature 505). He claims that “every great man is unique, and each man has their own gift,” which if presented solely by the specific individual, the gift is completely possessed instead of having only half possession because it is a third party idea (“Self Reliance” 533, 547).

Although I can’t specifically relate to Gloria Anzaldúa’s struggle between her languages in “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” I can relate to her “kind of dual identity” in which she identifies with neither Anglo-American cultural values nor Mexican cultural values (1566). Being half white, half Chinese, I struggle identifying as either identity, especially because my mom (who is Chinese) never learned Cantonese and largely became Americanized in her childhood. It’s an uncomfortable position to be in when racial and ethnic identity are so significant in America and when I must interact with the world as part of both the majority and the marginalized. Considering my own struggle and the conflict Anzaldúa describes, it became clearer to me the way race relations in American not only marginalize people of color but train our consciousnesses to damage ourselves. Before I turn back to Anzaldúa, a novel I’ve recently read, William Godwin’s Caleb Williams has also been on my mind, particularly in Godwin’s portrayal of how police surveillance transforms us into agents of our own oppression. Although Caleb is a white man, he also experiences a split consciousness as his values and characteristics are whittled away by the paranoia of constant surveillance.

Lord of the Flies, an allegorical novel by William Golding, holds truths about mankind’s true nature of existence. The novel explores the savagery in all men that lies dormant, yet when society’s rules cease to exist, the boy’s innocence perishes along with it. The boys attempt to band together and mock the society that they came from, but not understanding the complexity of the situation, results in their society falling into ruins. On the island the boys are returned to man’s primitive nature, without rules or discipline, and they slowly drift into anarchy. Without proper guidance, the boys resort to cloaking their innocence with body paint to survive. With the body paint coating their skin, the boys bury their old personas within and allow themselves to commit acts that society would frown upon. When Jack’s tribe uses the facade of body paint to dissociate themselves from civilization’s morals, they denote that hiding one’s true identity liberates them from the constraints of society.

I agree with your interpretation of Anzaldua’s quote “So, if you want to really hurt me, take badly about my language”. Since she makes it clear that ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity, therefore she can not take pride in herself, until she takes pride in her language. Thus, how are you supposed to know your true identity, if you are forced to change the way you express yourself.

Some would argue that the difference between an accomplished and unaccomplished person is confidence. Ralph Waldo Emerson certainly upholds this belief throughout his discourse entitled “Self-Reliance,” with the characterization of a man who holds on tight to what he believes in as being the best kind of man. Emerson argues that original and unique thought is necessary for true education and that conformance and perpetuation are the great hindrances to mankind. By putting the very things that he is advocating on display, Emerson’s contention is well-argued to the audience with his use of inclusive language, allusion, and individualized rhetoric. It is this use of confidence by Emerson, that allows his argument to be well-received and seem

Orwell’s writings are most identifiable by the idea that a sense of pride in one’s actions and thoughts

In fact, this theory proposes that, “to live is to feel inferior” (Mosak 1995). However, when the individual begins to act inferior rather than feel inferior, the individual is engaging in “discouragement” or the inferiority complex (Mosak 1995). “To oversimplify, the inferiority feeling is universal and ‘normal’; the inferiority complex reflects the discouragement of a limited segment of our society and is usually ‘abnormal’” (Mosak 1995). This theory views the healthy and “ideal” individual as one who engages in life experiences with confidence and optimism. “There is a sense of belonging and contributing, the ‘courage to be imperfect,’ and the serene knowledge that one can be acceptable to others, although imperfect” (Mosak 1995).

From now on Kristeva’s theory will be applied to specific examples taken from Carter’s stories. Considering the idea of Ashputtle’s identity, a clear difference between the first and the second and third stories can be seen. In the first story, there is not a “subject”, but a mere “object” with no identity. Ashputtle remains nameless as the author refers to her as “daughter” as it can be seen in “Ashputtle, no longer known as the daughter of her mother, nor of her father either(Carter, 1993: 112)”. Ashputtle is named as “Ashputtle” by her stepmother, just as a joke, with no intention of giving her an identity: “Ashputtle is nameless.

Many individuals often aspire to pursue their own aspirations in hopes of achieving greater accomplishments while abandoning their past. However, despite their numerous achievements they may accomplish in the future, individuals are incapable of altering the initial perception others have already formed upon them despite the significant character changes they experience themselves. In the “Prodigal”, Bob Hicok suggests that when individuals aspire to pursue their own personal ambitions and motivations, they will experience an internal feeling of pride and self-satisfaction within themselves but people who thoroughly understand the individual from the past will still perceive him/her the same way as before. It is through the understanding or