Erick Erickson : Identity And Identity

What is personal identity? This question has been asked and debated by philosophers for centuries. The problem of personal identity is determining what conditions and qualities are necessary and sufficient for a person to exist as the same being at one time as another. Some think personal identity is physical, taking a materialistic perspective believing that bodily continuity or physicality is what makes a person a person with the view that even mental things are caused by some kind of physical occurrence. Others take a more idealist approach with the belief that mental continuity is the sole factor in establishing personal identity holding that physical things are just reflections of the mind.

How much do people base their lives off of survival rather than living in the moment? In the novel Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, many characters lives revolve around this. In the novel, many characters often mention that survival is insufficient, so much that they do not find a point in life. The author uses memories of Kirsten to signify hope and resilience. Kirsten’s memories are not just a symbol of hope and comfort; as Kirsten moves from being an afraid person to a woman who is strong and seeks hope, the author uses Kirsten’s symbolic memories to demonstrate how experiences from one’s past can define one’s identity.

When foreigners think of America, they think of McDonald’s, the Statue of Liberty, Hollywood film stars, and the list goes on. In terms of Americans, people associate Texans with cowboy boats, Californians with surfboards, and New Yorkers with a snobbish grin on their face. It is true that all these things represent America in one way or another, but what exactly is American identity? Erikson’s analysis on American identity has drawn attention to four topics: Mom, adolescent, boss, and machine. He links all four topics together by using the myth of John Henry Hero. Goffman, on the other hand, develops dramaturgical analysis to understand human behaviors. He sees men as actors with different roles and these actors have to perform to

Erikson was conceived June 15, 1902 and kicked the bucket May 12, 1994. He was from Frankfurt, Germany. Erikson was mindful, lively and an academic scholar. Erikson mother name is Karla and she is Jewish. He was surrendered by his dad before he was conceived. Received by his stride father Theodor in 1911. He felt like his stepfather didn't acknowledge him completely. Erikson and his wife Joan Erikson were hitched from 1930 until he passed on 1994. Joan was a craftsman and an artist in 1930. They have three youngsters together. Their name are Sue Erikson, Kai Erikson and Jon Erikson. He chose he needed to turn into a craftsman after school.

     There are many aspects of identity in the poem “Sex without Love,” by Sharon Olds. I can relate my own thoughts to how the author views the subject that she talks about in this poem. There has been a situation in my own life where I was thinking to myself, just as the author was, “How do they do it, the ones who make love without love?” (Olds 740). Having been raised as a well-rounded and disciplined person, as well as religious, I know the discouragement of having premarital sex. It’s not just the immorality that these characters are experiencing that the author is talking about, but they probably have personal issues that have to do with a their self worth and identity. These

My name is Erik Erikson. I was born on June 15th, 1902 in Frankfurt, Germany (Thomas, 2015). Growing up I was raised by my Jewish mother Karla Abrahamsen and by my step father Dr. Theodor Homberger, who was my former pediatrician (Thomas, 2015). My biological father abandoned my mother and me before I was born (Thomas, 2015). I don’t really know much about him and I prefer to keep it that way. I fell in love with and married Joan Serson in the 1930s (Cherry, 2015). Together we had three children, 2 boys and a girl; their names were Kai, Jon, and Sue (Cherry, 2015). Although, I must admit I am most proud of my son Kai T. Erikson for pursuing a career as a sociologist.

Erik Erickson developed the eight stages to the psychosocial development. The eight stages in Erikson's theory were; Trust vs. mistrust (Infant), Autonomy vs. Shame and doubt (Toddler), Initiative vs. Guilt (Pre-School), industry vs. inferiority (School Age), identity vs. role confusion (Adolescent), intimacy vs. isolation (Young Adulthood), generativity vs. stagnation (Adulthood), and integrity vs. despair (Mature Adulthood) (Wong et al., 2015, p. 27). With each stage there is progression to matures development.

An individual’s identity is reflected in many aspects of their character. On of the aspects which affect a person’s identity is culture; culture plays a major role in the formation of an individual's character. It imposes customs which ultimately manifest through a person’s identity. The clear link between culture and identity suggests that conflict with one’s culture may affect a person’s sense of self. Jhumpa Lahiri explores this type of conflict in the novel The Namesake, in which Gogol Ganguli is stuck between two cultures the Bengali traditions of his parents and the American culture he grows up with. The novel explores Gogol’s conflict with both cultures and how it ultimately impacts the development of his identity.

An identity is the state of being oneself. Your character is comprised of your past, present, and future. Some individuals are ashamed of who they really are and try to change themselves, or mask their identities. One of the dominant themes that is conveyed throughout The Namesake is the theme of identity. In the novels, everybody is a little lost, or a lot lost, frankly. Practically every individual struggles with his or her identity, because every person feels the tug and pull of different cultures, different traditions, and different dreams. The Namesake is about this perpetual dilemma faced by immigrants as they fight to maintain their identities while trying to shake them off at the same time while The Great Gatsby is about people

“It may not be a big deal to you because you’re not the one who has to give consent to end the life of the person who gave your life.”

Identity is central to Erikson's thinking. Erikson coined the term "identity crisis". Erikson lived such a crisis in his own life. At a young age Erikson found out his father was really his stepfather. Erik Homberger Erikson was born on June 15, 1902 in Frankfurt, Germany to his mother

Amber and I have been dating for four years and we love each other very much, and I think it’s finally time that I ask her to marry me. The only reason why I didn’t earlier was because I wanted to make sure it was right. So today my mom is going to take me to the jewelers to pick out a ring. Since I am blind I can’t see the ring so I just told my mom what I wanted and she picked it out for me. I wanted it to be a big ring with big diamonds and a little red stone in the middle. I just know that it is going to be beautiful.

Identity is a state of mind in which someone recognizes/identifies their character traits that leads to finding out who they are and what they do and not that of someone else. In other words it's basically who you are and what you define yourself as being. The theme of identity is often expressed in books/novels or basically any other piece of literature so that the reader can intrigue themselves and relate to the characters and their emotions. It's useful in helping readers understand that a person's state of mind is full of arduous thoughts about who they are and what they want to be. People can try to modify their identity as much as they want but that can never change. The theme of identity is a very strenuous topic to understand

beliefs. Sober uses the example of lightning. He points out that according to the Greeks,

In Amin Maalouf’s book “In the Name of Identity” Maalouf emphasizes that we should not judge people on one singular identity. He argues that, “Identity can’t be compartmentalized. You can’t divide it up into halves or thirds or any other separate segments. I haven’t got several identities: I’ve got just one, made up of many components in mixture that is unique to me, just as other people’s identity is unique to them as individuals.” The essence of Maalouf’s argument is that one should not define another based solely on a singular component of their identity but rather their identity as a whole.