Indivdual's Identity

IF indivs act towards objects on the basis of the meanings associated with those objects; identities reflect the set of meanings that indivs attach to self as a social object

“Identity is not a bunch of cubby holes…..Identity is a river is a process..the changes of the river are external (changes in environment-river bed, weather) and internal (within the waters)... changes in identity likewise are external (how others perceive one and how one perceives others and the world) and internal (how one perceives oneself, self image)” (Anzaldua

In conclusion, a person’s identity can be influenced by the actions or conflicts he or she has experience in life and what’s based on the conflict and on how the parents and the people around influence

How I identify is directly correlated with innate factors. The unique way I was raised helped to form my perspectives, thoughts, and shape my feelings. By being raised around a socially conservative and deeply cultural community I learned to appreciate my roots while also being exposed to Canadian culture and norms and finding a happy mix between them while gaining perspective and having a deeper connection to both sides that I grew up in parallel with. This is shown in the reading “The Complexity of Identity” in which the author goes through all of the factors that determine the identity of a person and how that goes onto reflect that person’s real life experiences. In “Gendered Viewpoints”, the authors mention the frequency of cultural literacy

the most relevant and main ones are culture, which includes nationality as well as religion,

Growing up in Nepal, have always been interested on what identity is. Although being refugee, identity was not important. But when I became U.S. citizen, identity became important part of life. Identity provides the meaning of who I am? But meaning of who I am is shaped by different aspects. We should be clear that othering, culture, friendship and surrounding environment’s impact on people’s identity and also shape people’s identity.

This essay is about identity and analyzing identity from all aspects in nature. I have a strong understanding on identity and how one’s identity can be derived from oneself and their surroundings. I am aware of such altercations because I myself am constantly changing my identity in order to fit in with different groups. For this reason I support the idea that society alters our identities and ultimately shapes the people that we are. For this reason my commentary on the essay will have more support on general ideas then the essay itself because I understand identity better on my own and without the support from the short stories. I plan to open this essay with a strong hook and a solid thesis statement that will continue to support my work throughout this essay. Due to the fact that I am writing this essay in one sitting and will not be able to add more ideas later I will unfortunately leave out salient ideas and thoughts that won’t occur to me now but will become more evident as I continue to ponder the idea of identity. As long as I get out my main ideas and support them with evidence from the text I will have a solid piece of work completed on identity.

Perhaps the common phrase, “You are a product of your environment,” should be extended to “You are a product of your environment and biological makeup”—although it is not nearly as catchy. These identities that are influenced by these outside (and inside) factors nonetheless become an integrally important way that people are able to make sense of themselves and their existence, a way that they are able to organize and categorize information about who they are in a definable identity that can be communicated to someone else. Everyone is given the unique opportunity to define who they are, to reinvent themselves, and to continue this development throughout their

“[The] capacity for disgust, like all natural capacities, can be built on culture.” (Appiah 54) Are identities constructed because of surroundings, or are they molded based on one’s own individual thoughts and actions? This is the ultimate question; a variation of the nature vs. nurture debate. One can make the assumption that a person is molded by what he or she sees around him happening in the world, or by reading and learning from past events. In CORE this semester, we read plenty of books, all with the common theme of identity. Throughout all three units there were better examples of identity, and there were not so good examples of identity. However, another common theme is an individual’s identity getting compromised by what he or she is exposed to on a daily basis. A person builds his idea of himself based off of what he sees around him. As sad as this fact is, very few people are not influenced by outside sources.

Identity - what does one’s identity mean? Is it where you are from? Is it the culture of your ethnicity? One’s origins? Maybe it is the language one speaks. I suppose Identity is just a given – something that’s handed down at birth, and thereafter is rarely a second thought on the minds of most. But for some of us, who don’t belong to a single particular group, identity is a question that develops over time. The opportunity to choose who we are, our innermost spirit is something I began to appreciate.

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

James Marcia is the most outstanding psychologist who examined the development of identity. Marcia interviewed different people on how they developed their beliefs, choices, etc. He concluded that identity was predominantly based on two things: occupation and ideology. Occupation refers to one's particular role in society. Occupation might be a job, like a doctor or a nurse, but it could also apply to roles such as mother or student. Ideology refers to a person's fundamental beliefs about topics such as politics or religion (“James Marcia’s Identity Theory”, n.d.).

Identity refers to structured sense of self, which manipulates itself in threads of life (Burr, 2015). Figure 1 of Tūrangawaewae shows individuals identity can be classified under our age, our gender (male or female), the values and beliefs we share (religious or non- religious), the experiences ( good or bad), the people we surround ourselves with (friends and family), also not limited to, from our genetic inheritance (ancestors or parents). However, identity threads are not pre inherited but are pre-constructed idea influenced by social experiences (Kahu, 2015). I am a woman, 21 years of age, Christian by faith, Fijian Indian by ethnicity. I use mind set of goals to convey through my identity. For example, excelling

True identity and purpose come only when an individual’s natural abilities are accepted, cultivated and directed towards mutually beneficial ends instead of destructive ones. In the film Predestination directed by Peter and Michael Spierig and the short story “Identities” written by W.D Valgardson, both have irony and the similar theme that humans are assuming identity more then discovering it. In both stories we see how biology is different than identity, which supports that who you are born to be, is different then who you become. In the two narratives both protagonists’ personal identities are in conflict with societies assumptions and conflict with their own predetermined biology.

The concept of identity is difficult to define as it is ambiguous. It can be interpreted from many different perspectives, and environments. In its most basic form it is the way that people see themselves. This includes one’s assumptions about them ‘self’ as Cliford Geertz would put it, and the society around them. Furthermore scholarship defines identity as “the way people see themselves in the context of nature, and how people see animate and inanimate aspects of the natural world.” (Hoffman, 1998) We live in an all-encompassing society however so identity includes all ranges from national, social, personal, environmental, religious, and even political identities.