The Hunt For Identity Analysis

The third Saturday of November was one filled with conflicting emotions: excitement, fear, optimism, and nervousness. The screeching sound of the alarm at 4:00 a.m. initiated a sense of panic and thrill throughout me; it was the opening day of the gun deer hunting season. Within minutes, I was dressed from head to toe in bright, blaze orange that could be recognized from miles away. I reluctantly, yet willingly, climbed into the truck to head to the hunting land in Adams County, Wisconsin. My stomach felt like it was tied into knots. My mind was again flooded with conflicting emotions. I began to wonder: will I get a deer? Will I not get a deer? Will I get a buck?

In the Memoir, “Everything Will Be Okay”, by James Howe, a young boy faces a struggle. His entire family has been hunters. All of his three brothers and his father were hunters. However, James is different. He doesn’t like hurting or killing animals, but he feels forced to be like the rest of his family. Throughout this story, James learns that often in life people want to try and make you be something you're not, and that you have to decide for yourself what and who you want to become.

I never realized that deer hunting could save your life. Hunting every year and keeping the fridge stocked with meat can be a lifesaver for a family in a time of crisis who doesn’t have the time or materials for a garden. Tony then added, “I hunt and what I hunt I respect. I do not hunt for fun. I hunt for food. If I shoot it, I am going to eat it” (T.McNair, personal communication, October 20, 2017). His statements really opened my eyes to the mindset of a hunter. This was a man taking the life of an animal, yet doing it solely out of respect and for the insurance of his own survival. How could this be barbaric? I then asked, “Are there any life lessons to learn from hunting?” He replied, “The biggest of all is respect. I have taken plenty of deer in my life and each time I have the utmost respect for the animal” (T. McNair, personal communication, 2017). He explained to me all the lessons on respect he experienced in the woods. They made him a better man and showed him how he should treat others. Throughout my interview with Tony, I could tell he knows and utilizes all the amazing benefits that are to be gained from hunting. I enjoyed interviewing him and we exchanged hunting stories and laughed. It was clear to me hunting was actually very beneficial and not barbaric.

In the short essay “Why I Hunt” by Rick Bass, the writer gives the reader his personal perspective of what hunting is like for him. Rick Bass goes on to share the story of his family’s move from the hills of Fort Worth, Texas to the very remote Yaak Valley of Montana. The move to this area makes Bass want to hunt more since there is a better variety of prey, and due to everyone that has lived in what Bass calls “the Yaak”, has hunted their entire lives, he feels obligated to do it more than what he did when he lived in Texas (655). In “Why I Hunt, Bass argues that his love for hunting is an enjoyable hobby that develops his imagination and gets him in touch with nature, and that people should put down technology and try hunting. Bass uses imagery to show the beauty of hunting, and pathos to describe his emotions towards hunting.

“Migration and Multiculturalism” those two words have a deep meaning and purpose to belonging and identity. I have never taken those two words and connected them with belonging and identity, until now. Who would have ever thought about how it would feel to leave your country, home, where you felt safe, knew you belonged and knew what your identity is. To instead entering a whole new country or in another sense a whole new world, it would be intimidating and hard to grasp. You would have to relearn what; your identity is and where you belong. In a way, it is almost like learning to tie your shoes.

In the fall of 2012, I had just completed a six hour hunters education course and my father finally deemed me ready to hunt. Hunting is a tradition that has been in my family for generations. My grandpa taught my father how to hunt, and finally it was time for my father to teach me. “Once a Gerace gets his first kill, he earns the responsibilities of being a man,” That is what my Grandfather told my father many years ago, and now my father told me. Later that week, we found out that we were drawn for javelina hunting, although the hunt was not until February. For the next four months I spent every weekend at the shooting range, the determination I had for getting my first javelina was unmatched. I never wanted anything more in my life.

First, the boy follows his father’s orders during the hunt. When they arrive at an ideal site for a camp, the boy “[helps] his father assemble their tent” (5). When his father hears a gunshot, they walk towards it and the boy obeys his father when he “[motions for the boy to be quiet” (21). His behaviours show his admiration and recognition of his father’s authority in hunting and as a rookie, views his father as his role model. He tries to imitate the adults’ actions to meet their expectations although he has little knowledge. When he is given his own gun, “he [is] proud of the gun, careful not to scuff it in the brush” (9), implying that he views this gun and the hunt as an act of bravery and his father who participates in this activity as a hero. As a result, he satisfies the adults expectations because he wants to be a good hunter like his father.

Despite his inexperience at living off the land, Chris Mccandless managed to survive in the Alaskan wilderness for a time. His adventures across the United States contributed to honing his skills at surviving with inadequate supplies, little money, and few essential tools. Unfortunately This was not enough, and his inexperience on the finer points of outdoor living and general knowledge of particular subjects proved to create more challenges, and finally this inexperience killed him. Particularly, with his successful kill of a moose we see a perfect example of his ignorance, “Then on June 9, he bagged the biggest prize of all: “MOOSE!” (166.) His tendency to brashly tackle everything head on with will and determination ultimately led to his demise, “Overjoyed, the proud hunter took a photograph of himself kneeling over his trophy, rifle triumphantly overhead, his features distorted in a rictus of ecstasy and amazement.” (166.)

In the stories, “The Thanksgiving Hunter” and “The Christmas Hunt”, the main characters are both young boys who learn important lessons and deal with the consequences of their actions. The outcomes of these hunting experiences yield different results as do the events leading up to their moments of self-discovery.

At some point in life everyone startsa search to find themselves and their identity. It may take some time with wrong turns and different paths until there is an epiphany. Family, friends, and your peers around you all help shape yor identity. in the novels the joy luck club and king lear the search for your own identity is present between the daughters and he mothers in the joy luck club transitining from different cultures and norms. Also in king lear, charaters throught the play discover themselves. the inabiliy in obtaining your inner identity will result in utter chaos.

Hunting and fishing are my two favorite outdoor activities. There is a certain level of competition that involves hunting and fishing. I learned to have a great deal of patience; I understand the wait is well worth the reward. Shooting that big buck or catching that trophy fish are a couple things that make me admire the outdoors and the creatures in nature. Every day is a new adventure because nature changes every day. Sitting 20 feet up in the tree or floating on the water continuously for countless hours is a couple things that make people think differently of my choice in

It was the middle of October, and it was finally time for my long awaited moose hunt. I have waited ever since I was a little girl for this opportunity, and it was finally here. So, my father and I packed up our stuff and left the warmth of Phoenix. We were leaving the "Valley of the Sun" and headed for a place called Wyoming. After two days and fourteen long hours of driving, we made it to our hunting unit.

“Okay Reed, time to go!” My dad shouts from the garage. We had everything prepared and packed to go except for the shotgun. My dad and I have been looking at an area of public hunting land that might be good for hunting all kinds of game. We came to that conclusion after seeing a big pond and deep forests on the map. Today was going to be a day full of short lived excitement and disappointment, and I had no clue.

To begin, an article featured on The Canadian Encyclopedia offers clear explanation as to why defining as a singular concept is so difficult. It states, “The question of what it means to be Canadian – what moral, political or spiritual positions it entails – has been a vexed one, so much that some people place the question itself at the centre of the identity.” (Blattberg, 2016). This quote highlights the idea that the topic of Canadian identity has become so intricate and conversed, that the struggles to define it have evolved to become part of it. The article identifies that several social divisions have occurred over time that can explain why Canadians are so disconnected from each other. These include the separation that exists between

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