The Theme of Identity Essay

Identity is a situation where someone discovers their qualities that make him try to find out that they are and the kind of activities they do that other people are not doing. Generally, it can also be associated with the kind of a person you are and what defines you a person. There are several books and storybooks that express the theme of identity to make different people intrigue themselves and communicate to the qualities and their sentiments (Hall and Ferial, 2012). The theme of identity is essential in helping readers acknowledge that a state of mind of an individual is occupied by strenuous thoughts about what they are and their future expectation. Although people usually make an attempt to adjust their personalities, it is an impossible action that cannot be achieved. Despite the fact that the theme of identity cannot be understood easily, it is a very impressive topic to discuss. The theme of identity can be identified in two different readings provided namely Suzuki Ancestors and Taylor. In these books, there are people who have an identity that they are making an attempt to change in order to lead a free life in the society they connected with. In these two readings, there are family members that live in a country specifically Canada where they were forced to flee to as a result of a certain condition. This condition makes young people develop trauma and therefore they make serious attempts to alter their situation so that they can lead a life full of comfort. The authors of these two books or readings wrote these books are such a way that the theme of identity is depicted in characters as the only way of modifying their lives.

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In the second reading, the author laments that he has a Japanese gene and he always sees the power of his biological connections. Suzuki is not at peace and his mind is in a difficult situation because he feels that he is living in a wrong place and he would like to live with close to his people. The theme of identity is depicted clearly in the way Suzuki is behaving despite the fact that he has been staying in Canada for the better part of his life. The author still cannot still accept that he is in the right place. From the story, the author tries to adapt to the kind of life people of Canada lives but he could not because he has a different gene from them and therefore there is the behavioral difference between them. His qualities and character traits could not match because gene in the determinant of behavior and because he has a Japanese gene and he lives with people with Canadian gene, it is very difficult for him to have the same behavior. Although environment has the power to influence the behavior of a person, there are some features that cannot change within a person. The environment cannot change physical characteristics of a person but can only alter behavioral traits and therefore Suzuki could be associated with Canadians but his physical appearance is associated with Japanese. For that matter, the biological connection has power over environmental influence. Based on this reading, Suzuki can be identified as Japanese on the basis of physical appearance and some behavior due to biological influence.

As from the reading, Suzuki had tried to alter his personalities by adopting Canadian lifestyle but he could not change everything (Doty, 1996). This depicted when he visited Japan in 1968, most people wondered how Canadian he is but there was some biological connection which he could not change. He looked like them and to the extent that it was very difficult to identify him from the rest. This, therefore, means that genealogy is a very important factor that can be used to support the theme of identity. It differentiates a person from others be revealing some physical appearance that distinguishes one from the rest.

Because the author of these two readings could not find comfort from where they live, they wanted to connect to their people. As stated in the second reading the author was not comfortable and sought to find his people. Suzuki wanted to be connected to his relatives in Japan Tokyo and had to ask the grandparents to inform the relatives that he has come to Japan. The theme of identity is depicted where the authors of these books want to be connected to their relatives and they would not like to be associated with others who they had been forced to live with as a result of immigration (Holliday, 2010). The theme of identity is supported strongly in these readings when Suzuki was given a wonderful reception by his relatives using Japanese fashion. This, therefore, shows that he belongs to Japanese and therefore he was received the relatives as one of their own. In conclusion, the theme of identity is supported by biological factors and environmental factors that can make one have unique character traits that distinguish him from a group of people. Although there are some qualities that can be changed to fit a given environment, there are others such as biological features such as skin color, physical appearance, and hair that cannot change for the rest of an individual lifetime. These features can be used to identify a person and distinguishes one from others.

Works Cited

Hall, Stuart; Ghazoul, Ferial (2012). "Cultural identity and diaspora". Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics (32).

Holliday, Adrian (2010). "Complexity in cultural identity". Language and Intercultural Communication. 10(2): 177

Doty, Roxanne (1996). "Immigration and National Identity: Constructing the Nation". Review of International Studies.22: 235-255.