Daniel Tatum The Complexity Of Identity

In the book, “Namesake,” the author explains how identity reflects who you are and how different characteristics make you unique. It also shows that culture is the system of shared values, beliefs, and behaviors, which makes up society’s way of life. Different cultures and identities can cause several problems in people’s lives. In the book, the main character, Gogol, associated his identity with his heritage and interprets it into his lifestyle. Similarly in life, identity takes a huge role in society.

Identities are not sort of fictions or short stories which we narrate about us rather identities are those stories which change with different circumstances related to history. Identities shift in the way they go through different situations, hear new

The social norms of society can pressure individuals who do not conform which can lead to the creation of his or her identity. This new identity can alter how he or she react to certain events. The creation of one’s identity can change how society perceives them. One simple change can lead to multiple dramatic unpleasant consequences.An individual’s experiences in life can affect his or her identity in a way that changes how they perceive society.

In the article ‘The Complexity of Identity - Who am I?’, the author Beverly Tatum argues that the definition of identity for a person is laid down by the societal norms and not by one’s own conscious understanding of her or his existence. And these societal norms are the ones that are acceptable to the dominant group of the society. Any aspect of one’s identity that sets her or him apart from others is targeted by the dominants.

When getting to somebody, the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover” really does hold true. In my life, I often come off as shy and reserved to someone who doesn’t know me. On the contrary, my friends describe me as a loudmouth who doesn’t stop asking unnecessary questions. As people I’ve known for some time, my friends know me for more than what first looks may tell. This theory is seen throughout society, far beyond the walls of John Jay High School. Social identity is not representative of one’s personal identity. Rather, until one gets enough exposure to somebody to reveal their true character, their social identity is simply a preconceived notion based on their appearance and social interactions.

According to Shahram Heshmat, author of “Basics of Identity”, “Identity is concerned largely with the question: “Who are you?” What does it mean to be who you are? Identity relates to our basic values that dictate the choices we make…”. But sometime within every human being’s life, a situation arises where someone is not able to identify themselves, and because of this they can act strangely and sometimes hostile. In the book, A Separate Peace, four characters who are instrumental to the plot, Gene, Finny, Leper, and Brinker all face what most laymen would identify as an “identity crisis”. But in order to truly evaluate the identity struggle of each of these four characters, one must first identify what an overlying

History can be said to be the study of past events. According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, history is a chronological record of significant events often including an explanation of their causes.

One of them is called the dominants while the other half is referred to as subordinates. As the name suggests, the dominants are the superior group, and the subordinates are the inferior group. The relationship between these two groups can seen as tyrannical in terms of how the dominant group treats the subordinates. Often times, the dominant group will put labels on the subordinates which would place the subordinates in a much more inferior place; in fact, “dominant groups usually impede the development of subordinates and block their freedom of expression and action”(Miller 113). Because of this behavior, the dominant group has a great impact of influence in shaping a society’s

One’s own identity is crucial in defining a person. Some believe identity is defined by an individual, whereas others believe identities are defined by the context of one’s own surroundings. It seems more reasonable to believe the notion that people’s identities are chosen by the influence of their surroundings through the fourth class system which was expressed in Susan Faludi’s work, the Naked Citadel, the Stanford and the Seminaraian experiements which was explained in The Power of Context by Malcolm Gladwell, and through the influence of mega marketing like in Ethan Watters work, The Mega Marketing of Japan.

In her essay “The Complexity of Identity,” Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum author and former officers at the university Mount Holyoke states that we are often shaped by our family, our friends, our mentors, and people who are around us. “ The large part on who the world around me says I am.” What Tatum is saying is that whatever the world is doing or what ever the world looks like we try to be them and they affect how we look upon ourselves. Tatum also states that whatever these people say is what can really affect you and how we look at ourselves. Tatum states “ Who do my parents say I am? What message is reflected back to me in the faces and voices of my teachers, my neighbors, store clerks?” What tatum is saying is that how we project ourselves and our personal image the people around us start to get a picture of who we are, if we project ourselves as someone who is not right the begin to think we as a person are bad.

Jane Elliot was a third grade teacher that tried an experiment with her class to educate her students on the effects of discrimination. Elliot separated her class based on their eye color in order to explain how people are treated differently in the world. She tried to find a way to explain racism in the world in a way that third graders would understand.

The concept of identity has been a notion of significant interest not just to sociologists and psychologists, but also to individuals found in a social context of perpetually trying to define themselves.

Identity is social construct that many have mistaken for something an individual is born with. There are many aspects of identity that one can inherit like genes that can drive a certain type of character and certain aspects of identity a person can adopt and build for themselves. However the most part of one’s identity is consistent of what the person wants and adopts for themselves and what the society/the people around him/her choose to give him/her.

Each individual has their own different social identity. One’s social identity is constructed based on the different influences around them. The development of social identity is influenced by various factors such as the historical, cultural and religious beliefs of the society, community or family where one is brought up. It is influenced by the behaviours and attitudes of authority figures such as parents, teachers and community leaders around them, it is also influenced by external factors such as the media, one’s peers and the overall exposure one has (Carrim, 2006, p56).

We tend to observe ourselves through what Martin Poon calls, “mirrors of criticality” whereas others view us through “glimpses in a tinted window”. “We tend to minimize our successes and emphasize our failures”, but others rarely gaze long enough to notice. A fundamental part of our identity depends on the way we view ourselves and the way others view us. The importance of finding a balance between these two aspects are addressed in the novel, Never Let Me Go by Kazou Ishiguro. Through the eyes of the protagonist, Kathy H, the reader is presented with a world where those that are genetically identical to humans are racially alienated. The main purpose for