Identity In Miss Brill

The interpretive writer shapes and forms his work in such a way that we gain greater understanding of ourselves and the world in which we live in. Similar to a spotlight shining down at the performer on stage. Interpretive literature shines on the worlds issues and helps us to broaden our understanding of the human way of life and existence, and to illuminate certain aspects of life. Both stories, Miss Brill by Katherine Mansfield and Identities by W.D. Valgardson, are still pertinent today despite the fact that one of these stories is about a poor woman in her mid 30s living in late 1920s France. While the other is about a wealthy man in his mid 30s living in a suburban town somewhere in the U.S during the 1960s. But what does it mean to find your true identity? Struggling with various parts …show more content…
In Miss Brill, irony is evidenced by the events that take form when Miss Brill mocks the old man and old lady who have sat in her designated seat at the park by calling them “old”, “invalid”, and “big.” But then shortly after she was mocked by the young couple at the park. The judgmental behavior of Miss Brill ended up being dropped upon her by the young couple and at that moment she knew what her true perceptions to the people around her truly is. Similarly, the protagonist in Identities stereotypes and gives everyone who he stumbles upon during his journey in the second neighborhood an identity.: “Gangs of young men follow the car with their unblinking eyes…jackets gleam with studs. Eagles, tigers, wolves and serpents ride their backs” (W.D. Valgardson). As the characters in both stories begin facing their downfalls, they both are able to notice how they are truly perceived. And that their self-perception differs from reality and the way they appear to the people around can be altered due to stereotypes and