The Follower Short Story

Mardy Bryant once stated that, “Your identity should be so secure, that when someone walks away from you, they don’t take you with them.” The author is stating that when someone is being their true self, they will still be the same person if someone leaves them. Identities are created by individuals but influenced by their need to fit in or the environment around them.

In the short story “The Follower,” the narrator changes in order to fit in and be accepted by his neighbors. As his mom watched his foolish neighbor get launched across their lawn, she told him to never be dangerous like that. She said to him, “Don’t get me wrong. You’re a good kid, but you are most definitely a follower.” The main character proceeded to ignore him mom and …show more content…
When Scary Gary said to him, “Don’t be a chicken, take a seat,” he did as he was told and sat on the electric, chicken wire chair. The main character continued to follow his friends orders and stunts, even though, he does not realize that he was just doing whatever they said to do. In the past, would have never thought about doing something as dangerous as what he was doing. Now, he did not even think twice about doing something so dumb. Another powerful influence on people's identities is how or where they grow up.

In the article, “Stanley Williams,” Stanley changes based on the influence his environment around him has on him. Growing up, Stanley did not have his mother around much because she had to work causing him to get involved with violence in his neighborhood. It stated that, “His mother had to work several jobs to support them, so Williams was often on his own.” Because of that, Stanley would, “Watch adults get drunk, use illegal drugs, gamble, and stage …show more content…
People do not always make their own choices because they want to fit in. Instead, they will make their choices based on the people around, and this causes them to create false