Legacy
The autobiography for Horsley was not a self-revelatory exercise in truth. The format supported the construction of a mythical identity which attempted to align himself alongside those he emulated. The relationship between myth and personality is characterised by the myth being a projection of the internal identity of an individual through a visualised image (Bruner 1959: 349-350). While personal narrative expresses identity, it also creates an identity but with Horsley, it did not create his identity, his identity already existed. Personal narrative contributed to Horsley’s myth by leaving a lasting version of an identity which could not be altered, society contributed to the creation of the myth by believing it. Bruner states that …show more content…
“This book had a profound effect on me […] He is saying we all live through screens. Our character and culture is a distance man puts between himself and his nature. As a society we are terrified of death. Culture is a way of erecting things as a way of denying that we are animals” (Hedley-Dent 2003).
His perpetual relationship with death implies that for him the act of living was a liminal state proceeding death. Furthermore, Horsley’s mythical identity was the legacy he continually attempted to reach, which was finally achieved after death by leaving his autobiography chronicling his life as a dandy. Horsley’s legacy is complicated by an empathy arising from his relationship with drugs, threatening the myth by offering a depth of humanity to Horsley’s character. The uncertainty of his death as an accident or suicide adds a tragedy heightened by Horsley’s self-stylings, a veneer of vulnerability which hints at a hidden self below the …show more content…
Identity is complex and contradictory, a core self can appear to be non-existent as well as a conscious motivational force facilitating identity construction. Negotiation of the mythical identity of the dandy enabled Horsley to live a deviant identity openly, in doing so he was able to account for a stigmatised past and generate a sin licence. His narrative offers little in the way of moral career trajectory or personal reflexivity. Horsley’s technique of negotiating a mythical identity was formed through inspiration from and reference to the pre-existing culturally constructed typology of the dandy. This apparent agency over his self-identity enabled him to shape the social world around him, rather be shaped by the social world, which reveals the artifice of identity performance within the social roles of everyday life. Sadly his limited interactions and reflexivity, or willingness to alter his identity, perhaps put him in a socially isolated life, which may also account for his reliance on drugs, alcohol, and prostitutes. Although the interrelated and bilateral relationship between his own identity and the identity he cultivated can be difficult to
The autobiography for Horsley was not a self-revelatory exercise in truth. The format supported the construction of a mythical identity which attempted to align himself alongside those he emulated. The relationship between myth and personality is characterised by the myth being a projection of the internal identity of an individual through a visualised image (Bruner 1959: 349-350). While personal narrative expresses identity, it also creates an identity but with Horsley, it did not create his identity, his identity already existed. Personal narrative contributed to Horsley’s myth by leaving a lasting version of an identity which could not be altered, society contributed to the creation of the myth by believing it. Bruner states that …show more content…
“This book had a profound effect on me […] He is saying we all live through screens. Our character and culture is a distance man puts between himself and his nature. As a society we are terrified of death. Culture is a way of erecting things as a way of denying that we are animals” (Hedley-Dent 2003).
His perpetual relationship with death implies that for him the act of living was a liminal state proceeding death. Furthermore, Horsley’s mythical identity was the legacy he continually attempted to reach, which was finally achieved after death by leaving his autobiography chronicling his life as a dandy. Horsley’s legacy is complicated by an empathy arising from his relationship with drugs, threatening the myth by offering a depth of humanity to Horsley’s character. The uncertainty of his death as an accident or suicide adds a tragedy heightened by Horsley’s self-stylings, a veneer of vulnerability which hints at a hidden self below the …show more content…
Identity is complex and contradictory, a core self can appear to be non-existent as well as a conscious motivational force facilitating identity construction. Negotiation of the mythical identity of the dandy enabled Horsley to live a deviant identity openly, in doing so he was able to account for a stigmatised past and generate a sin licence. His narrative offers little in the way of moral career trajectory or personal reflexivity. Horsley’s technique of negotiating a mythical identity was formed through inspiration from and reference to the pre-existing culturally constructed typology of the dandy. This apparent agency over his self-identity enabled him to shape the social world around him, rather be shaped by the social world, which reveals the artifice of identity performance within the social roles of everyday life. Sadly his limited interactions and reflexivity, or willingness to alter his identity, perhaps put him in a socially isolated life, which may also account for his reliance on drugs, alcohol, and prostitutes. Although the interrelated and bilateral relationship between his own identity and the identity he cultivated can be difficult to