In this world filled with ambiguity, conscious of it or not, many people wear multiple masks to conceal who they really are. False identities may be used to cover up insecurities, gain credibility, or even status. Whatever the reason may be, when an identity is fabricated or stolen and given to someone else, does that person become the new identity, or would the identity be a mere mask over the person’s true character? Jose Eduardo Agualusa’s fictional story, The Book of Chameleons: A Novel, indicates that people seek comfort through hiding behind new identities. The narrator of the book is a chameleon that lives in the home of Felix Ventura, a genealogist. Felix is in the business of creating false identities for people for them to adopt and
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The first example is Jose Buchmann, whose real name is later revealed as Pedro Gouveia. Note how the book refers to him as Buchmann until the very end; this is because the whole story, he truly is Buchmann. This man buys an identity from Felix Ventura and searches for links to his fake character’s past. Eulalio, the chameleon, says, “I’ve been studying Jose Buchmann for weeks. Watching him change. He isn’t the same man who came into this house six, seven months ago” (55). Buchmann has become so obsessed with chasing his fake past that it seems he really is becoming the false identity. Buchmann confesses he went to visit his father’s grave and Ventura is in disbelief that he is crazy enough to visit the grave of his fictional character’s father, and so Buchmann replies, “My Father! Mateus Buchmann may just be fiction to you — albeit woven with tremendous class — but I assure you, the gravestone is quite real!” (56). It is apparent that Pedro Gouveia has completely become someone new. Eulalio is intrigued by this change and says to Felix, “You invented him, this strange Jose buchmann and now he’s begun to invent himself. It’s like a metamorphosis… A reincarnation… Or rather: a possession” (57). He’s become so captivated by his new persona that he is no longer like his old self, almost …show more content…
Most people, when searching for a new identity, want something grand. They want to spice up their seemingly boring lives. That is why more often than not, fake identities are exaggerated. The minister’s new ancestor was a famous carioca, Alexandre Torres dos Santos Correia de Sa e Benevides, whom a school was named after. The school was renamed, so upon learning this, the minister says, “No, old man, it won’t do. Justice must be restored. I want the high school to go back to being called Salvador Correia… I’ll have a statue of my grandfather cast to put outside the entrance” (110). To people excluding the newly formed person, the idea of fighting for a fake ancestor might seem inconceivable or ludacris, but these people who seek new identities usually do so because they have issues with their real personalities that they cannot cope with, hence the reason why they are so quick to grasp their new character. Like Eulalio said, “of course we all see whatever we want to see in the fleeting image of a cloud” (74). He means to say that in the face of unpleasantness, humans tend to twist reality in their minds; we invent false identities or masks because we don’t like a certain aspect of ourselves. Our new identities serve as tools to perfect our current flaws. The minister learned of his new genealogy literally seconds before proclaiming that he
The first example is Jose Buchmann, whose real name is later revealed as Pedro Gouveia. Note how the book refers to him as Buchmann until the very end; this is because the whole story, he truly is Buchmann. This man buys an identity from Felix Ventura and searches for links to his fake character’s past. Eulalio, the chameleon, says, “I’ve been studying Jose Buchmann for weeks. Watching him change. He isn’t the same man who came into this house six, seven months ago” (55). Buchmann has become so obsessed with chasing his fake past that it seems he really is becoming the false identity. Buchmann confesses he went to visit his father’s grave and Ventura is in disbelief that he is crazy enough to visit the grave of his fictional character’s father, and so Buchmann replies, “My Father! Mateus Buchmann may just be fiction to you — albeit woven with tremendous class — but I assure you, the gravestone is quite real!” (56). It is apparent that Pedro Gouveia has completely become someone new. Eulalio is intrigued by this change and says to Felix, “You invented him, this strange Jose buchmann and now he’s begun to invent himself. It’s like a metamorphosis… A reincarnation… Or rather: a possession” (57). He’s become so captivated by his new persona that he is no longer like his old self, almost …show more content…
Most people, when searching for a new identity, want something grand. They want to spice up their seemingly boring lives. That is why more often than not, fake identities are exaggerated. The minister’s new ancestor was a famous carioca, Alexandre Torres dos Santos Correia de Sa e Benevides, whom a school was named after. The school was renamed, so upon learning this, the minister says, “No, old man, it won’t do. Justice must be restored. I want the high school to go back to being called Salvador Correia… I’ll have a statue of my grandfather cast to put outside the entrance” (110). To people excluding the newly formed person, the idea of fighting for a fake ancestor might seem inconceivable or ludacris, but these people who seek new identities usually do so because they have issues with their real personalities that they cannot cope with, hence the reason why they are so quick to grasp their new character. Like Eulalio said, “of course we all see whatever we want to see in the fleeting image of a cloud” (74). He means to say that in the face of unpleasantness, humans tend to twist reality in their minds; we invent false identities or masks because we don’t like a certain aspect of ourselves. Our new identities serve as tools to perfect our current flaws. The minister learned of his new genealogy literally seconds before proclaiming that he