In the words of James Baldwin, “An identity would seem to be arrived at by the way in which a person faces and uses his experience”. What Baldwin is discussing is the idea of adversity being the core of which identity develops. Struggle shapes individuals. Without hardship, every individual would be completely synonymous with each other. Each individual develops their identity through adversity in unique ways. Some rise to the challenge adversity places on them, becoming more sure of themselves than ever before. Others fall victim, losing parts of themselves that they used to consider an integral part of their identity. Many face adversity as a mixture of both losing parts of themselves and creating even stronger values. Adversity is the foundation
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Sometimes hardship and struggles become so large that no one individual can successfully survive it. Often, the adversity can leave damage on a specific facet of identity, eventually weakening an individual in all parts of themselves. In the short story, The Legend of the Sugar Girl, author Joseph Boyden explores the impact Residential Schools had on a specific individual. The main character is slowly stripped of her Aboriginal culture through her experiences at the school. Her culture was the foundation that her identity was developed from. Losing it creates a void that eats away at the rest of her identity. Eventually, her whole identity is dependent on a sole material need. In Boyden’s text, he describes the Sugar Girl’s struggle using the example of her addiction, “In some strange way, the food she ate and grew to love replaced what had been taken from her” (Boyden, 04). Her addiction to sugar is a coping method for the cultural loss she faced. The struggles of being a survivor of the Residential Schools changed the very foundation of her identity, her culture and heritage, and it was such a severe change that it ended up overall weakening her. Adversity has the ability to twist and rip at the core of many individuals, and it often takes pieces of identity that individuals cannot survive …show more content…
Change is a part of every person, and adversity helps to adapt an individual's identity to a new situation. Often times the experiences that an individual faces have extreme impacts their values, beliefs, culture and interests. It does not destroy or remove that particular facet, nor does it solidify and strengthen it either. Instead, it completely reforms that detail, changing it into something completely new. Marilyn Dumont’s short story, Memoirs of a Really Good Brown Girl introduces the idea that adversity can develop an individual’s identity into a completely different identity. The main character faces conflict about her Aboriginal heritage and the decision between embracing that heritage or hiding it. Her elementary experiences taught her that her differences were something to be ashamed of. In the words of the main character when a classmate asks of her race “If I said yes, she’d reject me… If I said no, I’d be lying” (Dumont, 02). This conflict leads the character to consider the importance her heritage has on her identity. However, adversity can accomplish a change in an individual’s identity that often times leads to a more diverse identity
Sometimes hardship and struggles become so large that no one individual can successfully survive it. Often, the adversity can leave damage on a specific facet of identity, eventually weakening an individual in all parts of themselves. In the short story, The Legend of the Sugar Girl, author Joseph Boyden explores the impact Residential Schools had on a specific individual. The main character is slowly stripped of her Aboriginal culture through her experiences at the school. Her culture was the foundation that her identity was developed from. Losing it creates a void that eats away at the rest of her identity. Eventually, her whole identity is dependent on a sole material need. In Boyden’s text, he describes the Sugar Girl’s struggle using the example of her addiction, “In some strange way, the food she ate and grew to love replaced what had been taken from her” (Boyden, 04). Her addiction to sugar is a coping method for the cultural loss she faced. The struggles of being a survivor of the Residential Schools changed the very foundation of her identity, her culture and heritage, and it was such a severe change that it ended up overall weakening her. Adversity has the ability to twist and rip at the core of many individuals, and it often takes pieces of identity that individuals cannot survive …show more content…
Change is a part of every person, and adversity helps to adapt an individual's identity to a new situation. Often times the experiences that an individual faces have extreme impacts their values, beliefs, culture and interests. It does not destroy or remove that particular facet, nor does it solidify and strengthen it either. Instead, it completely reforms that detail, changing it into something completely new. Marilyn Dumont’s short story, Memoirs of a Really Good Brown Girl introduces the idea that adversity can develop an individual’s identity into a completely different identity. The main character faces conflict about her Aboriginal heritage and the decision between embracing that heritage or hiding it. Her elementary experiences taught her that her differences were something to be ashamed of. In the words of the main character when a classmate asks of her race “If I said yes, she’d reject me… If I said no, I’d be lying” (Dumont, 02). This conflict leads the character to consider the importance her heritage has on her identity. However, adversity can accomplish a change in an individual’s identity that often times leads to a more diverse identity