Identity Essay, Research Paper
Identity
What influences a person s identity? Is it their homes, parents, religion, or
maybe where they live? When do they get one? Do they get it when they
understand right from wrong, or when they can read, or are they born with
it? Everyone has one and nobody has the same, is there a point in everyone
s life when they get one? A person s identity is his own, nobody put it
there and nobody can take it out. Everyone in this world has a different
identity because they all make their own over the course of their life. A
person s identity also causes a person to have masculine and feminine
traits. There is no one thing that gives a person their identity, there are
however many different factors that contribute to one s identity.
What is someone s identity? Is it the way they look, the way they dress, or
it could be many things all put together, or is it none of the above? To me
someone s identity is a part of their being. Nobody will ever hold it, touch
it, or even see it, but it is there. Everybody has one, it guilds your decision
making, your thoughts, ideas, and dreams. You may think something is
terrible while someone else does not even care and yet another person
may laugh, why? The answer is simple, everyone has his own identity and
personality. Everyone feels, acts, thinks, and dreams differently. People may
have some of these things in common with one another, but they will not
be totally the same, it is like a fingerprint, unique.
There are many origins to a person s identity, their family, friends, home
life, religion, environment and others. But how does it get there, you do not
go into a store and pick on off the shelf. A person s identity is developed
over many years and put together by the person themselves. It comes from
the individuals ability to think, reason and form an opinion. Nobody has the
same mind, or the same or the same conscious, so how could anyone have
the same identity as another. A person s identity is developed over many
years from the time they become aware of their surroundings, to the time
they decide if they are going to college, and even as they grow old there
identity will change with them. As people s dreams are dreamed and goals
are accomplished their identities will change with the individual. Their
aspirations and values will change, causing their identities to change with it.
It may be a slight alteration or a major overhaul but there identity will
adjust to the person.
One of the factors of forming an identity will obviously be your family. One
s family if invaluable to them. Your family may not be your biological
parents or ever a blood relative at all, but nobody in this world can live from
birth without some one. But no matter who it is, they will be the people
who take care of you when you are sick or aid you when you need help.
These people will be there with you for a long time and yes they will have a
major impact on what you turn out to be it the future. A lot off people are
fortunate enough to live with a mother and a father, they may ever have
some brothers and sisters to play with as they grow up. But ever with the
same family influences, brothers and sisters still do not have the same
identities Some may even say having a “traditional” family would be bad for
the development of an identity. For example, what kind identity would a
young girl develop if see repeatedly saw her father beat on her mother. She
would probably not feel the same as another girl whose father always
showed love and caring for her mother. What about a teenager who used
drugs as often as he changed his underwear. Would his younger brother, in
looking up to him, feel the same as another boy who grew up never seeing
an illegal drug before. If family members have no regard for keeping the
other members of the family on the right path to being a good person, then
what will they become. A large part of how someone turns out is due to the
family. A good, solid, caring family may give rise to a kinder, gentler person
than a family that does not care whether the children get into trouble. Kids
grow up seeing their parents and how they act, or not seeing their parents
at all. Proper parenting will lead to better identities in there children.
Gender is a major cause for a person s identity. A person might act a
certain way because of the gender that is given to them. It is often
referred that a person might act a certain way because it is in their nature.
A person s nature is a major reason that causes a persons identity. A
person might be mentally sick and just go crazy on people. This is part of
the person s nature, he is going to do what his nature compels him to. A
person s nature might also influence a person to act like a man or a
woman. A man might be a man but have feminine traits. This is the nature
of his mind. Nature and identity also characterize how the person acts. The
nature of someone might make someone act stronger in their own sex.
Identity can be seen in even the youngest of children as soon a a child is
ready to make their own decision, no matter how trivial the decision might
be, the child is starting to create his or her own identity and define their
own nature. This nature can be seen in children too. One child s nature
might make a little girl act like a boy, also called a tomboy. This means that
the girl just like to play with boys and do boy?things. While another girl,
with a different mentality, might play with Barbie dolls and dress in a pink
dress.
Nature and identity might make a woman act the way that she does. In the
stories The Astronomers Wife by Kate Boyle and A Respectable Woman by
Kate Chopin the woman are defiantly feminine. Maybe they are too
feminine for their husbands who seemingly cannot satisfy their women fully.
If the husbands were doing their job?in the women would not be cheating
on them. The husbands seemingly cannot satisfy their women fully or they
wouldn t be interested in others. Either the women needs mental
satisfaction or physical satisfaction. Another reason a woman would cheat
on her husband is it might be part of her identity, a part of who she is. In
this case there probably is no chance that she will not cheat on her
husband. A person s nature might cause a person to want and need things
that they already have. Why else would a man, who has a faithful wife for
years, cheat on her wife someone whom he probably barely knows.
Siblings grow up together, they play together, and they have fun together.
But eventually they will get there own friends and make there own
decisions, this also leads to a person s identity. Not all people like all the
same things or people. Joe may be friends with Larry, and Larry may like
Bob, but Joe may not like Bob. There is no reason to hate each other, they
just do not mix. Friends also play a part in a person s developing an identity,
they are also a good indicator of one s identity. Whether you hang around
wall street all day or you work on your farm all day, may tell a little about
your identity. Neither is better than the other but they probably have
different interests and likes. That does not mean they can not be friends
and get along, they will just be different.
A person s religion can also play a big role in one s identity. People who
grow up belonging to a religion would be a lot more likely to continue on
with it when they grow older than someone who never believed in one, to
start. Religion can have a rather large effect on a person forming an
identity. If a person learns to treat others with respect and kindness as
they were young, they may keep it with them as they turn into adults. On
the other hand a religion could have negative effects on a person s
identity. For instance, belonging to a cult that believes in sacrificing
animals or even humans would not give a person a very nice identity.
Especially when compared to a person who grew up as a practicing Roman
Catholic. A person s beliefs can easily lead a person into making a decision,
especially regarding ethics or kindness. The person growing up not caring
about anything but themselves could easily make a different choice than a
person that was taught to be respectful to other people. However this is
not always the case, religion can only work if the person decides to follow it
and adhere to it. A person who goes to church every Sunday with their
parents and does not care about it will probably not have a large religious
effect on their identity, it may even cause the person to think “who needs
religion, it is useless.” A person s identity is his own, they make it and
develop it however they choose to. Religion may play a part, or not, it may
be bad or good, but the individual has the final say.
Your environment does not just mean your outside surroundings, this also
refers to your home. People live en all kinds of homes and I do not mean a
ranch or a cabin. Your home life is also your environment. Is it clean and
neat or is it bug infested and dirty. Kids growing up in all kinds of homes will
form different identities. Will they be “neat freaks” or will they not care
how they live in their houses. It is a shame to see people living in filthy, run
down places. The kids who come out of neat, clean homes would probably
be different in how they look at dirt and grime. Do they care or not?
Men and women are different because of society has set them up with. It is
observed for men to be strong and women to be weak. Also it is in the
mentality of the person who is making the comparison to choose how a
woman or man is supposed to think. For example one man might think
women should be in the house all day making food, cleaning, and making
babies. On the other hand another man might like to stay home and take
care of the kids and the house while the wife works. In today s society
they are both acceptable but the second choice is becoming an ever more
popular choice. Another mentality that a man might have is that all women
are sluts?and bitches? If this mode of thought is used then the person
probably has very little respect for a woman. Many rap stars have this
mentality about woman. “Bitches ain t sh*t but hoes and tricks…” (Dr.
Dre). This is a line from Dr. Dre s album The Chronic. The is the type of
thinking that might lead someone to think that all women cheat on their
husbands. In the story The Astronomer s Wife by Kate Boyle, the husband
was asleep probably had no idea that his wife was about to cheat on him
with the plumber it probably never even crossed his mind. Also in A
Respectable Woman by Kate Chopin, the wife tries to be honest and true
but she has a lot of feeling for a man whom she does not really know. The
husband trusts his wife greatly he wants her to be friends with his friend,
but the wife has something different in mind. She wants the man sexually.
The husband has no idea of her intentions. There are many reasons that
make men and women act the way they do. It could be a number of
possibilities but mostly is the way they were raised.
However with all these factors related to forming an identity the most
important and most influential is the person themselves. We see people
every day, some whom we want to be like and some we hope we never turn
out like. With all the other outside factors to guide and help or push and
hamper, the individual has the last say. You are the only on who says what
you want to be like over the course of your life. Nobody will ever get inside
your mind and do the thinking for you. Nobody can influence you, you may
feel as if you are being forced to do something but you do not have to do
anything. You make the final decision. However you act, think, and speak is
totally up to you.
People grow up all coming from all different kinds of places, backgrounds
and families. They will all have different identities. Gender affects the
decisions made by people. Their identity and the nature?of the person
makes them act the way they do. Nobody is the same and nobody will ever
be. All the outside influences will have an effect on their identities but the
individual has the last word on it. Nobody is the same because each person
will form his own identity to what ever they want to be like.