Big Picture Paper Two: Submit Here

Jiabin Zhang

Professor Kaz

English 1A

July 14, 2020

CONSTRUCTING IDENTITY

Our identity refers to the way we define ourselves. It includes beliefs, values, and

personalities. The identity of a person might be constructed through his/her actions or by cultural

systems. This paper analyzes the way Satrapi, Murakami, and Bechdel address the construction

and projection of identity, the way people respond to identities, and it also gives a reflection of

one’s experience with constructing identity.

Murakami recognizes that identity can be constructed. Even though Murakami works at a

particular shop, he gets the revelation that he can write after attending a baseball game. Attending

the baseball game can be viewed as a life experience that helped construct Murakami's identity.

When Murakami attends the baseball game, he is stricken by thoughts that he could write a novel.

He gets the creative revelation after he watches Dave Hilton who played for the baseball league.

Even though Murakami was still working, he was able to find time to write. He always got home

late from work but sat at a kitchen table to write. Murakami also recognizes that identity can be

constructed by language. He explains the way people were not okay with him writing in a foreign

language. “Language is a tough tenacity backed by history” (Murakami, 7). He also argues that a

writer can use his/her specific style of writing and that it would be okay to be an independent

writer. The specific objects that helped construct Murakami’s identity were the baseball game,

Alison Bechdel also recognizes that identity could be realized at some moment in one's

life. She explains that her father had a dark secret, that was his identity. Her father, Bruce, was a

married person, but he also had an interest in boys and would sleep with them because he was

homosexual. Bechdel recognizes the fact that one's identity can be realized through life

experiences. Engaging in various activities can lead to one discovering himself/herself. Bruce's

identity as a homosexual is discovered later, but he has always been one because he previously

engaged in sex with the boys. “But would an ideal husband and father have sex with teenage boys?”

(Bechdel, 4). Bechdel recognizes that Bruce’s behaviors were more of those of females than those

of men. This shows that the behavior of a person can indicate his/her identity. Satrapi's identity is

constructed through various items of the American culture. She wears tight jeans and sneakers that

are not accepted in Iranian culture.

People respond to identity in various ways. Whereas some people are proud of their

identities, others tend to keep it a secret. For example, Murakami was proud to discover his identity

as a writer. On the other side, Bechdel’s father did not seem proud of his identity. This is because

he kept it a secret that he was a homosexual and Bechdel would only discover it through his

behaviors. Satrapi was not proud of her identity because she feared what other Iranians would do

to her. When asked about why she had the sneakers, she could not tell the ladies that she was

interested in the American culture. “…I had to lie” (Satrapi, 5). Whereas some identities are

accepted within the society, others are generally not accepted. For example, being a writer is

accepted as a career while being homosexual is not accepted in society. Identities mostly tend to

share something about people. This is because they show the real person and his/her behaviors.

Murakami's identity was authentic and easy to convey. He was a writer who used a different

writing style. His identity is accepted within society. Satrapi's identity was not accepted in Iranian

culture.

I think I relate most to Murakami. This is because I discovered my identity through life

experiences just as he did. I attended a seminar organized by Google to enlighten people on how

to enhance their security online. Before attending the seminar, I did not expect that I would develop

an interest in programming. During the seminar, one of the organizers explained how people make

money by engaging in ethical hacking. He explained the need for learning various programming

languages for coding. I developed an interest in programming to learn how to identify weaknesses

in websites through ethical hacking. I was motivated by the realization that there was an

opportunity to make more money through programming. Because of my interest in programming,

I learned languages such as Java, C, and C++. I used to learn these languages during the weekends.

I could also spend around forty minutes learning the programming languages every day before I

slept. Because of my hard work and passion for programming, I perfected various languages and

was able to develop websites for several bloggers. This is even though I did not study the course

professionally. If it were not for Google, I would not have become computer literate as I am today.

Most people discover their true identity as they grow up. Whereas some people might hide

their identities, other people tend to share them, but this also depends on how society views it.

People should not be afraid to express their identities. The society should let people be.

Works Cited

Bechdel, Alison. Fun home: A family tragicomic. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2007.

Murakami, Haruki. The Birth of My Kitchen Table Fiction. Vintage, 2007.

Satrapi, Marjane. The complete persepolis. 2007.