The Struggle With Personal Identity In Richard Wright's Literature

Finding Oneself

Whether we know it or not we all develop a sense of personal identity throughout our lives. Personal identity is the development of the way you view yourself as well as the way you want others to perceive you over the course of your life. For some people this may be more difficult than others because developing a sense of personal identity can be a lifelong journey whereas for others it can be as simple as getting through a certain situation and then realizing what you’re capable of. Personal identity crises not only occur in real life with everyday people but also in works of literature as well since they depict characters or speakers who struggle with the concept of personal identity. Examples of works of literature that

Whereas, Hughes depicts a speaker that struggles with personal identity issues because he hasn’t developed a sense of self-perception and, as a result, lacks the capability to define himself as a person. The character of Dave in Wright’s story struggles with the concept of personal identity because he wants to alter the way others perceive him by going on a quest to prove his manliness and earn the right to be respected. However, Dave’s attempt to alter their perceptions of him ultimately destroys their impressions of him since he failed to own up to his actions like a real man would in order to gain the respect that he sought. The speaker of Hughes’ poem struggles with the concept of personal identity because he lacks the capability to define himself since he hasn’t had the opportunity to reflect and discover his inner self in order to gain a sense of self-perception. Most of the time personal identity issues occur in real life but they also take place in works of literature as well since these stories portray characters or speakers in different scenarios that struggle with the concept of personal identity. There are numerous reasons of how these two stories portray characters or speakers that struggle with the concept of personal identity but this is only one example of the ways they