Beowulf: Identity And Identity: Formation And Creation

Identity: Formation and Creation
Most people choose not to run naked through the streets. Most choose not to put their hand on a hot stove. Most choose not to stick their head in an oven but one must ask why this is, why most have choose not to do these actions. It is in human nature to make decisions based on memories and based on the past. This causes one’s identity to be primarily defined, shaped, and refined through their experiences, their environment, and their influences.
The idea of finding one’s “identity” is an age old journey, but not often is the concept of identity in itself questioned. Identity is a social construct based on the ideology that each person has a specific “state of being” that impacts their opinions, actions, and

Influence is a broad and encompassing term, all aspects of which apply to the formation of one’s identity. Parental influences go hand-in-hand with environments, children grow and develop based on what they are taught and what they observe from there authority figures. This impact of influence the scene and emphasize throughout history, as seen in the attic of Beowulf. “In his day my father was a famous man, and noble warrior-lord named Ecgtheow”(Heany 19). Beowulf introduces his heritage and his parentage before anything else in an encounter with a potentially hostile enemy in order to solidify his reputation and the validity of his presence. Human nature dictates that most people seek to be, consciously or unconsciously, better in any and/or all aspects of their life, often this initiates an admiration for someone or something better than the person. This causes people to look up to certain role models such as Martin Luther King junior or Rosa parks, because people hold in high regard certain being to influence the more the world. This also ties into the popularity and extensive presence of religion. Many adhere to the belief that by following a higher power, that higher power will positively influence them and change them, this ideology has heavily impacted and insured the presence of religion and society. Sigmund Freud also spoke of the importance of influence, “human beings are not born with a moral but they can develop it,” and human beings do so through the influence of parental figures, role model, or