Thoughts Concerning the Issue of the Loss of Identity

            One particular theme that keeps coming up in the material that we read for this class is the loss of identity.  This feeling, or lack of, as we have seen, can be handled in various different ways.  For example, in The Sun Also Rises, the character of Jake made a point of running from his problems entirely.  Rather than adapt and deal with what has happened to him, Jake opts to drink continuously in order to numb the thoughts and ill-feelings that endlessly taunt him.  He also travels abroad and goes out of his way to surround himself with others in order so that he is not alone.  On the other side of the spectrum, we read in The Awakening about the character Edna who is desperately trying to construct an identity different than the one she currently inhabits.  However, her attempts to drastically change in a time that permitted her to do so led to her own demise.  In our current reading of The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, we are presented a family who is struggling with the issue, and is haunted by a manifestation of this loss of identity.

            Throughout the novel, we are told about a faceless man that seems to appear whenever there is a crisis.  This could be interpreted as a form of what the novel refers to as “fuku”, or bad luck, or it could also be seen as an illustration of the loss of the family’s identity.  Being that Oscar and his family are growing up in New Jersey, they are no longer part of their home country of the Dominican Republic.  They are forced to adapt and become nationalized to the American way of life.  Due to their inability to cope for various reasons, they find themselves in a constant struggle to survive.

            Out of everything we have learned and discussed in our class this semester, this concept is probably what will stay with me the most.  The loss of identity, particularly in America, leads to larger questions such as: What does it mean to be an American?  Does one have to give up their past to survive in the modern world?  Does the modern world offer you a chance to be an individual, or does your identity rely heavily upon society’s expectations?  As I mentioned earlier, I feel as though many of our readings have touched on this subject.  However, I do not believe that there is a concrete answer to any of the questions that I listed above.