The American Dictionary defines identity as the distinct personality of an individual. Many factors make up one’s identity, such as race, one’s relationship with society, and religion. People seek other people who with they can identify. One must interact with others and learn from his interests and their responses to find a suitable group. The process of finding a group allows one to discover his or her own identity. Through The Color of Water, James McBride demonstrates that one perceives his identity through feedback from others as well as through his own thoughts and emotions.
One aspect of identity where feedback can be given almost instantaneously is race, as it involves a person’s skin color. Young children often ignore each others’ races unless they are taught or given reason to do otherwise. McBride’s race came to his attention at an early age. He noticed that both black people and white people stared at his white mother with her black family, letting him know that his family was different from what was considered normal and acceptable by society. Comparing skin color with his mother, he noticed that her skin was white while his was black. He became confused about his own color and uncomfortable with the fact that his mother was white. He wanted to be accepted by others, and he thought that life “would be easier if [his family was] just one color, black or white” (103). McBride became aware of his race at a younger age than most children. While he was comparing skin color with others, I was unconcerned about my race because people of similar skin color surrounded me. I was aware of black people, but, because most people that were around me were white, I never felt alienated because of my race. Also, my family was made up of one race, so I did not share McBride’s confusion about his color. Because of his uncertainty, he was unsure of how he fit into society.
By analyzing his thoughts and emotions and others’ feedback, one can also discover where he fits in relation to society when he experiments with different groups of people. McBride felt that his mother’s color was hindering him, so he began his “own process of running, emotionally disconnecting [himself] from her” (138). Though he was previously an outstanding student, he dropped out of school and began his search for someone with whom he could identify.
powmac Free Macbeth Essays: Death as the Price of Power
Death as the Price of Power in Macbeth
Macbeth is a tragedy and a story of the struggle between good and evil. It is about a Thane of Scotland who murders the king in his quest for power. Macbeth commits these crimes partly because of his wife’s ambition and greed, in the end he is destroyed because he feels so guilty and is overtaken by fear and paranoia.
The most important part of the play for me was the moment when Macbeth dies. This shows that the play was a complete tragedy and Macbeth’s ambitions which were influenced by his wife were a failure. Not one of the main characters benefited by this terrible chain of events. All the pain and unhappiness illustrated in these scenes represent the play as a whole, it is a classic tragedy. This moment was so powerful as it is done off stage but with sound affect this left a lot more to the imagination which has a strong impact.
The acting was very believable and made me feel involved. I felt I knew what it’s like to be in such a human tragedy. The king of Scotland played his part well. I thought this because of his body language, in that he stood tall and mighty like an important person, a leader. The servant acted small and insecure. he kept his body in a ball and had his head down low, he never raised his voice but when people did to him he flinched . This illustrated that he was of lower status. When an important action was taken place the actor’s attention focussed on the event taken place and they exaggerated the major actions. For instance when Macbeth saw the images of a bloody knife he looked and reached out at something. Also when someone was talking or making a speech all the other actors looked at the actor who was speaking or showing something. If an actor was the center of attention they would be in the middle of the stage, as when Macbeth saw the ghost of his friend he had murdered. The table was in the corner while Macbeth was in the center looking at the table this made it very clear of the situation and who you were supposed to be looking at. When lady Macbeth rubbing her hand continuously to get the blood off, this symbolizes her fear and guilt.