Identity

Identity Identity is who or what somebody or something is. Some people struggle with their identity, and this makes life harder to people. In the short story “On The Bridge” by Todd Strasser, the main character does not try to be himself and follows someone. In the poem “Hanging Fire” by Audre Lorde, the main character does not like herself and wants to be someone else. They are examples of people who do not accept their identities. The fact that they do not accept their identities makes life miserable. The theme of the two stories is to accept oneself and feel proud.
In the story “On The Bridge,” the main character Seth tries to become somebody who he is not. He imitates his “cool” friend Adam just to look cool. He listens to and admires Adam’s heroic stories of fighting with people and getting in trouble with the police. Adam was like a role model to him: a negative one. Just to be able to be with him, he gets a denim jacket and even though he despised it, he started smoking. However, for Seth, he could never be as cool as Adam. While they were on the bridge, Adam started to show off his skills: he made drivers scared of him by acting like he threw something and trucks to honk to his actions. Then, he flicked his cigarette butt down the bridge and it hit a car. This was the turning point for them. Three bulky men came out of the car. Seth believed in the stories Adam told and was not going to rat him out. Yet “Adam was pointing at him”. After Seth got a beating from the three men, he realized that what Adam told him was all fake. He realized that he was wasting his time, trying to be someone else. When he goes home, he throws away the symbol of “coolness;” his blood stained denim jacket. Then he smirks at it, as if it was funny, and walks away. Now without following anybody, he will be able to find his true identity.
In “Hanging Fire,” the main character is a teenager who hates her life. She hates who she is and has very low self-esteem. She says, “My skin