The Roles of Identity in Society
The Roles of Identity in Society
Many would argue that social justice is being served when someone says “we are all the same under the skin”. We are not all the same under the skin. Within us are our own senses of identity, constructed by our familiar discourses, the physical environment and its embedded culture, and our individual differences. Our sense of identity accounts for our perceptions of ourselves and how we are positioned by others in terms of culture, tradition, rituals, race, family, religion and education (Allen, 2004). Our identities affect our life chances through our positions in society, the access we have to power, status, education, and wealth (Allen, 2004). Examining our own identities gives us insight into the role identity plays in life and society and therefore some understanding of the impact that the identities of others has for them on their life choices (Austin, 2005). This essay will examine the importance of the search for identity, and the desire to reconcile those identities with society’s expectations, for the narrator in the novel by McDonald and Pryor (1999), ‘The Binna Binna Man’. The journey of this character will be positioned against my own life’s story as I attempt to compare the roles our identities have played in positioning us as members of Australian society.
The narrator in The Binna Binna Man is a character who has a very secure sense of his own identity. He has a sound knowledge of his spiritual heritage, his people’s traditions and the importance the strength of his identity has for him and for his people. He seems perplexed by the idea that his cousin Shandell is “…living different from all that stuff’ (McDonald & Pryor, 1999, pg 17). He is reminded by his “girragundji” (a guide for life sent by his ancestors) that the way to stay strong and avoid getting lost is to have faith in his spirituality and his identity (McDonald, et al., 1999). This is proven to him when he almost follows Shandell down the
Many would argue that social justice is being served when someone says “we are all the same under the skin”. We are not all the same under the skin. Within us are our own senses of identity, constructed by our familiar discourses, the physical environment and its embedded culture, and our individual differences. Our sense of identity accounts for our perceptions of ourselves and how we are positioned by others in terms of culture, tradition, rituals, race, family, religion and education (Allen, 2004). Our identities affect our life chances through our positions in society, the access we have to power, status, education, and wealth (Allen, 2004). Examining our own identities gives us insight into the role identity plays in life and society and therefore some understanding of the impact that the identities of others has for them on their life choices (Austin, 2005). This essay will examine the importance of the search for identity, and the desire to reconcile those identities with society’s expectations, for the narrator in the novel by McDonald and Pryor (1999), ‘The Binna Binna Man’. The journey of this character will be positioned against my own life’s story as I attempt to compare the roles our identities have played in positioning us as members of Australian society.
The narrator in The Binna Binna Man is a character who has a very secure sense of his own identity. He has a sound knowledge of his spiritual heritage, his people’s traditions and the importance the strength of his identity has for him and for his people. He seems perplexed by the idea that his cousin Shandell is “…living different from all that stuff’ (McDonald & Pryor, 1999, pg 17). He is reminded by his “girragundji” (a guide for life sent by his ancestors) that the way to stay strong and avoid getting lost is to have faith in his spirituality and his identity (McDonald, et al., 1999). This is proven to him when he almost follows Shandell down the
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