The Big Question: What is the importance of identity and the significance of losing or gaining an identity?

1. The question of identity fascinates me because it is a strong theme in many of novels and pieces of literature. It entices me that identity is such a significant theme--it's just one of those things that's never definate and is always questionable. Identity is important to me because I hold great importance to who I am and what it means to be me. I think that there are several ways to find one's identity, but there is no set way because it varies depending on the person. A large part of my discovering my identity has been art and music. I paint and I draw. A blank piece of canvas or paper is how I discover myself. I also find ways to myself through music, whether it be a piece I have written on one of my guitars, or one by another composer. These outlets have helped me find my identity as a person. But I also hold much importance to identity in the form of a name. A name is the most basic form of identity that a person can have, and I believe that it helps form the person behind it. I know I have been shaped by my name, it has a story and meaning and history behind it. I share my first name with a small river in Galloway, Scotland near my Scottish ancestor's pile of stones that was once a castle. These are the same Scotsmen I share my last name with, and they were strong and slightly barbaric. My middle name is one that has been passed down the Italian side of my family for generations. I share it with my mother and my grandmother and her mother also. My name, my inherent identity, is a reminder of where I came from and what I stand for. The combination of discovered identity and inherent identity are what form the complete identity of a person. And I think that the discovery of one's identity is central to one's humanity and that is why it is so debatable and important to question.

2. Identity is a very important theme in Cormac McCarthy's The Road. None of the characters have names, none of the places the man and the boy travel to have names. Everything in the world McCarthy creates in this story has lost its identity. I think that this connects to how the world is broken and because the man, who the story is mostly focused on, has little hope left, he does not see the point of giving the value of a name to anything.

4. Songs that incorporate identity:

"Lull"- Andrew Bird

Finding one's identity in a confusing world and how monotonous it can seem at times.

"Stop For A Minute"- Keane

The journey of finding identity and how it shapes a person.

"The Times They Are A-Changing"-Bob Dylan

Identity can be subjective to the world, so one should know who one is before outside influences can interfere.

Snow Patrol- "If There's A Rocket Tie Me To It"-Snow Patrol

Once an identity, or a piece of an identity is found one must hold onto it and carry it with them.Identities can be influenced by other people, and those influential people can help find otheraspects of identity.

"Before The Earth Was Round"- OK Go

How one can have an identity without looking for one, it is inherent.