Rodriguez1

JoshuaRodriguez
Ms.Sroka
Writing
9May2016
Mostpeopleareotherpeople.Theirthoughtsaresomeoneelse'sopinions,their
livesamimicry,theirpassionsaquotation.(QuotesAboutIdentity)Thisisaquotefrom
thelateOscarWilde,whowasanauthor,poet,andplaywright.Thisishisresponseon
identity.Likestatedinhisquote,noteveryoneisthesameandpeoplewillnotalways
allowpeopletosaywhattheiridentityis.Specifically,JulioNoboaPolancoandBarrett
Palldidntletpeoplesaywhattheywantedtothem.Theyfoundwhattheiridentitywas
withnohelpfromanyoneelse,otherthanthemselves.Bothtextshavesimilaritiesand
differences.
Firstandforemost,in
Identity
byJulioNoboaPolanco,theauthordoesntlet
otherschoosewhoheisorwhathisidentityis.Inthispoem,theauthorusesflowersas
asymbolofidentity.Hetalksabouthowpeopletakeadvantageofflowersthatare
beautiful.Hedoesntwantpeopletotakeadvantageofhisidentityorsaywhoheis,so

thatswhyhewouldratherbeatall,uglyweed,clingingoncliffs.

Inthiscase,the

weedsrepresentthatheisfreeandhesoriginalratherthanbeingwhateveryoneelse
is.Theweedsarefreetomoveanddonthaveanythingholdingthemdown.Onthe
otherhand,theflowershavetostayinoneplaceandhavetoconformonwhatothers
saytheyare.Beingfreeandstrongismoreimportanttotheauthorthanlooking
beautifulandpleasantsmelling.

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Furthermore,in
ComingOut
byBarrettPall,justlikeJulioNoboaPolanco,both
authorsdontletpeoplechoosewhotheyareorarent.Inthistext,BarrettPall
discussesthedifferentexperiencesinhislifeandhowhehadtodealwiththem.
Accordingtotheauthor,inordertobearealman,youhavetonothave,shameinwho
hewas(andis).Hewasoriginallyafraidtoadmittohimselfthathewasgay,butnow
hesproudtofinallygetifoffofhischest.Onepossiblereasonhewassoafraidtosay
thiswhenhewasyounger,wasbecausepeoplewouldjudgehim.Hedidntletthatget
tohimandwasabletosaywhoheiswithconfidence.Hefoundoutwhathisidentity
wasbynotlisteningtoothersopinionsandbeinghonestwithhimself.
Lastly,bothauthorswereabletofindwhattheiridentitywaswithoutanyone
havingtoaddtheirtwocentsin.Buttheydidthisintwoextremelydifferentways.Julio
NoboaPolancousedflowersasymbolicrepresentationofidentity.BarrettPalluses
pastexperiencestoshowhowhedoesntletanyonechangehisidentity.Hetalksabout
whatheusedtodoinhischildhoodandinhisteenagelife.Meanwhile,Juliotalksabout
twodifferenttypesofpeopleingeneral.Oneisfreeranddoesntletotherchoosewhat
hisidentityis.Theotherisconformedtowhatotherssaytheyareandhavenofreedom.
Overall,theauthorshaveasimilarthemebutexpressthemindifferentways.
Toconclude,bothauthorshavethesameviewpointsonidentity,butthey
expresstheirviewpointsindifferentways.Juliousessymbolismtoexpresshis
viewpointwhileBarrettusespastexperiencestoexpresshisviewpoint.Bothauthors
wereabletoexpressthisverywellandtheiridentitywasintheiropinionandtheirs
only.Isyouridentitybasedonwhatotherssay,orisitwhatyousay?

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WorksCited
"QuotesAboutIdentity."
(1182Quotes)
.Web.10May2016.