LangLit

IMPACT FACTOR – 4.23 ISSN 2349-5189

An International Peer-Reviewed Open Access Journal

THE CONCEPT OF IDENTITY SEARCH IN CONNECTION WITH
WRITING IN PAUL AUSTER’S THE INVENTION OF SOLITUDE

AHMAD KADKHODAEI
Research Scholar of English Department,
Savitribai Phule Pune University
Pune

ABSTRACT

This paper presents an interpretation of Paul Auster’s The Invention of

Solitude (1982) through the perception of John Locke’s theory of “tabula
rasa”. It centres on Locke’s theory that the human mind which is blank at the
time of birth receives data and transforms them on the basis of the principles
shaped by its sensory experiences. This paper implies that Auster identifies
himself with his fictional characters so as to probe his inner self, in line with
John Locke’s theory of “tabula rasa”. Auster emphasises the significance of
the past in finding out the self and chooses the character of father that
transmitted to him after the demise of his father.

Keywords: Auster, Search for Identity, Solitude, Locke, “Tabula Rasa”

Introduction

This paper concerns with different aspects of identity as they are portrayed in The Invention
of Solitude written by a contemporary American author Paul Auster. The purpose of the
thesis is to examine Auster’s work: The Invention of Solitude (1982), with the emphasis on
the discovery for identity by means of writing.

The paper will primarily deals with the protagonists and probe their conduct, reaction to the
social or physical situation, their personal life, the course of action in search of self and their
bond to the antagonist. The aim of this paper is to connect Paul Auster, his writing with the
theme of identity. In fact, Auster acquires his characters’ identities in his imaginary writings
so as to search the prospects of his own self. Auster’s characters thus reflect the writer
himself and also share many of his own traits such as existential battle, personal
apprehensions and fears with him. In the conclusion, an attempt is made to find out how
writing is related to the evolution of protagonists’ search for identity.

1. Paul Auster’s writing and it’s Connection with Identity

The purpose of this section is to point out Paul Auster’s style of writing in which he reveals
himself through his characters who imitate his existential doubts and worries. The search for
his identity is very obvious in his first published book The Invention of Solitude; which he
maintains in other novels, through images, metaphors and doublings. We should not leave the

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IMPACT FACTOR – 4.23 ISSN 2349-5189

An International Peer-Reviewed Open Access Journal

impact of the surroundings on the protagonists’ behaviour while examining their identity, as
the formation of identity is influenced by social interaction and interpersonal relationships.

Auster’s protagonists are seen mostly separated from the society either mentally or physically
in a locked room (A. in The Invention of Solitude), in a car and then a trailer (Nashe in Music
of Chance), in a studio apartment (Blue in Ghosts), etc. In most cases they are isolated both
mentally and physically. (Lyčková)

2. The Identity Search in The Invention of Solitude

The Invention of Solitude, Auster’s first published non-fiction classified into two sections;
Portrait of an Invisible Man and Book of Memory, both concerned with the personality of
father, but from two distinct views. First, it is from Auster’s view as son. Here, Auster tries to
find out his demised father’s personality that causes his suspicions whether the other’s
personality can be found out or not. He slowly finds out the influence of the surroundings on
the formation of one’s personality and the choking self hidden within his father. The second
view is also Auster’s, but now as father. It is somewhat a journey into Auster’s own
personality, notably at the time when he realises his own fatherhood.

2.1. Portrait of an Invisible Man

He attempts to re-make the lost identity of his father by bringing together the reminiscences
and facts. By his writing, he tries to validate his existence and preserve his memory. But the
difficulty is that his father was never present, a genre of an invisible man, even though he was
alive. Auster searches for the father figure in his life. Moreover, Auster’s father is already
dead and he cannot meet him anymore. He is in dilemma to judge whether his father was
good or bad, as he behaved with these opposing traits in different situations. Paul Auster’s
father is really hollow and unrecognised - Mr Nobody who is void of being son, father, Jew,
or husband, away from society. He seems he had left this world even before the real death.

2.2. The Book of Memory

In The Book of Memory, Auster switches his identity to that of father, and reveals his intense
contemplation and about himself by means of the protagonist named “A.” He narrates his
own life indirectly by describing the story of another person. He uses his story approach as a
mirror text where “he speaks of himself as another in order to tell the story of himself. He
must make himself absent in order to find himself there. And so he says A., even as he means
to say I” (154). While referring himself in the third person, he isolates himself from his
writing, just like his father did so as to alienate himself from the environment. To Auster,
mode of writing is the origin of self-discovery and one’s identity includes reminiscence and
past. In his reflections he appears to be left his body and only journeying within his
labyrinthine mind. As he encounters his father’s death, he recognizes that he is becoming
father of his own son and understands how transfer of identity takes place from generation to
generation. In this way, he shows that the past continues to the present. Moreover, he finds
how translation influences others by passing his identity to that of the others. While
translating books, he visualises as if he acquires the personality and seclusion of the other

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IMPACT FACTOR – 4.23 ISSN 2349-5189

An International Peer-Reviewed Open Access Journal

writer. According to Auster, seclusion is also a channel to understand oneself besides writing.
Undoubtedly, writing and seclusion are inextricable. His impressions on writing contain his
concept that solitude leads to self-knowledge, which he repeats often. (Tetek)

Conclusion

In the conclusion, we can say that, after a closer examination, the protagonists in the book
have a lot in common in their searches for identity. First, a sudden accident interrupts their
lives and they are displaced from familiar environment, and consequently they feel
abandoned and lost. They strive to escape out of the stalemate by imagining being somebody
else. By dedicating themselves to writing as a feat of intuition and self-knowledge, they
attempt to attain the path to their identities within their loneliness and fluctuating identities.
In fact, Auster attempts to understand who he is through writing. For him, writing paves the
way to find out his inner self, by leaving his body, that is his real identity and to assume the
identities of his characters in the imaginary world. Hence, his characters play a decisive role
to find out his identity. Auster’s notion of identity search related to writing is matching with
John Locke’s theory of “tabula rasa”. Lastly, Auster emphasise the significance of the past in
knowing oneself and assumes the role of father that was transferred to him after his father’s
death.

REFERENCES

1. Auster, Paul. City of Glass. New York: Penguin Books, 1987.

2. ---. Ghosts. New York: Penguin Books, 1987.
3. ---.The Invention of Solitude. London: Faber and Faber, 2005.
4. ---. “The Locked Room.” The New York Trilogy. London: Faber and Faber, 1988.
5. ---. The Music of Chance. New York: Penguin Books, 1991.
6. Lyčková, Bc. Hana. The Problem of Identity in Writing by Paul Auster. MA Thesis,
Masaryk University, 2009.
7. Tetek, Richard. The Role of Solitude in Paul Auster’s Prose. Bachelor Thesis,
Masaryk University, 2008.

Vol. 5 Issue 3 481 February, 2019

Website: www.langlit.org Contact No.: +91-9890290602

Indexed: ICI, Google Scholar, Research Gate, Academia.edu, IBI, IIFC, DRJI