English 10H Bl.

15 November 2017

Identity

There is a difference between a characteristic and a part of your identity. A includes any

feature about you, whether it be physical or behavioral, or significant or insignificant. You can

see certain characteristics of someone right as you meet them, and some only after you know

them. Identity, however, is different. You only know someone’s identity after you truly know

them. When you first meet someone, you have no idea who they truly are. After you talk to them

for some time, you can start to get an idea of how they act. However, you do not know who they

truly are. Even if you get close to them, the only way you will know how they really act is by

gaining enough trust for them to tell you. The only person who fully knows who you are is

yourself. You are the only person on the planet who knows what you are thinking. Someone

could act one way in front of certain people, but very different in front of others. You do not

know what someone else is thinking, no matter what they say. Let's look at Iago, from Othello.

Iago is an ancient to Othello, a general. Iago despises Othello. He wants to completely destroy

him. However, he is a completely different person in front of Othello. Instead of being dishonest

and untrustworthy, he is loyal and gives Othello advice that is unmatched. He uses this trust

gained from giving good advice and staying loyal to murder 5 people, by only using his words.

This is why we do not know anyone’s identity other than ourselves. The real you lies inside, not
outside. What we see in others is irrelevant. Their thoughts are what makes their identity, and we

cannot see them, so we do not know them.

My project represents my identity in a variety of ways. First of all, the animals(The

reason I used animals is because I like animals). The monkey represents curiosity. I was not born

with curiosity. It was my dad who was able to instill the need to question as many things as

possible. Without my dad encouraging me to question things, this part of me would definitely not

be here today. This proves that we are not born with our identities. Our personalities develop

based on our environments, our experiences, or our lessons. Someone could be a shy child, but

experience something that molds them into someone who is extremely confident. Just because

we have a certain characteristic right now, does not mean we will always be like this. Take this

quote by Jean Jacques Rousseau. “If life does not change you, you have failed.” We cannot be

sure how we will develop, but it is almost certain that we will.

The fox represents cunning and wit. I have made a lot of things possible by observing

other’s personalities. I can definitely see this part of me in my mother. She has always easily

understood me and is able to bend her words to make sure that her intentions are fulfilled, and

can do this to different people. I can also see this trait in my brother. He is always able to trick

me into doing things that I never intended to do before I talked to him. After years of living with

me, he understands who I am, and is able to use my identity and characteristics against me. I am

never able to use his traits towards him, because has developed this ability more. As I grow, I

will try my best to develop this skill as well as I can. In addition, this trait is also shown by Iago

from Othello. Iago understood the personalities of Othello, Desdemona, Roderigo, Cassio, and
Emilia, was able to use pinpoint their weaknesses, and created a plan that led to all of their

deaths (except Cassio).

The sloth is a symbol of laziness. Throughout my life, I have noticed that this part of me

has caused many problems. I have procrastinated on countless amounts of projects, assignments,

and tests, and some of these incidents caused major problems. I chose to add this as part of my

project because it affects me significantly. Like stated before, I will try to change as I grow and

overcome this part of me.

The mouse shows that I am gullible. This has stuck with me since I was a child. I would

always do stupid things that my brother/mother told me to do, without even thinking about it. I

don’t really seem to think much about the result of what I do, only about doing it. This resembles

how a mouse doesn’t think about what happens after it triggers the trap. The only thing it thinks

about is the cheese. We can see this an example of this in Othello. Roderigo, a foolish character

in Othello, only thinks about Desdemona. Iago instructs Roderigo to do what will help Iago in

achieving his plan, but also phrases it in a way that makes it seem like it will help Roderigo in

achieving his goal of moving towards Desdemona.

Finally, the cat is a symbol of independence. Cats have been a known symbol of

independence for years since, unlike dogs, they hunt alone. Although I do not hunt, I do

participate in activities that do not require group work. I am much more efficient when working

by myself, so at times when I need to get work done, I avoid doing it with others. In conclusion,

Our identity is masked to others. Although our identities do change over time as we live our life,

you will never know someone’s identity unless they tell you. This project is a way of

communicating our identities to others, and showing others who we are underneath.