Identity>Ethnicity & Characteristics

Identity is not just an ethnicity or different characteristics. Identity cannot be recognize by surface vision, but by a combination of surface vision and inner vision. Environmental factors, culture, and religion all contribute to self- identity. However,family values and personal experience play an important role in the nameless protagonist's life in Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. 

 In the novel , the nameless narrator’s journey to discover who he is begins with his grandfather's words at his deathbed. Due to the inferiority of African Americans, the narrator was told to obey the whites, no matter what the situation is. With this idea engraved in the narrator’s mind, he obeys every force that was placed on him. One incident was the royal battle, in which he chooses to conform as other African Americans who follow the orders of the whites. Later, the narrator encounters Mr. Norton. Similarly, the narrator did everything that Mr. Norton to do so; however, his obedience leads to his expulsion from his college. With the words of his grandfather, the narrator does not have an identity, but an identity that others place on him.

Later in the novel, the narrator experiences a rebirth in a factory hospital. Not only he forgets who he is, he even forgets the name of his enemies. Without the presence of the identity that others once placed on him, the narrator is able to discover who is. He begins to question outwardly about the inequality in the society, especially when he delivers a speech regarding an evicted couple. The rebirth also leads him to the Brotherhood, in which he serves as an orator. As a member of the Brotherhood, the narrator also discovers the blindness of certain people. He realizes people often view him as an instrument to advance their own interest, and they refuse to see the individuality within the narrator.

With the experience of the narrator, he finally discovers who he is. He is not one of many African Americans who submits to whites. He is not one of many African Americans who would let others to take advantage of him. Toward the ends of the book, the narrator neglects the materialistic things he has been pursuing for is useless. He begins another journey to discover who he is.

He becomes an African American who takes advantage of his invisibility. He becomes an African American who acknowledges the environmental factors that shaped him. 

The nameless narrator and I both share the obstacles to find self-identity. One factor is that contribute to an identity is love. People often give up their identity for the ones they love. When a couple first met each other, they like the originality within each other. As time passed by, one person from the relationship would often change himself or herself for the other person. Once the person is changed, their identity changed as well. Love can alter the identity of an individual, and the can be positive, negative, or both. For me, it is the ones I love and the ones who love me motivated me to become the person I want to be. It is love that I find my self-identity and the importance of self-identity.

Work of Literary Merit > Good Books

      When I hear “a work of literary merit”, I immediately think of canon of work. Cannon of work described literary works that were reviewed and criticized by college professors, teachers and others. However, “a work of literary merit” is more than the definition above.

      To me, “a work of literary merit” is considered to be a “classic”, a book that stood the test of time and a book that is considered important in the eyes of English experts. Also, the work will have an importance and a theme that can be related to most of the people around the world. Some common topics of theme are crimes of love, self-sacrificing, disaster and pursue. However, different people have a varied interpretation on “a work of literary merit” due to their personal opinions.

      For my independent reading, I read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, and I consider this books as “a work of literary merit”.

     "Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul."

      This is the first line of my independent reading. The summary of the book is revealed in this line. The protagonist in the book, Humbert develops an obsession toward Lolita, a young teenage girls. Although Humbert loves Lolita, their relationship was considered as a sin during the second half of 20^th century, in America, the setting of the book.

    During the twentieth century, there was no other novel like Lolita that explored couples with a large age gap. Thus, the plot of the book was new. The novel was first published in 1955, but it was banned in different countries due to the controversy over the content of pornography within the book. However, the audience who criticized the novel often overlook other elements of the book, such as the desire of the protagonist: his love to Lolita, his will to control her life and his impulses to satisfy his desire. Lolita’s identity and childhood are in the hands of Humbert’s, instead of her own. The story of Lolita and Humbert can be connected to the desire of human, rather it is sexual, materialistic or survival desire. These desires shape the behavior of human, even the behavior is extremely positive or negative.

      From 1955 to 2015, Lolita has stood the test of time, and the public opinion of the book  changes as the society changes as well. Today, it is not rare to see married couple who are ten years or twenty years apart. Moreover, the title of the book appears in the reading list of AP English Literature and Composition, which suggested its literary importance in American education. Thus, Lolita  is considered to be " a work of literary Merit", instead of just a good book.  

More than just a Book Preserver

     What kind of a reader are you? For me, I fit the description of the book preserver. However, I will not buy a  fresh copy of the book even the book is damaged, but the damaged book will no longer be on my list of favorites. After all, the book preserver would not fully describe what kind of a reader I am.

     My Chinese background certainly influence the type of reader I am. Since I moved to United States at a young age, my life is filled with English learning. In many occasions, I just want to reconnect to my Chinese language through Chinese novels, instead of through English novels. Therefore, reading English novel is not my favorite of all time. Perhaps, I just need to discover a book I really love and that will remove my obstacle from the love of reading.

     Nevertheless, there are two books I really enjoy. One is Alabama Moon by Watt Key and the other is The Liar Society by Lisa and Laura Roecker.

From the condition of the book above, it proves that I am really a book preserver.

      The encountering between Alabama Moon and I was in an elementary school book fair. Aside from the hard cover of the book (the hard cover will be easy for me to preserve the book in an intact condition), I read a little summary from the book cover, and I was engaged by the book immediately. In the book, the protagonist, Moon Blake has been living in the forest with his father for many years. It was not until the death of his father that Moon has a chance to explore the outside world. The book enclosed the adventure of Moon to a new world. I also found a sense of familiarity with the character since his experience with the society share common features with my emigration experience. I was too confused and feared to a new environment, however, Moon and I both learned to enjoy the possibilities of the new world.

      The other book I love is The Liar Society. It was love at the first sight when I first read the preview of the book. The protagonist of the book, Kate, receives an email from her best friend, who died in a fire. There are clues in each email that lead to a truth behind the school she attends. In her adventure to find the hidden truth, she experiences both loving and thrilling moments. Unlike the similarities I shared with the protagonist from Alabama Moon, The Liar Society has a thrilling adventure that I have always wish to be in.

     I am a reader who love books with interesting plots, and I can often relate my experience or my desire with the elements of the book. By creating this reading blog, I hope to document my growth in reading, and to provide an opportunity for me to continue to read interesting books.