Chapter 8: Identity, Identification, and Subject

Culler starts off his final chapter with a discussion of how the self or 'I' is developed. First, the self is either given: it just is, it exists; or that it is made. Interacting with that is the construction of terms, from the perspective of the individual or from societal forces. Culler notes that the majority of traditional interpretation comes at the “given” “individual” combination and that in order to better understand literature there needs to be greater exploration of the other dimensions in regards to identities in literature.

Literature has not only made identity a theme; it has played a significant role in the construction of the identity of readers. In narrative literature, we come across the question, “Do characters make their fate or suffer it?” Characters can be heroes while others may turn out to be the bad person without knowing it. But then, characters identities are determined by birth or by personal qualities that are revealed during their lives. As time goes by, characters do “discover” who they are, not by learning something about there past but by acting in such a way that they become what seems to have been their “nature”. Literature does not only bring out the identity in characters, it constructs the identity of readers especially in poems and novels, because readers become who they are by identifying with figures they read about. This can be a good thing or a bad thing, but hopefully literature will make them better people through certain experiences.

There are many different theories debating how identity is formed. Jaques Lacan refers to this idea of the ‘mirror stage’ when an infant sees their reflection for the first time and identifies themselves as a whole. Lacan believes the self is formed by what is reflected back like a mirror or a mother of society. Therefore, one’s identity is constantly being formed and is never completed. Psychoanalysis supports the idea that we do not become who are supposed to be because societal norms cause resistance in the forming of one’s identity. Identification plays an important role in the forming of group identities. An important question is raised about whether or not there is something essential members of a group must have in order to function together. This question rises the debate of essentialism; whether identity is given or it is something that is always being formed.

The idea behind the pervasive structures section once again has to deal with identity and theory. According to Louis Althusser “identity is culturally interpreted” which suggests that, has a major effect on someone discovering their own personal identity. Stuart Hall argues that identities are “labels” in which people give themselves to make them feel comfortable amongst a group. Judith Butler sees it as the repression of homoerotic desire which forms into heterosexual identity. Overall this “identity” is still very hazy and skeptical ideas which people still have not found a conclusion, or have decided on a consensus yet. It’s all just theorizing conjecture and until we retrieve hard facts that prove one way or another it will continue to be a battle of wits.