Identity and Personal Choice

Original Paper:

Identity is defined by The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language as “the distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity; individuality.” There are many things that contribute to the development of an individual’s sense of self and individuality, including where a person is born, his or her parents, the values they were raised with, their gender and the experiences they have growing into an adult. While all these factors play a powerful role in shaping identity, one of the most influential is the idea of personal choice.

Catherine Latterell, the author of Remix: Reading and Composing Culture, emphasizes the idea of personal choice shaping identity and explains that “rather than seeing all matters of identity as determined by larger cultural forces that are beyond our control, this viewpoint recognizes that individuals participate in and make decisions about their identities (11).

Firoozeh Dumas, the author of the essay “The F Word,” writes of identity from the viewpoint of a young person attempting to assimilate herself into another culture. She arrived in the United States as a girl with a name difficult for some to not only accept as part of who she was, but a reason to tease and embarrass. Dumas chose to change her name to combat these difficulties. She writes: “I wanted to be a kid with a name that didn’t draw so much attention, a name that didn’t come with a built-in inquisition…” (61). The author describes her life after her decision to change her name from Firoozeh to Julie as much easier. Later, after college when Dumas began looking for a job, she even found using her American name provided her with more interviews. This unfortunately came at a price. Her decision to be Julie or Firoozeh depending on whose company she kept, and especially when the two groups overlapped, began to wear on her and as a consequence, created unhappiness in her life. As an adult Dumas became more comfortable with herself and cared less about what others thought of her. She began to recognize that her choice to change herself, even in something as minor as a name, was limiting her ability to be who she truly was: Firoozeh.

In the headlines recently was a story of Texas Representative Betty Brown (R), who proposed the idea of gently encouraging new Chinese immigrants to assume a new, more American name. The Houston Chronicle quoted Ms. Brown as saying: “Rather than everyone having to learn Chinese – I understand it’s a rather difficult language – do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?” Ms. Dumas would certainly be able to explain to Representative Brown why exactly it would not behoove any
person new to a foreign land to sacrifice the identity that comes with something as sacred and personal as a name for sake of convenience. Making the personal choice to change one’s name, as Dumas illustrated in her writing, is making the decision to change how others will see that individual and as a result, see themselves.

Revision:

There are many things that contribute to the development of an person’s sense of self and individuality, including where a person is born, his or her parents, the values they were raised with, their gender and the experiences they have growing into an adult. Even the seemingly innocent things about someone's culture, like the food, the music, the clothing, all can have a powerful influence over the way someone looks at themselves and how they define themselves. While all these factors play a significant role in shaping identity, one of the most influential and thought-provoking is the idea of personal choice.

Firoozeh Dumas, the author of the essay “The F Word,” writes of identity from the viewpoint of a young person attempting to assimilate herself into another culture. By changing her name, Dumas seemed to feel she would be able to change her identity in some way and be accepted more readily as an American. She writes: “I wanted to be a kid with a name that didn’t draw so much attention, a name that didn’t come with a built-in inquisition…” (61). It did not appear that Dumas realized at the time what kind of sacrifice she was making to her own sense of self. When Dumas had to balance the people in her life - her family and friends who knew her only as Firoozeh, and her co-workers and friends who knew her only as Julie - a kind of identity crisis seemed to form in her life. The fact that at one point she referred to herself "as those characters in soap operas who have an evil twin" (62) tells the reader that making the choice to change her name had a forceful impact on her individuality. Dumas was almost in a no-win situation with her decision, it seems. When she finally decided to permanently leave the name Julie in the past, she was every once in a while reminded that she was an immigrant by the number of people who were still unable or unwilling to pronouce her name. When she was Julie she was sacrificing her Iranian identity and when she was Firoozeh she was sacrificing her uncomplicated acceptance as an American. No one's identity lies only in their name, but for Dumas, it certainly influenced her life in interesting ways.

In the headlines recently was a story of Texas Representative Betty Brown (R), who proposed the idea of gently encouraging new Chinese immigrants to assume a new, more American name. The Houston Chronicle quoted Ms. Brown as saying: “Rather than everyone having to learn Chinese – I understand it’s a rather difficult language – do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?” Ms. Dumas would certainly be able to explain to Representative Brown why exactly it would not behoove any
person new to a foreign land to sacrifice the identity that comes with something as sacred and personal as a name for sake of convenience. Making the personal choice to change one’s name, as Dumas illustrated in her writing, is making the decision to change how others will see that individual and as a result, see themselves.