The Search for Identity

It often baffles me when I look back on the person I used to be, the things I said, actions I took, and decisions I made seem like they came from someone completely different to the man I am today. The reason for this is because of what the brain does when it is desperately searching for an identity, it tries to make decisions to mold into what it wants to be and, as a result, it can appear to be foolish from the eyes of someone who isn’t going through that scenario. This is the main focus of the story of Oedipus, a man who had his whole world turned upside down and, in an attempt to find his identity, inadvertently killed his father and married his mother. This idea, however, is not exclusive to the ancient Romans as ‘The Search for Identity’ is a topic that permeates through our culture to this day.

The story of Oedipus is often reduced to the most shocking fact in comparison to the time we live in the know, the fact that he married his mom, all thanks to the craziest scientist ever, Sigmund Freud. The story of Oedipus has a lot more to say about humanity outside of Freud’s theories, including about every present want to identify with something. When Oedipus solves the Sphinx’s riddles before the play begins, he is named as the emperor of the land, so when people tell him to let the man who killed another go unnamed, he wants to, “…bring it all to light myself…” as he is filling out the role he fills he fits into, that of a king (Oedipus the King). However, when he starts to hear that people around him, like his ‘parents’, are lying to him about his identity, he goes to find the truth as fast as possible, as he no longer has an identity. This explains his unending search for what is real despite all those around him warning to let the past go, with his identity stripped away, he is stuck in limbo. Even when he finds out the horrible truth about his identity, he responds with, “…cursed in my birth…” and blinds himself, despite the fact that he was manipulated and it wasn’t his fault, he fills into the first identity he can get his hands on, that of the cursed child who was destined to lose (Oedipus the King).

This idea wouldn’t be nearly as special if it just existed in old Greek tales, but we continue to put this in media from every corner of the entertainment sphere. From kid to adult, mature to childish, this is a topic so important that no matter what you like, you’ve probably encountered it at some point.

The most widely used way this is employed is when talking about oppression. Ernest J. Gaines employed this in his book A lesson before dying after Grant’s brother gets sentenced to death, he grapples with how he should react. Conflicted by those around him, he had to decide whether to, “…act like the teacher I was or like the nigger I was supposed to be?” (A lesson before dying). He grapples with how the world was labeling him and wanted an identity to be happy with. If books aren’t your thing then this happens in video games as well, specifically Detroit: Become Human, a smash hit about robots and civil rights. After becoming Sentient, Markus feels trapped by how the world is labeling and expresses this to his fellow androids, culminating in the line “…I am more than what they say” (Detroit: Become Human). While fighting for freedom, he always is talking about his own life, being told what to do ever since he was created, he feels lost without an identity to hang on to.

The other way this is used is when it comes to the choice of paths in life. The most famous example of this is in a little film you may have heard of called “The Lion King” where Simba has to grapple with his dad dying due to his actions. When it originally happens, he refuses to accept it, running away from the kingdom, abandoning his title of king, and taking on a new life. When he is given the option to go back to his life, he refuses, denying his birthright to avoid the responsibility. However, once he learns what has happened to the land, he goes back and forces himself to accept it in order to save the land, realizing the importance of what identity means to people.

Now that we’ve established that this idea exists and is widely used, the final question is “Why?” This seems like such an odd idea to have throughout the culture, but when Aristotle wrote this into Oedipus, he knew it was an important ideal. One requirement for tragic characters is to “…make the characters life-like…” so that the reader can empathize with what they are going through. That is what makes the search for identity a timeless pursuit, we all can relate to it. We’ve all felt lost either due to society, trauma, or manipulation and just want to feel like we know who we are. That is what all these works try to get across, even if you are lost and don’t know who you are or what to do, you will find a place to belong, just give it time.