Throughout many of our course readings, we have observed a theme of self-confusion. Self confusion revolves around the idea of being confused about one's identity. There are many ways one can be confused about one's identity; some of these include
Sexual Identity: Throughout the course readings, many of the characters have shown feelings of confusion about sexual identity. These characters include Colonel Fitts from American Beauty, Jack and Ennis from “Brokeback Mountain,” Paul, from Six Degrees of Separation, and Capitan Falcon from Middle Passage. All of these characters encounter confusion about their sexual identity, and deal with this confusion in different ways. Some characters hide from it, others try to hide their secret from society, and others embrace it.Moral values
Moral Values: In many of the texts that we have read, we have encountered characters who face moral dilemmas in which they are confused about where they stand. Often times they will find themselves unsure of what the right decision is, and whether or not their moral values are important to them. We see examples of this in The Road, The Great Gatsby, Passing, “Care,” Dead Man’s Cell Phone, and American Beauty. Each of the character’s in these stories are faced with the decision between what they know is morally right, and what is beneficial to them at the time.
Place in Society : Throughout many of our readings in American Literature, we have encountered characters that are confused about where they belong in society. In Passing by Nella Larson, Clare Kendry finds herself lost in understanding where she belongs in society. She has been “Passing” for a white woman, yet wants to reconnect with her black society. Throughout the story she finds herself battling this confusion. In The Great Gatsby, Nick Caraway feels this confusion when living in East Egg. He does not know where he belongs in this fancy and somewhat superficial society, and struggles to find people who he feels he can trust. In “Brokeback Mountain,” Jack and Ennis’s confusion about their sexual identity leads them to escape society and spend their summer working at the remote Brokeback Mountain. This escape shows how they chose to cope with a feeling of not belonging to their own society.
Relationships: A common theme of confusion that we have encountered is confusion about relationships. Many characters do not know what their relationships with people are, or who they are “supposed to” interact with. This confusion is mostly based off of the unwritten rules of society. In Huck Finn, Huck begins to feel more and more confused about his relationship with Jim. He knows that Jim is black, and that that makes them different from each other, yet his relationship with him has shown him that society is not always right in defining who should interact with whom. In American Beauty, all of the characters feel as if their relationships with each other are forced. Carolyn and Lester’s marriage seems to have failed, and the two are confused as to how to hide this fact, or how to fix what has been broken. Lester is also confused about his strange feelings for Angela, and feels like his relationship with his daughter Jane is extremely awkward. In Passing, Irene does not know how to treat Clare when she wants to come back to the black society, and is confused about what sort of relationship they have. In Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Jean feels as if she knew Gordon, although all she knew about him was what she found from his cell phone. She proves to be extremely confused about what her relationship was, and forms and interesting relationship with Gordon’s family.
Racial Identity: Race is a very prominent topic in American Literature. In many of the texts we have read, character are confused about their racial identity, or feel out of place because of it. In Passing, Clare Kendry is confused about whether she should pass for a white woman or return to her black community. In Huck Finn Jim does not feel like he and Huck are different, and wishes to be treated equally by Huck. In Middle Passage Rutherford Calhoun is a freed slave aboard a slave trade ship. In the story he finds himself extremely confused about whether to stay with the slaves, who he feels a racial connection with, or with Captain Falcon, who holds all of the power and freedom.
"Pilgrims"
In “Pilgrims” there are two parties that are both confused primarily in the moral sense. One side is the parents who seem to be lost in their own world of serenity and healing and at the same time seem to have lost their sense of responsibility for their children. They are morally confused because they don’t take responsibility for the actions of their children and are not even aware when one of their own children pass away. Another side that is confused is the children also with respect to their morals. Peter is obviously morally confused for killing his sister and hiding her but the other children are also equally lost for allowing him to do so.
"The Isabel Fish"
In “The Isabel Fish” Sage and Maddy are both confused and lost about their past identity; Sage needs to move on past the death of Isabel, and Isabel needs to forgive herself and to conquer her fear of the water. Sage needs to stop dwelling on Isabel’s passing and stop lashing out at Maddy and using his anger and guilt as an excuse for killing Maddy’s cherished fish.
"The Smoothest Way is Full of Stones"
In “The Smoothest Way is Full of Stones” Esty, Rebecca and Dovid encounter many types of moral dilemmas due to their religious affiliations. They have many sexual desires which are in direct conflict with their religious beliefs. They are torn between what their community expect them to do and what their individual consciences’ desire.
"Care"
In “Care” Tessa is torn between her duties of taking care of her niece, and taking her pleasure inducing pills. She is confused as to where her loyalties lie and need to make a decision of whether she wants to be with her family or take drugs together with her boyfriend. This ambivalence is because she has been on her drugs for so long that she has developed a dependency on them but need to realize that at the time of the story, her family is more important and that she needs to focus more on taking care of her niece.
"Stars of Motown Shining Bright"
In “Stars of Motown Shining Bright” Lucy and Melissa are two very confused teenage girls. Lucy is torn between staying with Melissa and upholding their friendship by letting her elope, or to do the “right” thing by stopping this ludicrous adventure and taking Melissa home before she does anything stupid. Another factor affecting Lucy’s decisions is her previous relationship with Jack; at one point she is deciding whether or not she should elope with Jack instead of Melissa. Melissa is also confused between whether she should elope to California with Jack or if she should go home with Lucy and forget about him. Lucy helps her with this decision by reminding her of how horrid their life would be in California with Jack.
"Stations of the Cross"
In “Stations of the Cross” both Carney and Lila are confused with respect to race and religion. Carney is a very prejudiced young girl and Lila’s friendship with her even pulls her into that prejudiced mindset. They stage a “production” in which Carney orders Dale to play Jesus and even goes so far at to tie him up to a cross and start beating him. That act of tying Dale up was obviously because both Carney and Lila are confused about their own standing with regard to race and believe that its right for them to tie Dale up like that.
Six Degrees of Separation
Paul: Paul is a confused individual. Throughout the story he forms a web of lies, that he becomes so deeply immersed in that he can no longer accept his true identity. Paul lives his life as a con man, and encounters the Paul and Ouisa Kittridge. His elaborate stories about going to Harvard, and knowledge of art, become such a reality to him that he forgets who he truly is. He is confused about his racial identity in the upper class white society, and he is confused about his social identity, and where he actually belongs in society.
"Dead Man's Cell Phone"-Sarah Ruhl
Jean: In “Dead Man’s Cell Phone “, the character Jean is a very confused character. She is a complete stranger to Gordon, but she is the first to find out he has passed away. Although she had never met Gordon before in her life, she feels as though she has some kind of connection with him. Because of this she feels obligated to pick up his cell phone and answer calls for him. She also calls Gordon’s family and sets a date to meet with them, claiming she had been good friends with Gordon. When she meets with the family of Gordon, she then proceeds to make up things Gordon never said in order to please others. This relates to “confusion of self” because if Jean had been fully aware of her identity she wouldn’t have put herself into the position she put herself into. Gordon: In “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” we learn about Gordon’s past before he dies. He spent his life smuggling human body parts illegally to earn his living. To do this he was involved with sketchy people, and didn’t spend much time with his family. When Jean meets Gordon in the laundry mat heaven, we learn that Gordon truly did care about his family, and that he would like to spend the rest of eternity with his mother. This relates to “confusion of self” because when he was alive he didn’t realize what he was missing out on, and he finally realized when it was too late.
The Road-Cormac McCarthy
In the novel The Road, confusion of self is a very prominent topic which is touched up upon numerous times in the story. The boy in The Road is brought up in a post apocalyptic world where old morals are no longer valued by many of the survivors. The remains of the human race must survive by forming gangs, killing each other, leaving each other for dead, cannibalism, and other unmoral means. Throughout the novel the father tells his son tales of how the old world used to be, and reassures his son that they will never lose their moral values and always remain the “good guys”. The father’s confusion between his old set of morals and the morals of the new world rubs off on the boy, makes him unsure of his values. This is especially true when their values are tested when they must resort to shooting two people and leaving another man for dead just to survive. The boy and his father question if they are truly good people on many separate occasions and in the end the boy must choose the path in life he wants to take in life: having relaxed morals in time of desperation and survival or living according to the pre-apocalyptic world’s standards.
American Beauty
Lester:
Lester Burnham finds himself confused about who he is in his seemingly normal life. While Lester knows that he is not truly happy he is confused about what he really wants. He finds himself strangely attracted to his daughter Jane’s friend Angela, buying pot from his next door neighbor Ricky Fitts, and working out obsessively in his garage. He also quits his job and begins working at a fast food restaurant. After all of these changes in his life, Lester begins to finally feel happy, yet he is still extremely confused about who he is. Carolyn: Carolyn wants to appear to be the perfect suburban housewife, and for the most part she does. But in the movie we see another side of her, the confused side of her. Carolyn too is confused with herself, and unhappy with her life. She begins having an affair with Buddy Kane, the “King” of Real Estate, and she is upset with her also confused husband Lester. Carolyn seems to be confused about her Relationships, and her Place in Society.
Colonel Fitts:
At first glance, Colonel Fitts would not seem like someone who was confused about their identity. However, Colonel Fitts past is hidden behind the image of who he pretends to be. Throughout the story, Colonel Fitts makes many homophobic remarks towards everyone in the community. However, we learn later in the movie that his homophobia is really a cover for his true sexual identity, which he seems to be confused about, or have a hard time accepting. The end of the movie, which reveals Colonel Fitts’s true identity, shows how dangerous it can be for one to be confused or angered with their identity. Colonel Fitts comes to Lester’s garage and kisses him, and then later that night comes to his house and kills him, through fear of revealing his true identity.
Jane - With Lester and Carolyn as parents, it is inevitable that Jane would be confused about her own identity. Due to her unstable home environment, she finds herself confused about who she really wants to be. In combination with her rebellious teenage side, Jane’s embarrassment of her parent’s, makes her come off as angry and confused for most of the movie. Jane wants to be happy and normal, but for most of the movie it does not seem like she knows exactly what this is. When Ricky Fitts comes into her life, Jane is confused about her feelings for him as well. At first she thinks that he is creepy, yet this feeling proves to be confusion about how she really feels about him.
Angela:
Angela seems to have everything going for her. She is beautiful, popular, and self-confident. Throughout the movie, Angela seems to be the only character who knows exactly who she is and what she wants. She talks to Jane about Lester, like she thinks he is cute, but she is really just playing off of his crush on her. At the end of the movie, however, we see that Angela is really just as scared and confused as all of the other characters. She is just better at hiding it. As she and Lester are about to have sex, she admits that she is not who she had said she was, and that she was actually a virgin. At this moment, all of Angela’s self denial rose to the surface, and she became just as confused as all of the other characters.
Middle Passage-Charles Johnson
Rutherford Calhoun is an educated black man, and finds himself torn between two parties on board: the captive Allmuseri and the Captain with whom he is “bound” by the ring he was given. At first, he sides with his employers and builds a bond with the ship’s cook on the leg across the Atlantic, and the rumors that he hears about the fabled Allmuseri tribe makes him glad to be on the side of the people holding the guns. However, once the Allmuseri are taken on board, he forms a close relationship with Baleka and realizes that they are very much like him aside from the obvious skin tone and that they all have the same needs as anyone else. In the end, Calhoun decides to ally with his heritage and his past instead of the white culture with which he had grown so close to on the journey over.
Passing- Nella Larsen
Clare Kendry finds herself confused about her Racial Identity. She lives in the white community, and although she is black she "passes" for a white woman. Her confusion is shown more by the inner turmoil she encounters about re-intergrating into the black community.These overwhelming feelings climax during the scene of her passing (away) although the nature of her death is not known for certain; whether she jumped out of the window, or if she was pushed. When Clare returns to the black society after years of passing, Irene does not quite know how to treat her, especially when she starts going out with her husband to the functions that she organizes.
CONFUSION ABOUT SELFHansong, Mad, Dylan
Throughout many of our course readings, we have observed a theme of self-confusion. Self confusion revolves around the idea of being confused about one's identity. There are many ways one can be confused about one's identity; some of these include
Sexual Identity: Throughout the course readings, many of the characters have shown feelings of confusion about sexual identity. These characters include Colonel Fitts from American Beauty, Jack and Ennis from “Brokeback Mountain,” Paul, from Six Degrees of Separation, and Capitan Falcon from Middle Passage. All of these characters encounter confusion about their sexual identity, and deal with this confusion in different ways. Some characters hide from it, others try to hide their secret from society, and others embrace it.Moral values
Moral Values: In many of the texts that we have read, we have encountered characters who face moral dilemmas in which they are confused about where they stand. Often times they will find themselves unsure of what the right decision is, and whether or not their moral values are important to them. We see examples of this in The Road, The Great Gatsby, Passing, “Care,” Dead Man’s Cell Phone, and American Beauty. Each of the character’s in these stories are faced with the decision between what they know is morally right, and what is beneficial to them at the time.
Place in Society : Throughout many of our readings in American Literature, we have encountered characters that are confused about where they belong in society. In Passing by Nella Larson, Clare Kendry finds herself lost in understanding where she belongs in society. She has been “Passing” for a white woman, yet wants to reconnect with her black society. Throughout the story she finds herself battling this confusion. In The Great Gatsby, Nick Caraway feels this confusion when living in East Egg. He does not know where he belongs in this fancy and somewhat superficial society, and struggles to find people who he feels he can trust. In “Brokeback Mountain,” Jack and Ennis’s confusion about their sexual identity leads them to escape society and spend their summer working at the remote Brokeback Mountain. This escape shows how they chose to cope with a feeling of not belonging to their own society.
Relationships: A common theme of confusion that we have encountered is confusion about relationships. Many characters do not know what their relationships with people are, or who they are “supposed to” interact with. This confusion is mostly based off of the unwritten rules of society. In Huck Finn, Huck begins to feel more and more confused about his relationship with Jim. He knows that Jim is black, and that that makes them different from each other, yet his relationship with him has shown him that society is not always right in defining who should interact with whom. In American Beauty, all of the characters feel as if their relationships with each other are forced. Carolyn and Lester’s marriage seems to have failed, and the two are confused as to how to hide this fact, or how to fix what has been broken. Lester is also confused about his strange feelings for Angela, and feels like his relationship with his daughter Jane is extremely awkward. In Passing, Irene does not know how to treat Clare when she wants to come back to the black society, and is confused about what sort of relationship they have. In Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Jean feels as if she knew Gordon, although all she knew about him was what she found from his cell phone. She proves to be extremely confused about what her relationship was, and forms and interesting relationship with Gordon’s family.
Racial Identity: Race is a very prominent topic in American Literature. In many of the texts we have read, character are confused about their racial identity, or feel out of place because of it. In Passing, Clare Kendry is confused about whether she should pass for a white woman or return to her black community. In Huck Finn Jim does not feel like he and Huck are different, and wishes to be treated equally by Huck. In Middle Passage Rutherford Calhoun is a freed slave aboard a slave trade ship. In the story he finds himself extremely confused about whether to stay with the slaves, who he feels a racial connection with, or with Captain Falcon, who holds all of the power and freedom.
How to Breathe Underwater-Julie Orringer
- http://www.powells.com/authors/orringer.html
--> Interview with Julie Oringer"Pilgrims"
In “Pilgrims” there are two parties that are both confused primarily in the moral sense. One side is the parents who seem to be lost in their own world of serenity and healing and at the same time seem to have lost their sense of responsibility for their children. They are morally confused because they don’t take responsibility for the actions of their children and are not even aware when one of their own children pass away. Another side that is confused is the children also with respect to their morals. Peter is obviously morally confused for killing his sister and hiding her but the other children are also equally lost for allowing him to do so.
"The Isabel Fish"
In “The Isabel Fish” Sage and Maddy are both confused and lost about their past identity; Sage needs to move on past the death of Isabel, and Isabel needs to forgive herself and to conquer her fear of the water. Sage needs to stop dwelling on Isabel’s passing and stop lashing out at Maddy and using his anger and guilt as an excuse for killing Maddy’s cherished fish.
"The Smoothest Way is Full of Stones"
In “The Smoothest Way is Full of Stones” Esty, Rebecca and Dovid encounter many types of moral dilemmas due to their religious affiliations. They have many sexual desires which are in direct conflict with their religious beliefs. They are torn between what their community expect them to do and what their individual consciences’ desire.
"Care"
In “Care” Tessa is torn between her duties of taking care of her niece, and taking her pleasure inducing pills. She is confused as to where her loyalties lie and need to make a decision of whether she wants to be with her family or take drugs together with her boyfriend. This ambivalence is because she has been on her drugs for so long that she has developed a dependency on them but need to realize that at the time of the story, her family is more important and that she needs to focus more on taking care of her niece.
"Stars of Motown Shining Bright"
In “Stars of Motown Shining Bright” Lucy and Melissa are two very confused teenage girls. Lucy is torn between staying with Melissa and upholding their friendship by letting her elope, or to do the “right” thing by stopping this ludicrous adventure and taking Melissa home before she does anything stupid. Another factor affecting Lucy’s decisions is her previous relationship with Jack; at one point she is deciding whether or not she should elope with Jack instead of Melissa. Melissa is also confused between whether she should elope to California with Jack or if she should go home with Lucy and forget about him. Lucy helps her with this decision by reminding her of how horrid their life would be in California with Jack.
"Stations of the Cross"
In “Stations of the Cross” both Carney and Lila are confused with respect to race and religion. Carney is a very prejudiced young girl and Lila’s friendship with her even pulls her into that prejudiced mindset. They stage a “production” in which Carney orders Dale to play Jesus and even goes so far at to tie him up to a cross and start beating him. That act of tying Dale up was obviously because both Carney and Lila are confused about their own standing with regard to race and believe that its right for them to tie Dale up like that.
Six Degrees of Separation
Paul: Paul is a confused individual. Throughout the story he forms a web of lies, that he becomes so deeply immersed in that he can no longer accept his true identity. Paul lives his life as a con man, and encounters the Paul and Ouisa Kittridge. His elaborate stories about going to Harvard, and knowledge of art, become such a reality to him that he forgets who he truly is. He is confused about his racial identity in the upper class white society, and he is confused about his social identity, and where he actually belongs in society."Dead Man's Cell Phone"-Sarah Ruhl
Jean: In “Dead Man’s Cell Phone “, the character Jean is a very confused character. She is a complete stranger to Gordon, but she is the first to find out he has passed away. Although she had never met Gordon before in her life, she feels as though she has some kind of connection with him. Because of this she feels obligated to pick up his cell phone and answer calls for him. She also calls Gordon’s family and sets a date to meet with them, claiming she had been good friends with Gordon. When she meets with the family of Gordon, she then proceeds to make up things Gordon never said in order to please others. This relates to “confusion of self” because if Jean had been fully aware of her identity she wouldn’t have put herself into the position she put herself into.
Gordon: In “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” we learn about Gordon’s past before he dies. He spent his life smuggling human body parts illegally to earn his living. To do this he was involved with sketchy people, and didn’t spend much time with his family. When Jean meets Gordon in the laundry mat heaven, we learn that Gordon truly did care about his family, and that he would like to spend the rest of eternity with his mother. This relates to “confusion of self” because when he was alive he didn’t realize what he was missing out on, and he finally realized when it was too late.
The Road-Cormac McCarthy
In the novel The Road, confusion of self is a very prominent topic which is touched up upon numerous times in the story. The boy in The Road is brought up in a post apocalyptic world where old morals are no longer valued by many of the survivors. The remains of the human race must survive by forming gangs, killing each other, leaving each other for dead, cannibalism, and other unmoral means. Throughout the novel the father tells his son tales of how the old world used to be, and reassures his son that they will never lose their moral values and always remain the “good guys”. The father’s confusion between his old set of morals and the morals of the new world rubs off on the boy, makes him unsure of his values. This is especially true when their values are tested when they must resort to shooting two people and leaving another man for dead just to survive. The boy and his father question if they are truly good people on many separate occasions and in the end the boy must choose the path in life he wants to take in life: having relaxed morals in time of desperation and survival or living according to the pre-apocalyptic world’s standards.American Beauty
Lester:Lester Burnham finds himself confused about who he is in his seemingly normal life. While Lester knows that he is not truly happy he is confused about what he really wants. He finds himself strangely attracted to his daughter Jane’s friend Angela, buying pot from his next door neighbor Ricky Fitts, and working out obsessively in his garage. He also quits his job and begins working at a fast food restaurant. After all of these changes in his life, Lester begins to finally feel happy, yet he is still extremely confused about who he is.
Carolyn: Carolyn wants to appear to be the perfect suburban housewife, and for the most part she does. But in the movie we see another side of her, the confused side of her. Carolyn too is confused with herself, and unhappy with her life. She begins having an affair with Buddy Kane, the “King” of Real Estate, and she is upset with her also confused husband Lester. Carolyn seems to be confused about her Relationships, and her Place in Society.
Colonel Fitts:
At first glance, Colonel Fitts would not seem like someone who was confused about their identity. However, Colonel Fitts past is hidden behind the image of who he pretends to be. Throughout the story, Colonel Fitts makes many homophobic remarks towards everyone in the community. However, we learn later in the movie that his homophobia is really a cover for his true sexual identity, which he seems to be confused about, or have a hard time accepting. The end of the movie, which reveals Colonel Fitts’s true identity, shows how dangerous it can be for one to be confused or angered with their identity. Colonel Fitts comes to Lester’s garage and kisses him, and then later that night comes to his house and kills him, through fear of revealing his true identity.
Jane - With Lester and Carolyn as parents, it is inevitable that Jane would be confused about her own identity. Due to her unstable home environment, she finds herself confused about who she really wants to be. In combination with her rebellious teenage side, Jane’s embarrassment of her parent’s, makes her come off as angry and confused for most of the movie. Jane wants to be happy and normal, but for most of the movie it does not seem like she knows exactly what this is. When Ricky Fitts comes into her life, Jane is confused about her feelings for him as well. At first she thinks that he is creepy, yet this feeling proves to be confusion about how she really feels about him.
Angela:
Angela seems to have everything going for her. She is beautiful, popular, and self-confident. Throughout the movie, Angela seems to be the only character who knows exactly who she is and what she wants. She talks to Jane about Lester, like she thinks he is cute, but she is really just playing off of his crush on her. At the end of the movie, however, we see that Angela is really just as scared and confused as all of the other characters. She is just better at hiding it. As she and Lester are about to have sex, she admits that she is not who she had said she was, and that she was actually a virgin. At this moment, all of Angela’s self denial rose to the surface, and she became just as confused as all of the other characters.
Middle Passage-Charles Johnson
Rutherford Calhoun is an educated black man, and finds himself torn between two parties on board: the captive Allmuseri and the Captain with whom he is “bound” by the ring he was given. At first, he sides with his employers and builds a bond with the ship’s cook on the leg across the Atlantic, and the rumors that he hears about the fabled Allmuseri tribe makes him glad to be on the side of the people holding the guns. However, once the Allmuseri are taken on board, he forms a close relationship with Baleka and realizes that they are very much like him aside from the obvious skin tone and that they all have the same needs as anyone else. In the end, Calhoun decides to ally with his heritage and his past instead of the white culture with which he had grown so close to on the journey over.
Passing- Nella Larsen
Clare Kendry finds herself confused about her Racial Identity. She lives in the white community, and although she is black she "passes" for a white woman. Her confusion is shown more by the inner turmoil she encounters about re-intergrating into the black community.These overwhelming feelings climax during the scene of her passing (away) although the nature of her death is not known for certain; whether she jumped out of the window, or if she was pushed. When Clare returns to the black society after years of passing, Irene does not quite know how to treat her, especially when she starts going out with her husband to the functions that she organizes.External Sources:
Other examples in American Literature:
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