Identities

By using images to represent each of the quotes, it provides us a better understanding of how the images can relate to character identities. For the quote "i would never go shooting my mouth off in front of my dad" (pg. 3) from BD, we used an image of a girl with her hand over her mouth and a scared expression on her face. This picture is showing the fear and emotion in the girls eyes and expression, along with the representation of the girls hand covering her mouth which is almost like a restriction from speaking freely. Like in Brother Dear Sharlene feels restricted from saying things that may perhaps upset or disappoint her father from all the expectations and pressure he puts on her.

In the next quote "A violent family is where I'm from" from the poem I am from Soulfood and Harriet Tubman by Leonni Blake, we used the image of two parents arguing with a kid sitting between them covering his ears. This shows how much children are influenced and affected by the interactions between they're parents. In this case, the kid has been affected in a bad way and you can see the frustration in him of being placed into that situation, especially with the action of him covering his ears.

For the quote "If i get the nerve to do the same (travel to Europe) I'll tell dad ill do the university thing when i get back. he'll probably explode anyway. (pg.3) from BD, we used a picture of a teenage girl looking worried. This represents the struggle that Sharlene faces with the decision of pursuing the things she loves oppose to what her dad wants her to do. The fact that her dad is pressuring her to live up to his expectations, brings much more stress and sadness on Sharlene which is shown in the picture we chose.

Another quote we used was "I am from family, roots and blood" from the poem I am from.. by Oretha Storey we chose a picture of a family from earlier times. This picture represents the sense of pride and strength within the family and our heritage. Our roots and our family ties and bloodline go back as far as this picture and even further just like in the poem they say. One other example of influential our ancestors can be to us is "I am kunto kinte's strength, Harriet Tubman's escapes" from the poem I am from soul food and Harriet Tubman. In this poem you see the struggles that the character faces but each time finds strength within her heritage. This relates back to the sense of identity and who you are.

The quote "she tells me i am fine the way i am and a few weeks ago i started to believe her" (pg.8) from BD is represented in our presentation as a woman looking into a mirror. This quote is said by Greg who is finally starting to realize that he doesn't need to pretend to be something he is not. He is, and should be loved for the person he is. His confidence has always been somewhere inside him, it just needed the help of someone to allow it to shine through. The image of the woman looking at herself standing with pride shows a reflection of not only herself, but the confidence within her. Everyone sees each other in a different perspective and sometimes it can take the influence of others to change the way we see ourselves. Like in Brother Dear, the influence of Greg's dad forced him to believe that if he wasn't doing what his father wanted him to pursue, he would never be good enough or successful in life. Furthermore, when Sharlene reminds him of who he is and that he shouldn't change for anyone he finally starts to believe her.

People's identities can be shown in many different ways which ties back to our essential question, how are people transformed through their relationships with others? In each of these quotes we get to see examples of how each person is affected through the pressure of others or maybe even the relationships between each other. Like in the image of the parents fighting, you can see how greatly they are influencing their kid. Though the child is still young, he learns and looks up to his parents, and if this is the impression that they are giving their son it will completely change his identity and what he believes in. Our identity shapes not only us, but others as well. The pressure of Greg and Sharlene's dad, has forced them to go through many difficulties in life and challenges they must face, but this also has helped them to find their inner self and gain confidence to stand up for what they believe in (like when Greg finally rebelled against his fathers beliefs.) Whereas Sharlene who has been affected in a different way from her father. Although Greg decided to follow his own beliefs, the expectations of their father has only given Sharlene the idea that there is no other way out than agreeing to what he wants her to do. Overall, the relationships of others is one of the main reasons our identity is constantly changing.