Henry IV Part I

Identity in this play is defined by where one comes from and ultimately where one ends up. Prince Hal started out as an individual who wasn’t fulfilling his potential. In the end in the final battle he rises to fulfill his calling. He turns out to be an amazing person. One’s identity isn’t starting out perfect and staying that way it is the growth that make one who they are. Unlike Prince Hal, Hotspur starts out as being the perfect “son” and then slowly fades to be a poor leader for the rebels. His digression in contrast with Prince Hal progression shows the importance that change in a person’s character makes on his identity.

Crime and Punishment

In Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky shows that a person’s identity is defined by himself. One’s identity is not defined by society and who society thinks they are, but by who the person says he is. Raskolnikov doesn’t see his crime as being a crime. Society does see that he committed a crime and so Raskolnikov confesses because he failed to prove his theory and reason for committing the crime. He needed to make peace with himself and with society.  He still seems to hold himself as a great person despite what he did. Sonia is also the same way she doesn’t let society give her an identity. She knows that what she is doing is sacrificing herself for the better of her family and that she is not a sinner, because of the things she must summit herself to do. Identity like all things comes down to how one perceives it. If one says they are who they are and can justify it then they are who they are.