Identity

In one of the links to the right, we are informed that in a modern society people have to

make significant choices throughout their lives, from everyday questions about clothing, appearance and leisure to high-impact decisions about relationships, beliefs and occupations. Whilst earlier societies with a social order based firmly in tradition would provide individuals with (more or less) clearly defined roles, in post-traditional societies we have to work out our roles for ourselves. As Giddens puts it:

That means for instance that I define my identity through the way I dress, through the way I behave, what kind of holiday I choose/buy in the summer, etc.

"Late modernity" is the description of a society that changes constantly, in which you have to define your identity in new ways.

1. What does the text in the link "modernity and self-identity" (to the right) say about these phenomena?
2. Find some examples of how the various arenas influence identity in literature and everyday life.

You may study a man struggling with the problems of identity construction in the story Strangers when We Meet by Hanif Kureishi (for a glossary click here)

Grammar Exercise:
1. Adjectives/Adverbs - read about them here Find adj./adv. in the text and fill out with correct ending
2. Style - read about it here. Characterise the Sandmonkey's style:

The majority of taxis in Egypt are cars that are at least 15 years old, which means that they were purchased at a time when seatbelts were considered to be a luxury item in your car, you know, along with power-steering, and air-conditioning. If you can get one of them to stop for you and get you where you want to go (most of them won't), you will experience the ride of a lifetime: The seats are uncomfortable_____, the space is small_____, prayers and CD’s hanging next to each other from the rearview mirror, the windows have no handles. Ohh, and the decoration, we can’t forget the decoration. Nothing like a blue____strobe light on top of your head, alongside the ice-cream truck tune that the driver set up so it starts every time he hits on the breaks to make your ride fun____. And the ride is fun____, you know, in an adrenaline-rush-oh-my-god-I-am gonna-die____ kind of way. The driving is – of course- horrible_____, and the driver will almost____ always_____ choose the longest____, most traffic packed route he could possibl____ take. It’s as if he wants you to suffer the discomfort of sitting in his car for the longest____time possibl_____.

But see, he doesn’t stop there. He starts to talk to you about the most useless_____ topics (“The Mossad is financing Ruby. She is part of a Zionist______ conspiracy to make our youth horny_____ and not pray!”), and you feel rude____ if you don’t converse back or at least nod your head. And if you just keep your mouth shut, the driver will start to punish you by turning the music/the Koran/the latest____ Amr Khaled tape louder_____. And if the Koran is playing you don’t dare to tell him to mute it or lower the volume, even if you have a headache, cause how is it possibl_____ that recitation of the Koran by some girly-voiced guy that is magnified and distorted horribl____ at the same time through the driver’s 1970’s speaker system contribute to your headache? Nonsense. But then the driver will start cursing the other drivers with the filthiest____ insults, while the Koran is playing, and you wonder why the guy has it on if he has such low____ respect to it. But alas, you just shake your head and let it slide, hoping the ride to be over soon.

And you think when the ride is final____ over____ and you get where you wanted that your troubles are over, but they are not. It’s time to pay him, and there is nothing to end this fun___ experience like playing Taxi-driver mind-games. They go a little something like this: you will ask him how much he wants (cause the meter is natural____ broken) and he will tell you with all sincerity that he will take whatever fare you give him. You will then proceed to give him an amount of money which he will of course deem to be insufficient____ and ask for at least an extra 5 pounds. And when you ask him why he didn’t just ask for that when you asked him how much the ride was, his response will be "Well, I didn’t want to say it just in case you were going to pay more"! Ohh, so you wanted to rob me? And if robbing is too harsh____ of a word, well, you wanted to con me? Ok, no problem. But explain to me this you immoral____ asshole: What the hell is that Koran/ Islamic____ teaching Tape playing all about then? Do you even listen to it? I am not sure_____, but I think it's pretty negative on robbing or conning people. I could be wrong_____, but I doubt it!

I hate Taxis in Egypt. Source: The Sandmonkey (Not all adj/adv forms have been marked)

Mossad: The Israeli secret intelligence service
Ruby: A daring Egyptian pop singer

President Bush is married to Laura Welch Bush, a former teacher and librarian, and they have 19-year-old twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna. The Bush family also includes their two dogs, Spot and Barney, and a cat, India. Mrs. Bush promotes the arts, and enjoyed showcasing (udstille) the works of Texas artists at the Governor's Mansion in Austin. She hopes to find ways to spotlight artistic works in Washington, D.C. Laura and George W. Bush were married in Midland in 1977. They are the proud parents of twin girls, Barbara and Jenna, who were born in 1981 and are named after their grandmothers. (The White House Presentation of the Bush Family. www.Whitehouse.gov)

"Home is important. It's important to have a home."—Crawford, Texas, Feb. 18, 2001

"It's good to see so many friends here in the Rose Garden. This is our first event in this beautiful spot, and it's appropriate we talk about policy that will affect people's lives in a positive way in such a beautiful, beautiful part of our national—really, our national park system, my guess is you would want to call it."—Washington, D.C., Feb. 8, 2001

"We're concerned about AIDS inside our White House—make no mistake about it."—Washington, D.C., Feb. 7, 2001