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Jenny Tran

J. Drinkwater

ENG3UV-04

23 July 2021

Sense of Identity vs. Prejudiced Society:

An Annotated Bibliography

Dubus, Andre. “The Fat Girl.” Adultery & Other Choices, David. R. Godine, 1977, pp.

158-166. 

Dubus’ short story suggests that identity is not determined by self-

perception alone. Societal expectations influence how an individual identifies.

Due to society’s thin-body ideal, the protagonist (“The Fat Girl”) faces fatphobia.

She is taught from a young age that her identity is intrinsically tied to her weight

and that her identity as a fat person is something to be ashamed of. This

discrimination pressures the protagonist to dissociate from her fatness and

ultimately sacrifice her sense of self. This story is unique; despite being about

Louise’s relationship with her weight, it is told from the third-person perspective.

The narrative voice and content of the story effectively establish that the

discriminatory perception of others makes it difficult for an individual to accept

their identity. 

Gladwell, Malcolm. “Carlos Doesn't Remember.” Revisionist History, 21 Sept. 2020,

www.pushkin.fm/episode/carlos-doesnt-remember/. 
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This podcast questions the belief that identity can be shaped at will. This

discussion is achieved by analyzing the abundance of poor, high-achieving

students in America. Although they are equally, if not more intelligent than their

wealthy peers, many low-income students have much more difficulty capitalizing

off their abilities and potential due to their oppressive circumstances. They cannot

change their identities as poor students because the American schooling system

aids the wealthy and disregards the poverty-stricken; their identities constrain

them. Significantly, key ideas examined in this podcast are based on research

conducted by Ivy League alumni economists, making this text notably more

reliable and objective than the other sources. Gladwell’s podcast factually

contributes another idea to the theme of identity, which is that the oppressive

systems set by society adversely affect and impede the identities of marginalized

individuals. 

Hosseini, Khaled. A Thousand Splendid Suns. New York: Riverhead Books, 2007. 

The overarching idea in Hosseini’s fictional novel is that an individual can

liberate themselves from their preconceived societal identities. The author

demonstrates this concept by exploring how women are viewed in Afghanistan:

objects subjugated by men. Despite this oppression, the female protagonists are

resilient. With comradery and perseverance, they forge identities unique to

themselves. Like the other sources, this novel tells deeply personal experiences

that support the established concept that societal standards influence one’s self-

identity. In this regard, this text does not contribute new ideas to the theme of
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identity. This novel also contradicts previous ideas developed, conveying how

marginalized individuals can overcome their oppressed identities with resolve. 

Koul, Scaachi. “Can TV Make Us Not Hate Ourselves?” BuzzFeed, BuzzFeed, 15 Feb.

2021, www.buzzfeed.com/scaachikoul/can-tv-make-us-not-hate-ourselves. 

In this personal essay, Koul demonstrates how underrepresentation of

minorities in the media can warp an individual's self-perception. The essayist uses

her experience as a Brown person living in a society that caters to White people to

convey her opinions about identity. Growing up, Koul did not see anybody of her

ethnicity in the media. This lack of exposure resulted in her not knowing who to

base her identity on and deliberating if her identity was acceptable altogether.

Like the other sources, Koul’s essay discusses the negative impact society has on

the identity of an individual. Conversely, this essay is useful because it covers a

unique aspect of identity: representation. Limited exposure of minority groups in

the media not only dictates how individuals of those groups identify themselves,

but how the stereotypes media perpetuates alter the way society perceives them.  

Rain, Michael. “What It's like to Be the Child of Immigrants.” TED, 12 June 2018,

www.ted.com/talks/michael_rain_what_it_s_like_to_be_the_child_of_immigrants

#t-6208. 

Unlike the other sources, Rain’s TED Talk examines identity from a split

perspective. The presenter shares his experience as a first-generation Ghanaian

immigrant to establish his view on identity. He tells a story from his youth,
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explaining how he was identified as "too African" by his White classmates. Later,

he shares that he was perceived as “too American” by his Black peers, and as a

result, did not know how to identify himself. Ultimately, he concludes that he is

Ghanaian-American. Like Koul and Hosseini, Rain tells personal stories to

engage the audience and effectively convey how the perception of others

influences the identity of an individual. However, the text discusses identity from

a new perspective. To Rain, identity is uncategorical. The identity of an individual

is unique to themselves and does not need to fit into categories created by

society’s biased and often prejudiced perceptions of others.