My global issue is how external expectations can warp an individual’s perception on their

identity. I will be analyzing There, There by Tommy Orange, a novel first published in English,

and The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante, a novel first published in Italian. Through the

characters of Tony Loneman and Giovanna, I will analyze how external expectations in the

literary work have impacted these characters’ senses of identity.

Opening with There, There by Tommy Orange, we are able to identify in protagonist Tony

Loneman two recurring motifs and sources of external expectation that have warped his

perception on identity; expectations having to do with his fetal alcohol syndrome (which he

refers to as his “Drome”), and expectations having to do with his Native American heritage.

Using my excerpt, I will analyze how Tony’s “Drome” is used as a metaphor to reflect how

Native American and their identities are subject to prejudices in contemporary society; being

demonized and viewed as intellectually lesser, reflecting how societal expectations affect Tony’s

self-image.

One way his “Drome” manifests is in facial deformities, which, when combined with his large

frame creates an intimidating aura. This is highlighted in lines 1-6 of my chosen extract, wherein

Tony deliberates about his experiences with his appearance. Specifically, in lines 4-6 Tony says

how his drome has “fucked with [him] since the day [he] found it there on the TV, staring back at

[him] like a fucking villain.” The authorial choice in using simile to liken Tony’s reflection to a

villain mirrors how Native Americans are viewed in contemporary society, and how that

prejudice impacts his self-image (hence the “looking at his reflection and seeing a villain”).

Furthermore, in lines 35-36 of my extract, Tony says “They look at me like I already did some
shit, so I might as well do the shit they’re looking at me like that for.” This further shows how

Tony allows others’ perceptions of him to affect his actions, which he insinuates to be of harmful

nature, ultimately warping his sense of identity to one that aligns with society’s expectation that

he is a miscreant and tying into my global issue.

Another way Tony’s “Drome” has manifested is in his cognitive impairment. In lines 12-14,

Tony recollects feeling stupid due to his intelligence test scores; “They told me I’m stupid. Not

like that, they didn’t say that, but I basically failed the intelligence test. The lowest percentile.

The bottom rung.” The use of staccato when recalling his feelings of stupidity provides an

emphatic effect for his feelings, indicating how much his psyche was impacted by those results.

The staccato, however, is juxtaposed by the run-on sentences used lines 17-23, where his

counselor reassures him of his intelligence in ways not quantifiable by the test. The utilization of

run-on sentences symbolizes the freedom felt by Tony after he feels like he has the capacity for

intelligence, directly juxtaposing the restriction he had previously indicated. The use of

juxtaposition in this section creates contrast to highlight the impact of external expectations,

directly tying in to my global issue. This also reflects how Native Americans are unfairly

discriminated against and viewed as having lesser intelligence, which impacts how Tony views

himself and connects back to my global issue.

Analyzing the text as a whole, I will explore how cultural attitudes toward Native Americans are

characterized in Tony Loneman, and how this impacts his identity.

One recurring motif throughout the book is the dealing and consumption of narcotics and alcohol

substances. Tony Loneman recalls how he inadvertently started selling drugs when a couple of

white boys came up to him asking for cocaine; “I could tell that they were scared of being there,
in that neighborhood, from the way they kept their heads on a swivel, but they weren’t afraid of

me. It was like they thought I wasn’t gonna do some shit because of how I look. Like I’m too

slow to do some shit.” The scene created here uses metaphor and setting to parallel the drug trade

made between the white boys and Tony, to how the colonizers felt they could exploit the Natives

after entering Native land. Furthermore, Tony intuits that they look down on him, paralleling the

inferiority label slapped on the Natives by colonizers.Tony’s conformation to the white

preconceptions of him by starting to deal drugs ties back into what he had said in my extract,

further supporting the idea that societal expectations can affect one’s perception of self.

We see another instance of an individual’s self-image being affected by external expectations in

Giovanna from The Lying Life of Adults. In the text, much of Giovanna’s identity revolves

around others’ perceptions of her, with great importance placed on beauty and the opinions of

those intimately related to her.

Using my excerpt, I will analyze how the use of descriptive imagery by Giovanna when

describing her appearance shows the extent to which her perception of self is impact by others

A recurring theme throughout the literary work is Giovanna’s overemphasis on beauty standards.

After being compared to her Aunt Vittoria, a person whose appearance Giovanna knows little

about, yet one who her parents are filled with contempt for, thus thrusting her into insecurity

about her appearance. In lines 9-28, Giovanna gripes about every perceivable flaw enlightened to

her by her slip into insecurity. Through the presence of a long list and descriptive imagery we

can see how dramatically her father’s words had affected her perception of her beauty. Simile

and hyperbole are also used in abundance to convey how harshly she critiques herself, which is

best shown on lines 24-25; “the long neck that seemed as if it might break like the filament of a
spider web”. This adeptly shows the extent to which one sentence uttered by her father could

impact her self-image, connecting back to the global issue.

A core theme of the literary work is the reinvention of oneself during adolescence to become

more appealing. Through the analysis of the whole text through the lens of this theme, I will

explain how Giovanna’s identity formation is impacted by her desire to appeal to others and to

match society’s standards and expectations.

Giovanna appeals to others through her storytelling to Angela and Ida, where Giovanna reveals

about her Aunt Vittoria and embellishes to make it appear more interesting. Through her

fabrication of reality, Giovanna shows her desire to appeal to others. Ferrante’s use of recurring

motifs of beauty of honesty and the emphasis placed on them by her family illustrates the

significance of external expectations in that she alters her stories, her identity even to appeal to

Angela and Ida.

The global issue matters especially in today’s society, where social media has increased the

importance we place on other’s opinions, and the quantity of people that affect you. Elena

Ferrante and Tommy Orange explore this issue through figurative devices such as metaphor and

symbolism, and through core themes exploring coming-of-age and identity formation,

exemplifying how an individual is affected by external expectations.