QUEST FOR IDENTITY IN ALICE WALKER’S “BEAUTY: WHEN THE OTHER DANCER IS THE SELF”, FAULKNER’S “BARN BURNING” DIDION’S “ON SELF-RESPECT” AND HAWTHORNE’S “THE YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN”

Abstract

This paper intends to explore the quest for identity that deals with not only a new identity but also an individual's personal and psychological growth and development. The quest for identity remains a focal point of American and African American literature. They have gone through many critical phases and successfully achieved their psychological development through searching for identity. This paper will investigate the quest for identity concerning Walker’s “Beauty: When the Other Dancer Is the Self”, Didion’s “On Self-Respect”, Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” and Hawthorne’s “The Young Goodman Brown”. Each writer talks about the vision that they have for their identity. They have different perspectives and experiences but all raise their voices for identity and self-discovery. Identity shows belonging to the self. It is a “state or fact of remaining the same one or ones, as under varying aspects or conditions” (Merriam-Webster). Identity is not just about self-perception but it is related to one’s place in the world and society. This paper will also analyze the importance of self-confidence and freedom of thought in the way of self-exploration. American and African American writers have practiced this notion and highlighted their quest through poetry, prose, novels, or short stories. While delving deep into African and African American literature the strife for identity seems to be the recurring theme whether there are literary works of Walker, Dunbar, Angelou, Didion, Faulkner, and Wharton.