Abstract
This paper examines Shakespeare's villain Iago in "Othello". The paper portrays Iago's different persona which are projected so skillfully, the central ones being of the villain and the arch-hypocrite. The paper illustrates the apparent identity crisis as Iago, who is supposedly the arch-villain of the play, spends a great deal of his time masquerading around as the honest, truthful, helping friend. The writer points out that Iago constructs his identity and his actions around the way others see him, which ultimately reveals his own insecurity about both his masculinity, and more importantly, his identity.

From the Paper
"Shakespeare's main character, Othello, is the first to announce Iago's honesty, "my Ancient./A man he is of honesty and trust" (1.3. 281-82). Considering the fact that Othello and Iago have served together in various military campaigns, it tends to put "honesty" into the context of the "soldier persona." That is, Iago's reputation for truthfulness relies heavily on his blunt speaking as a soldier, moreover, that sort of tough realism that spills over into cynicism. In favor of this military complex creating Iago's "honesty," Michael Cassio points out, "He speaks home, madam; you may relish him more in the soldier than in the scholar" (2.1. 162-163). Cassio is implying that Iago's very mannerisms stem from his militaristic nature, not his scholarly views. He is not alone with this judgment, many of the other characters hold the same convictions against Iago. Montano demands of Iago to tell the truth in his report of Cassio's drunken behavior to Othello, warning that if "Thou dost deliver more or less than truth,/thou art no soldier" (2.3. 213-14). Iago himself uses these expectations to his own benefit, for when Othello forewarns that he will damn him if he is lying, Iago offers to resign his post, vaguely protesting: God buy you: take mine office. O wretched fool, That lovist to make thine honesty a vice! O monsterous world! Take note, take note, O world! To be direct and honest is not safe. (3.3. 373-76) Here, Iago insists that it is his vary nature to be honest, and that such exploitations of his so called "soldier persona," with its license both to speak bluntly and unmask underhanded dealings, is in fact an attack on his very values and virtues."

Tags:betrayal, desdemona, envy, honest, jealousy, murder, psychopath, sociopath, villain, cassio

Abstract
In this article, the writer discusses that both the novel "Housekeeping" by Marilynn Robinson and the play "Blues for Mister Charlie" by James Baldwin deal with coming of age identity, conflicts amongst marginalized peoples and long-simmering community conflicts that come to a boil after the homecoming of one of the protagonists. The writer describes how Robinson's text is framed around the coming of age of young women growing up in rural Idaho in the mid-1900s. The girls experience a crisis of feminine identity after they are deprived of their mother, who commits suicide at the beginning of the book. The writer also looks at "Blues for Mister Charlie", that deals with the Black experience of isolation in America. The play centers on the difficulty of young Black people, men and women, who must force their lives and souls to conform to the norms of the White 'Mister Charlie.'

From the Paper
"For Black women, however, Baldwin has slightly less concern in terms of how the norms of their identities are formulated, even though women have a powerful stage presence over the course of the play. Thus Baldwin tends to reduce the importance of the Black female experience of marginalization in America for the Black community as a whole. It is how Black men formulate their new identities within oppressive structures that the author claims as his play's main concern. Continually, "Blues for Mister Charlie" stresses the commonality of all Black oppression and the investiture Black men and women have in creating a positive Black masculine ideal.
The play was written in response to the Emmett Till lynching of real life, a lynching spawned by a Northern Black youngster whistling at a White Southern women. Finding a way to create Black male sexuality in a way that is empowering, and will not bring the wrath of society down upon its head is Baldwin's concern."

Tags:black, marginalization, racist, oppressive

Abstract
The paper states that in psychology, the term 'identity crisis' refers to conflict that a human being encounters when he goes through Erik Erickson's eight developmental states of life. The paper notes that according to Erickson, "the identity is a subjective sense as well as an observable quality of personal sameness and continuity..." . The paper confirms that to develop an identity one needs to go through eight stages of development, which are discussed in detail in this paper.

From the Paper
"Erickson's stages of psychosocial development span an individual's entire lifetime. Between each stage one experiences a conflict, the successful resolution of which results in such favorable outcomes and trust over mistrust. It is this period of conflict that causes the identity crisis.The stage most relevant to adolescents is stage five, which last from age twelve to age eighteen. It is during this stage that the most significant changes occur as, according to Erickson, it is during the adolescence stage that one develops their identity. Thus, in developing an identity, one often experiences confusion and difficulty with peer relations and establishing their role among others."

Tags:social, philosophical, religious, stage, of, development, unique, personalities

Abstract
This paper follows the story of Ichiro in "The No-No Boy" who struggles to come to terms with himself and resolve the crisis of feeling like he does not belong in the environment in which he lives. The writer defines what an identity crisis is according to Erikson. This essay concludes that Ichiro?s identity crises is bought on by circumstance and environment.

From the paper:

?This passage shows us just how badly Ichiro feels about himself and what he has done. The last sentence is particularly powerful and shows us the hopelessness that Ichiro is feeling. It shows us that while he is free physically, he does not feel free. He is trapped by his own struggle. Ichiro?s self-hatred is a result of him questioning who he is and what his place in the world is. He has been in prison for deciding to honour the Japanese, but in the reality of his environment he is American.?

Tags:self-doubt, adolescence, circumstance, environment, civil, rights, hopelessness, victim, resolution

Abstract
This paper deals with Hamlet's identity crisis and shows how this crisis, in part, drives the plot. It explains that this is what ultimately makes Hamlet a tragedy because Hamlet starts off with the noble goal of avenging his father's murder, but he ends up losing everything he has, including his identity.

From the Paper
"The concept of "success" is everywhere in this scene. Shakespeare plays around with the contrast between Hamlet and Fortinbras throughout the play. Immediately after the scene with Laertes, Fortinbras makes his first entrance. His actions contrast sharply with those of Hamlet in that Fortinbras is immediately successful in accomplishing that which he desires whereas Hamlet takes a long time to essentially fail in his initial goal. Shakespeare introduces Fortinbras in this scene to add to the "tragedy" of it all. Shakespeare also uses Fortinbras strength and successfulness to highlight Hamlet's failure. Had Hamlet refused to fight Laertes, Shakespeare would have no avenue to play out the tragedy of Hamlet. This is not to say, however, that Shakespeare arbitrarily chose for Hamlet to fight Laertes. Rather, Shakespeare uses Laertes offer for a fight to bring to light all of Hamlet's problems."

Tags:search, self, murder, father

Abstract
This paper contends that Hamlet, as the protagonist in Shakespeare's work by the same name, did not know himself, and in this farce of identity commits acts of treason, of disloyalty and the denouement, the blood bath at the end of Shakespeare play and proves to be a lessening of personal identity. The paper discusses how Hamlet's own identity is lost to the rising delusions of his father's ghost, and the plot thickening of betrayal which Hamlet himself plays a hand and is dealt a hand.

From the Paper
"The scene when Hamlet meets his father's supposed ghost is one in which fate is mentioned. Any device used in literature to make of the character a tool for fate is, in its entirety, using fate as a scapegoat for actions. In fate is found the lessening of a man. His actions are not controlled by his own will but instead are parlayed into the compartments of the hierarchy of gods, of wishes and destiny: A man knows himself through the choice and follow through of his own actions. Hamlet does choose revenge but in this he is guided and pushed by his father's ghost. As Horatio contends, after Hamlet's departure to bear witness to his father's ghosts, "He waxes desperate with imagination" (Act One, Scene Four, line 87). In this simple phrase is found the rudimentary beginnings of Hamlet's downfall. In Hamlet's imagination there is a world of difference between the reality of the play and what the reader is led to believe through Hamlet's soliloquies. "

Tags:ghost, treason, Ophelia

Abstract
In this article, the writer provides an analysis of Gail Godwin's short story "Sorrowful Woman." The writer maintains that the nameless female protagonist dies because she cannot bear the identity crisis she is thrown into when she discovers she can no longer withstand the roles of wife and mother.

From the Paper
"One winter evening the female protagonist of Gail Godwin's short story 'Sorrowful Woman' looks at her son and husband and realizes The sight of them made her so sad and sick she did not want to see them ever again. The wife and mother is tired of being a wife and mother though she has an understanding husband and an obedient child In a series of events that include hiding from and hitting the child the woman withdraws from her family ..."

Tags:family, domesticity, protagonist, norms, convention, social construction, values, Gail Godwin

Abstract
Sociology refers to the scientific study of society, while psychology refers to the study of individuals. However, psychology can be aptly described as the study of the mind. Conventionally, "identity" was a personal quality. Erik Erikson, personality psychologist, discovered the term 'identity crisis' in the framework of personal human development when he talked about the ontological suspicions facing the adolescent self. This term, however, got shifted to sociology by taking into account the personal characteristics of groups. This paper explores the concept of identity with regard to youth, human behavior and work place behaviors.

Paper Outline:
Social and Psychological Concept of Identity
Identity in Relation to Youth
Identity in Relation to Human Behavior
Identity in Relation to Human Behavior in the World of Work
Conclusion
References

From the Paper
"Every adolescent tries to find his identity. Adolescence is a psychological phase as well as a socio-cultural phenomenon. Three theorists focus on the identity of youth. Erikson, through the ego-psychological theory, deals with youth as a stage of identity crisis. Marcia relates identity with the obligations of later adolescence: work, occupation, political orientation and he differentiate diverse kinds of types or typologies of adolescents. Erich Fromm concentrates on the socialization of an individual from the viewpoint of his or her struggle for independence; according to him, each individual tries to generate his own identity."

Tags:Hume, adolescence, culture, motivation, condemnation

Abstract
This paper discusses how Puerto Rico never had an opportunity to establish a true political identity because of the many powers that surrounded its development. The paper relates that while Puerto Ricans today view themselves as an independent political force, they cannot create their own unique political identity because they are so closely tied to the United States. The paper goes on to show how U.S. interest within Puerto Rico involves almost every facet of its economic, political and cultural vision. The paper predicts that Puerto Rico's political future is mired in both political subterfuge and a constant identity crisis.

From the Paper
"Puerto Rico's political identity is extremely confusing and hard to explain because of its relative subjugation to many different cultural and political forces in the past two hundred years. Puerto Rico has nominal independence in the current state but does not mean however that it has independence in truth. The long domination of both Spanish and American governance has shaped its political history and thus makes it irrevocably linked with the United States. In order to develop an understanding of Puerto Rican political identity and their relationship to the United States a careful study of Puerto Rico's history is the first step."

Tags:Spain, America, governance, economy, culture

Abstract
This essay looks at the central character Solomon Perel in "Europa Europa" who has to hide his Jewish identity from the Nazi party and the identity conflict he needs to come to terms with.

From the Paper
"Solly claims that his earliest memory is that of his ritualistic circumcision as an infant. Although it makes sense chronologically to place this scene at the beginning of the film, the fact that it is indeed the first major scene is an interesting one. At first, it does not seem as if Solly's circumcision seems to make sense in conjunction with the rest of the autobiographical story, as the main focus of the film is on his adolescent years during the reign of the Nazi party in Germany and throughout Europe. However, it is this scene that connects the entire film, for he cannot escape this physical fact that is a defining symbol of his Jewish culture and beliefs. Also, it is this major event in Solly's life that indeed haunts him throughout his teen years while struggling to survive. Because his circumcision is so deeply instilled as a pivotal part of his overall identity, it is increasingly difficult to escape from it. The sheer fact that Solly's circumcision as an infant is a crucial part of his early memories demonstrates how it affects his entire life. If it were not for the fact that he was circumcised, then perhaps he would not have felt so anxious about hiding his entire identity. In fact, it is this physical characteristic which would give away his entire charade completely, for during this time period, the only European men who had been circumcised were Jewish. Although it seems ironic that Solly's earliest memory is that of his circumcision, this event is truly a defining moment in his life, especially when dealing with his cultural identity."

Tags:humanities, solly, Nazi, Jew