Literary notes about identity (AI summary)
The term “identity” in literature carries a spectrum of meanings—from the concrete to the philosophical. Sometimes it functions as a marker for factual recognition, as when a public notice identifies a deceased individual [1] or when a character must verify their credentials in person [2]. In other contexts, it becomes a vehicle for exploring the self, embodying the struggle to preserve one's unique sense of being amid turbulence [3] and sparking debates on the continuity of personal existence [4]. Writers also use the concept to question the nature of unity and difference, blurring the lines between an external label and an internal experience. This duality not only underscores narrative tension but also invites readers to reconsider the relationship between individuality and the broader social or metaphysical order.
- Already in the afternoon he passed posters announcing the identity of the dead man, and bought the papers to see what they said.
— from The Forsyte Saga, Volume I. by John Galsworthy - " "But he must go to the consul's in person, so as to establish his identity.
— from Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne - I must hold on to that, to preserve a sense of my identity.
— from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass - Thus the controversy concerning identity is not merely a dispute of words.
— from A Treatise of Human Nature by David Hume
