In the short story “The Day They Burned The Books” by Jean Rhys, the author explores the idea of what it is that shapes our identity. Throughout the story the two characters struggle with the identity of their parents versus the identity of their surroundings. Both Eddie and the unnamed female narrator are of english dissent, however they are growing up in the Caribbean which is a british colony. We see through the book both characters trying to find a place in society that will accept their whole identity. Eddie is a perfect example of someone who does not really know his own identity because he has only ever been forced into one. His father forced an English identity onto him without any thought. Even though he is part caribbean his father is determined to wipe out any chance of Eddie being able to have a native identity. After the death of his father Eddie’s mother tried to do the same in reverse and wipe out any chance of Eddie having an English identity rather than a native one. What ended up happening is Eddie and the narrator both felt was stuck between two identities neither of which really felt that they belonged to. They did not feel like they could accept a native identity since all the native children had bullied them for being too English. Likewise, when they try to interact with the other English children they are excluded because they are seen as being too native. This is a story that can be related to by the author as she too came from parents who were both white while she grew up in The West Indies. Growing up she faced the same problem of identity that the narrator and Eddie faced of not feeling like they fit into either the identity of her parents nor the identity of her surroundings. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-Rhys
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