Last but not least, Kay’s poem Old Tongue shows the impact of relocation onidentity and expression.

Quite often, people reach the painful realization that they exist in multiple identities,
especially due to the burden of societal norms and expectations. Sam Shepard’s True West is
about two brothers, Lee and Austin, in a fraternal battle to show the phenomenon of dual
nature in people. When Lee, a petty thief, turns up at their mother’s house, he find his
younger brother Austin who is a devoted son and husband watching over the house as their
mother takes a trip to Alaska. The two bothers have distinct identities: one Lee is impulsive
and wild, while Austin is responsible and grounded. Given their different characters, the two
brothers soon start arguing about trivial things. They soon switch roles in the course of
representation; however, the undertones of antagonism are evident as they go on about the
exchange. Similar themes of identity and place are portrayed in Charlotte Brontë Jane Eyre,
whereby the realistic portrayal a woman’s inner struggles with social expectations and her
natural desires. The protagonist, Jane, is unconventional and independent woman who
overcomes challenges, especially the roles that society has imposed on women during the
Victorian era. Last but not least, Kay’s poem Old Tongue shows the impact of relocation on
identity and expression. After several years since relocating from Scotland, the persona
realizes she has lost her Scottish ascent and wished she could get it back. These literary texts
portray the meaning of identity to characters and the relationship between place and
multiplicity in identity.
In True West, the author integrates two version of masculinity represented by each
brother, and begs the topic of what really is living a true life. In this case, Lee still believes in
connections to the past and exudes a connection with the genuine essence of myth. However,
Austin believes that this notion is futile and delusive and thus uphold the identity and heroism
of the industrialized West. He values comfort, favors suburban living and sophistication. As
they continue pretending to be each other, Austin, at first, remains distant but his self-control
is eventually eroded by Lee, and this ends up in a physical confrontation. By desiring to live a
life in the dessert, Lee knows about their father more than Austin. Austin discovers that their
father had lost all teeth, and this scene shows how his choice of life has granted him an
identify far from his family.
Jane Eyre searches for a sense of belonging and of being valued. As an orphan, Jane is
in a quest to find love, and believes that in that love she would find her true self. In Chapter
8, Jane muses to Helen that “to gain some real affection from you, or Miss Temple, or any
other whom I truly love, I would willingly submit to have the bone of my arm broken, or to
let a bull toss me, or to stand behind a kicking horse, and let it dash its hoof at my chest.”
However, she soon learns that her pursuit for identity means sacrificing her principles and
harming herself, to which she eventually denies and sets out on her own journey.
Moreover, Kay’s “Old Tongue” showcases how an individual can embark on a quest
for recognition and belonging, against all odds. For instance, people in her community refuse
to acknowledge her Scottish identity that she values intrinsically, just because she is black.
She realizes that she has lost something more than just an accent or her home; she loses her

sense of self: “Out in the English soil, my old words buried themselves. It made mu mother’s
blood boil.” By uttering these words, the personal is distraught on her loss of her Scottish
accent and her mother’s origin. This displacement in identity is representative of the power of
place, culture, and time on an individual’s sense of belonging.
The three literary texts take the reader through a journey of seeking identity,
recognition, and sense of belonging. While Austin and Lee live on opposing principles, they
eventually discover that there is no “meter” to actually measure the value of each other’s
lives, and duality is at the core of every man in any time and place. An individual might be
brought up a certain way, but adopt another way of life that conforms to norms and
expectations, or in essence, modernity. In Old Tongue, the persona wonders how she can get
her Scottish identity back. Although it would be impossible, she ends up living in split
identities and desiring a sense of belonging to which she might never really achieve unless
she learns to define her “self” without implications of culture or place. Moreover, Jane’s
journey to self-love and value is representative of the inner conflict that is so common in
young orphans who must go through a grueling journey only to discover