“Finding yourself” is often a task undertaken by kids in middle school, high school, and even college. It is an essential part of growing up because everybody needs to find that niche where they feel as though they belong, and therefore feel extremely comfortable with themself. Many people believe many different things when it comes to evaluating someone’s true identity, which is a function of the fact that everybody is different and has different ideals. Some people think that factors such as relationships and culture are the determinants of someone’s personal identity.
In my opinion, someone’s thoughts and actions are what shape their identity. There’s that famous quote about character that goes a little something like, “character is doing the right thing when nobody is looking”. I believe this quote carries some weight and truth along with it. A person shouldn’t always be defined by what other people see them doing, because we all know that impressions can be inaccurate. What somebody does when nobody is looking truly determines their personal identity because they are free to act as they would without being affected by any outside forces. Thoughts follow the same suit. Thoughts are basically actions that just aren’t acted out physically. This means that someone could be thinking about doing something that shows good character, but they may not follow through and act out the thought. Just because somebody may never act out their thoughts, does not mean that they don’t have good character, just that they may be too shy to display their thoughts.
Although thoughts and actions are the true measure of someone’s personal identity, I believe that culture helps to shape these identities. A culture’s values truly do shape peoples’ personalities because they ultimately make people more conscious of themselves and what they do. Thoughts and actions are still the best indicators, however, because they transcend cultures and geography. Someone from Russia can have the same amount of character as someone for Brazil for example, even though they may be viewed differently by a third party.
This applies to Raju in The Guide, because of the way he is judged by the people of Malgudi and how he is judged by the people in the town where he is swami. It is almost a bit ironic because physically, Raju is the same man that he has always been, even if he has changed mentally and emotionally. The people of Malgudi now only have negative feelings for Raju because of what he has done. He let his father’s business fall apart, lost all his money, and he chose a dancer named Rosie over his own mother. However, the people in the town where Raju is swami think nothing but endearing thoughts of Raju; they even compare him to Gandhi. This goes to show that somebody’s true identity remains the same, even when the public perception of that identity may change. True, Raju is a better man after his experience as a swami, but at the root of it all, he is still Raju, the man who gave up everything for a dancer named Rosie.
At the heart of things, somebody’s personal identity usually doesn’t change even though things around them will always be changing. The only thing that can change is how other people perceive your personal identity. Your personal identity is what makes you unique from everybody else, which is why it must remain untainted. I found an anonymous quote online that kind of talks about how your personal identity gives you a purpose, or direction in life. The quote says, “Committing yourself is a way of finding out who you are. A man finds his identity by identifying.” To me this means that once you truly commit to something, you will be building on your personal identity because you will now have purpose. This is similar to when Raju basically committed himself to Rosie. He gained a purpose in life, and thus modified his personal identity. So the word of advice would be to go out and find your personal identity and try to give your life some purpose.
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