Split at the Root

"And I, who believed my life was intended to be so interesting and meaningful, was connected to those dead by something-not just mortality but a taboo name, a hated identity" (Adrienne Rich, 228).

This essay really made me connect with Adrienne Rich; I not only feel that I understand her or her poem's better, but I also feel that I understand myself better. Interestingly enough, my dad is Jewish and my mom is Christian. In this sense, Rich and I have a lot in common. I was actually raised Christian, but the fact that I am connected to Judaism and that my ancestors were plagued by the horrors of the Holocaust are things that I have to deal with. It is easy to forget this part of myself because I live in a majorally Christian world. Rich brings up the question of identity. We explored identity with White Castle and Nietzsche, but Rich provides a new outlook on the question. Who am I? How does my Jewish heritage contribute to who I am? I don't feel the same sort of struggle that Rich does when asking myself this question. I am Christian by faith, part Jewish by blood. I think that identity is a multi-dimensional complex concept. I am part German, part Austrian, and part English. I celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas. Identity shouldn't be a single word or idea; in fact, it shouldn't be.