Topic > Human Awareness and Landscapes of Identity in Brooklyn

Deliberate manipulation of textual form allows composers to show how an individual's and social group's awareness of identity is produced and shaped by their prevailing landscape. Colm Toibin's coming-of-age novel Brooklyn (2009) exploits characterization and form to detail the experiences of Irish immigrant, Eilis Lacey, as she interacts with and navigates her primary landscapes of Enniscorthy and Brooklyn. Toibin deliberately imbues Eilis's characterization early in the novel with passivity and acquiescence to demonstrate the oppressive effect of her conservative Enniscorthy environment. Furthermore, Toibin imbues the novel with parallel settings between Enniscorthy and Brooklyn to highlight how the vast dichotomy in social identity arises from influences in the prevailing landscape. The authorial choices regarding characterization and form therefore allow Toibin to show the mutual relationship between landscape and awareness of the identity of both individuals and social groups. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Characterization is a key vehicle through which composers communicate the impacts of the prevailing landscape on an individual's self-awareness. Toibin uses characterization to frame Eilis as a deliberately passive observer, a product of her demeaning upbringing in Enniscorthy. Opening the novel with the image of Eilis “sitting at the window,” Toibin describes her as “noticing her sister” and “watching silently.” These verbs, “noticed” and “looked at,” carry acquiescent and passive connotations, reflecting the static familiarity of his prevailing Enniscorthy landscape. Initially, Eilis's identity centers on her Irish upbringing, as she imagines "having the same friends and neighbors, the same routines on the same streets." Anaphora of the “same” The repetition of the “same” allows Toibin to demonstrate that Eilis's identity is largely based on the repetitive familiarity of her lifestyle in Enniscorthy. The oppressive effects of his landscape have a strong impact on his personal growth, as he thinks that his preparations for going to America “would be better if they were for someone else, something the same age and size.” Toibin uses the conditional “if” to demonstrate that Eilis's imminent departure from Enniscorthy has brought about an awareness of the inextricable link between her hometown and her identity. (ß Develops this point) Toibin presents a change in characterization to further strengthen the link between place and identity while Eilis in Liverpool finds herself using “a tone that Rose might have used… a tone used by a woman in full possession of herself ”. He openly acknowledges that this was "not something he could have done" in Enniscorthy, with a high modality tone that highlights his awareness of the change in identity that accompanies his change in landscape. Therefore Toibin's manipulation of characterization demonstrates an awareness of identity that arises from Eilis's habitation and departure from Enniscorthy. A composer's deliberate manipulation of structure is a powerful tool for conveying how a self-perpetuating awareness of national identity arises from interactions between social groups and their communities. predominant landscape. Incorporating Parts I and II with parallel settings of Miss Kelly's and Bartocci's shop, Toibin distinguishes the insularity of Enniscorthy and the dynamism of Brooklyn to highlight the understanding of identity that comes from everyday interactions with and within a landscape . Acting on the basis of.