Identity Categories and Identity Markers

2. Identity Categories and Identity Markers

According to Steph Lawler, a reader in Sociology at Newcastle University, the study of identity is based on the realization that the society consists of individuals with paradoxical combination of sameness and difference Lawler 10. A person is not only identical with herself being the same being from birth to death, but also identical with others. As human beings, individuals share common identities in categories, such as ‘women’, ‘men’, ‘British’, ‘American’, ‘white’, ‘black’, etc. These categories are social categories and are formed in the basis of social divisions. In this study, these categories are used to see the identity layers in Ammu’s characterization. In her book, Lawler argues that seeing a person in these categories reduces the essence of identity itself. Lawler believes that seeing a person’s identity, one must see identity as a work in progress rather than a finished product Lawler 10. However, in seeing a character in a novel whose characterization has been a finished product, such categorization is practical. Moreover, these categories can help see the restriction Ammu has to face as the consequence of having those identity categories. Ammu’s identity categories that are put into focus in this thesis are her gender, her religion, and her class. This thesis focuses on her being a woman especially as a daughter, a divorcee, and a single mother, a Syrian Christian, and a member of a respected high caste family in 1960s Keralla, India. Being born into a certain identity category, one is expected to act in accordance to the markers of the categories. Identity markers; language, behavior, choice of dress, and actions are controlled by a set of regulation due to the ideals of each categories. For example, if a person is born female, she is expected to act lady- like, speak polite language, and dress prettily. In this case, Ammu’s choices of identity markers somehow deviate from the ideals of her categories. For example, her act of having a love affair with Velutha is considered an extreme violation of these ideal codes. In addition to that, she has gone through an identity change due to the change of relationship status. Her choice to divorce her husband and back to her parents’ house leads the society to stigmatize her. Her action violates the codes of her social class, religion, and gender regulation. In this case, she is seen to transgress the restrictions that come along with her identity.

C. Research Questions