Essay On Identity In Paradise Of Lies By Chin And Intermission

In both Paradise of Lies by Chin and Intermission by Akillian, both authors use identity, memory, and sensory responses as their ways to escape their own personal struggles. Each element provides the reader with an emotionally charged feeling. Without identity, memory, and sensory response both authors wouldn’t be able to produce the same message of being able to overcome difficult situations that they are able to. Akillian and Chin both face life’s challenges head on and find ways to conquer life’s insecurities.

In both stories Chin and Akillian struggled with finding their own personal identity. Identity can be defined as set of characteristics by which a thing is definitively recognizable. In Paradise of Lies Chin is constantly lying about her identity. From the start of the story we learn about her up bringing and how she was constantly seeking attention because of her abandonment. Chin would lie about things she wanted but
Sensory response can be described as how we use our five senses to further the story. Chin’s use of portraying taste and smell really enhance her writing. When Chin talks about Pringles, Apples, and Chameleon Tea, the reader is able to indirectly taste what she is talking about. Next, when Chin states “The squalor in which I lived in Paradise with my great-aunt and eight other people contrasted sharply with the grandeur of the homes I visited on the other side of town.” (Chin, 1) we can smell the distinct raunchy smell that Chine grew up in. Akillian also does a good job in using sensory responses to enhance her story. Two sensory responses that stick out the most are taste and touch. Akillian enhances her story when she talks about Sarah drinking wine and smoking cigarettes. “ I sit and smoke. And Drink. And thing of her.” (Akillian, 66) play to your senses of smell and touch by letting you imagine the smell of wine and the grittiness of cigarette