Individual Identity In Sophocles 'Forgiven'

Identity is our self-awareness and placement in the world. It is who we are as a person, and how we came to be that way. Identity can be broken into two parts, controllable and uncontrollable. People can identify themselves into controllable categories such as choices or as simple as their actions. We discover who we are through our actions and identify ourselves accordingly. Oedipus discovers himself through his actions of killing his father and marrying his mother. Therefore, he identifies himself as a horrible person and gouges his eyes out became of his shame (Sophocles 76).
We can better understand who we are by observing the behavior of people around us. In order to recognize who you are and your identity, you must compare yourself
Since birth, our parents influence us. Oedipus is greatly affect by his parents, they are the reason he has his prophecy. This connects directly to his personality; his actions are results of his prophecy, which in his case is who he is. As we mature, we begin to make our own decisions that affect our individual identity. Logically, if you make good decisions you will have a good life, if you make poor decisions, you will have to deal with the consequences of those choices. Regardless which choice you chose, the outcome becomes a part of your identity. In the article, Forgiven by Paul Tullis, Conor McBride, kills his girlfriend and has to deal with the consequences by going to prison. I think the choice Conor made affects his identity. He discovers himself when he explains how he killed his girlfriend. As he is telling the story, he realizes what kind of person he is and what he is capable of doing. Conor states “I didn’t remember deciding to pull the trigger”, I think Conor subconsciously wanted to pull the trigger (Tullis 8). The subconscious mind is a part of Conor, and he still made that choice. As a result, I believe Conor’s identity, whether Ann’s parents want to accept it or not, is a murderer. He may be trying to fix his mistakes, but that does not erase who he is and what he