<p>I know this essay isn't great, so I'd really like some tips and advice on how to improve. I also find that I waste the most time starting out the essay and lose steam at the end so any tips to prevent this? I'm unsure about which verb tense to use for the essay. Thank you.</p>
<p>PROMPT: Is identity something people are born with or given, or is it something people create for themselves?</p>
<pre><code> Identity does not simply consist of a name. As Thomas Merton stated in Contemplation in a World of Action, "identity means having ideas and values that one lives by." An identity is not inherent or bequeathed; rather, it is developed through a person's experiences. Throughout time, novels have frequently featured characters who transcend the identity they were born with and create their own person.
One such character is Jane Eyre from Charlotte Bronte's novel of the same name. Jane is born an orphan living under the autocratic rule of her Aunt Reed. Jane is plain and destitute, yet she does not let her innate characteristics define her. Jane sets out to create her own identity by being studious in her school and developing a strong-willed and out-spoken personality. As the novel progresses, people like her lover Rochester look past Jane's lack of beauty and dearth of money and embrace her inner identity. With time and effort, Jane finally breaks out of the confinements she was given at birth and molds a new personality for herself.
Now fast forward to the Jazz Age in the United States and step into the lives of the characters presented in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. In The Great Gatsby, the main character Jay Gatsby undergoes a complete transformation. He was born a poor Midwestern farmer named James Gatz. However, after being invited on a luxurious yacht, James Gatz decides to set out to become wealthy. The first step in his plan is to shed his identity. James Gatz becomes Jay Gatsby. He leaves the Midwest for Long Island. He switches from farming to producing bootleg alcohol. Most importantly, he is transformed from a winsome farmer boy to an elegant, opulent man. In the end, Jay Gatsby completely erased his old identity- his name, his home, his past- and created a new one in order to achieve a new and better life.
Identities are not permanent, much less inherent. They are allowed to be defined and shaped by a person and his experiences. As evident in Jane Eyre and The Great Gatsby, even the most abject and destitute of characters can shed their identities and emerge a renewed and different person.
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