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Ishmael Dr. William Doyle

Honors 110
17 March 2016
The Imitation Game
Theseus sails many seas using only one ship, and due to its overburden, its damaged parts
have to be constantly replaced. If one plank of the ship gets replaced, one could still argue that it
is the same, original ship of Theseus. However, over time, the ship would need to have all of its
old parts replaced in order to keep the ship in stable condition. Would this still be considered
Theseus original ship? Does the ships new parts, being manufactured from a different source,
make Theseus ship evolve, or does it simply imitate its original parts? A persons identity over
time could be thought of in the same way: as a paradox. Nonetheless, one could argue that
Theseus latest ship isnt authentic, as the newest parts are deceptively imitating its original. But
as the parts continue to update, the ship becomes more fortified than its past, as the withered old
parts are stripped apart and are replaced by a stronger part thats emulated by a stronger ship.
Identity, over time, is shaped by imitating others; and the failure to exactly imitate a person
brings us closer to our own authentic identity.
Let us then suppose the mind to be, as we say, white paper, void of all characters,
without any ideas: How comes it to be furnished? (Locke 126). Our identity, at one point in our
early life, was a complete blank slate; we could mold it however we would want to. We could
pretend to be a superhero on a television show, feeling powerful with our chests out and a cape
flowing out by the wind; that is, until we happen to commit a wrongdoing, in which our parents

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could punish us for doing so. We would quickly learn that we cant always maliciously taunt
someone who we think is evil such as that portrayed in the television show, as it could lead to
more punishment. Therefore, we have failed to become that superhero, yet we inherited and kept
the small amount of confidence, will, and power that our imitation brought us. These miniscule
traits, even if it was a flawed imitation of another persons identity, helps us become closer to our
authentic self.
But what exactly is our authentic self? If our identity came from a completely blank slate,
free of manipulation from both ourselves and others, could we call it our own true identity? A
1998 film, The Truman Show, explores this idea. The movie revolves around an adult man named
Truman Burbank, who was unaware that his whole life is a television show, where his peers are
only actors. The moment Truman started to question if his surroundings were actually real, he
started to become skeptical about his identity as well; he was raised with people who are
controlled by someone of higher authority, the director. Even if his peers identities were shaped
by the director, Trumans was truly authentic as he made the conscious decision to act a certain
way, to have certain morals, and to wish everybody, Good morning, and in case I dont see ya,
good afternoon, good evening, and good night (The Truman Show 1998). Truman, as the only
true man, imitates the optimism of his peers even if it isnt their true persona; however, Trumans
failure to represent his identity as the people hes met makes him unique in his own way.
As the only genuine identity in Seahaven Island, Truman Burbanks identity is open for
molding with others discretion. This was made truly evident when the director chooses to
control the harsh weather conditions in order for Truman to refrain from reaching the studios
exit. Truman, however, kept his optimism and will that has been constantly ingrained in his
identity by his fraudulent peers. Being exposed to many different personalities, however, Truman

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gains a mixture of his most influential peers, failing to imitate one person completely; thus
shaping the protagonists unique identity. This alludes to John Lockes premise on his essay, On
Ideas. Locke proposes that all ideas come from experience; all the materials of reason and
knowledge, the certain traits that shape our own unique identity, arise from experience, and none
are innate (Locke 126). Therefore, we should have a temporary influence in their idea of
enhancing our identity, only to discontinue the imitation at some point, in order to become more
self-aware of their actions and reasoning. The ceasing of complete imitation allows an individual
to inherit many traits from others identities and melt it down as their own genuine identity.
In a broader sense, Lockes proposal also applies to the identity of a community, such as
cultural identity. And yet a man, although he is hungry, will not dare to be the first to eat if he is
in the presence of his elders, because he knows that he should yield to them (Tzu 104). Hsun
Tzu demonstrates how a person must yield to their elders, especially at the dinner table, because
it follows the Chinese tradition and culture; if a person chooses to disobey this custom, their
actions are considered rude and brash. However, besides verbally expressing how one should
respect their elders, a young, nave child will first obliviously contravene the custom, only to
learn, from their mistake, that it is an important part of their cultural identity. Thus, the child will
imitate his or her peers within the culture in order to be in harmony with their tradition.
Similarly, the ethics of a culture are also brought up in this same regard: a majority populous of a
community could agree to do a certain action or pass a law, where the minority must choose to
conform, or at least imitate the communitys perspective. The failure to do so would mark their
personal choice as odd, as it is taboo to the majoritys cultural identity. Even if the person
chooses to disagree with a custom, he or she will then only learn their own perspective,
becoming more self-aware, which brings them closer to their authentic personal identity.

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Becoming more self-aware to our own identity requires reflection from past experiences.
The first capacity of human intellect is that the mind is fitted to receive the impressions made
on it, either through the senses by outward objects, or by its own operations when it reflects on
them. This is the first step a man makes towards the discovery of anything, and the basis on
which to build all the notions he will ever have naturally in this world (Locke 127). Reflecting
upon past impressions allows a person to become more aware of their personal identity, as they
could understand their own reasoning and ideas; both of which truly make up an individuals
identity. Our Secret, an essay by Susan Griffin, explores the pursuit of searching for ones
identity through making connections with other people and through reflection. She proposes that
we live under one huge matrix: where a persons particular actions may cause a ripple effect to
change, or at least stimulate, others perception (Griffin 340). Griffin mentions Heinrich
Himmler, a leading member of the Nazi party, and his upbringing brought forth by his father. His
father, being insecure of the familys past, raised Heinrich to imitate his peers at a young age
(whose parents were said to be in higher authority) in order to have a sense of prestige (Griffin
342). Every failure to do so, however, Heinrichs father would scold him, in which he attempts to
try much harder to imitate. This leads to the development of his motivation, as he slowly realized
and reflected that the failure of imitating his peers, controlled by his father, brought him closer to
his true identity and desire: to be of higher power.
The pursuit to understanding ones identity isnt limited to peers that surround a person,
too, however. Christopher McCandless, an American hiker and the protagonist of the biography
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, discovered his authentic identity through books. McCandless had
an undying love for nature and slowly realized how he disagreed with the modern technology as
he was seduced by the writings of his favorite authors: London, Thoreau, Muir, and Tolstoy

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(Miller 429). McCandless, having a thirst for adventure, then disregarded his career and set off to
the Alaskan wilderness, where he believes is his sanctuary, due to the amount of pure natural
wonder that resides there. He chose to live in isolation, away from his loved ones, which was
much correlated to Thoreaus famous book, Walden, in which he also lives in isolation in order to
gain a sense of reflection and write about his meditations. McCandless integrated Thoreaus
ideas in Walden about isolation and reflection with his nomadic journey. Upon realizing that
Thoreaus isolation isnt fit for his lifestyle, however, McCandless began to realize that even a
small amount of human communication is vital for his survival.
To be an individual is to simply be you; to have a personality, to have ideas, and to have
reasoning are all ingrained to our identity from our past experiences with imitating others. We
imitate others to acquire their own perspective, such as by reading their mind through books. We
imitate others to gain a particular trait wed want ingrained to our character. Imitating somebody
has the potential to reveal something unique about our identity. Every time I fail to become
more like my father, I become more like myself. Every time I fail to become Bruce Lee, I
become more authentically me. I strive for authenticity; even if it comes in a shape that we might
not usually expect (Patel, Who am I? Think Again).
(1602 words)

Works Cited

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Griffin, Susan. Our Secret. Ways of Reading: An Anthology for Writers. 9th ed. David
Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky. Boston, MA. 335-383.
Locke, John. On Ideas. Reading the World: Ideas That Matter. 2nd ed. Michael Austin,
New York, NY. 126-7.
Miller, Richard E. The Dark Night of the Soul. Ways of Reading: An Anthology for Writers.
9th ed. David Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky. Boston, MA. 420-42.
Patel, Hetain. Who Am I? Think Again. TED. Oct. 2013. Lecture.
The Truman Show. Dir. Peter Weir. Perf. Jim Carrey, Ed Harris, Laura Linney. Paramount
Pictures, 1998. DVD.
Tzu, Hsun. Mans Nature is Evil. Reading the World: Ideas That Matter. 2nd ed. Michael
Austin, New York NY. 102-9.