Date of Award
Spring 5-4-2024
Abstract
The moments we remember from our lives are the foundation of the stories we tell about ourselves. I have spent many a night trying to fall asleep by running through my memories like the montage scene of a movie—clips of a funny moment with a friend, the smile of a loved one, a stupid thing I said to someone I was supposed to impress. These moments I remember portray, at the deepest level, who I want to be, who I am scared to be, and who I most understand myself to be. Intentional remembrance, as opposed to actual experience, tends to exaggerate the best and worst parts of the self. Late at night, without the distractions of day-to-day life, I can focus on myself—where I succeeded, where I failed, how I embarrassed myself, what moments I wish I could experience again—and, as I fall asleep, I can reframe and perfect these versions of myself. Ultimately, I am attempting to pinpoint which of my lived experiences line up with the identity I believe I have and which are misaligned. In other words, I can tell myself – and eventually (and perhaps more importantly) others – the story of me, a story that takes my memories and crafts them into a coherent narrative that represents the version of me I want to be.
Advisor
Dr. Caresse John
Committee Member 1
Dr. Annette Sisson
Committee Member 2
Dr. Andrea Stover
Department
English, Department of
College
Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, College of
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Arts (MA)
Degree Level
Master's
Degree Grantor
Belmont University
Recommended Citation
Angle, Hayley, "The Story of Identity: Narrative Self-Fashioning in Kazuo Ishiguro’s A Pale View of Hills and When We Were Orphans" (2024). English Theses. 11.
https://repository.belmont.edu/english_theses/11
