This literary essay is written by one of my grade 10 students. He has critically read the story and has extracted three convincing reasons for the tragic ending of the story. Using quotes from the story, he has provided persuasive support for his three reasons. Finally, he makes a very valid connection in the conclusion paragraph to the widespread racism and stereotyping that still exist in some societies.
Fatal Misconceptions
In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet faces many barriers and stereotypes when she is not allowed to marry Romeo from the Montagues since the family is deemed to be an inferior one. This leads to the tragic ending for Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, where they both die. Like Romeo and Juliet, in “Identities” by W. D. Valgardson, the main character is faced with stereotyping, which leads to his death. Aside from stereotyping, disobedience and lack of self-awareness lead to the disastrous ending.
The first factor that leads to the catastrophic ending is stereotyping. In the story, the officer stereotypes the main character as a thief as “he has been trained to see an unshaven man in blue jeans as a potential thief and not as a probable owner.” The officer follows protocol and shoots the main character when he reaches into his shirt pocket for his wallet. The main character himself is also guilty of stereotyping since he believes that “his day old beard…will, when combined with his clothes, provide immunity.” This stereotyping leads the main character to think he looks like a criminal, making him feel safe from danger. The thief stereotype causes the main character’s death and prevents him from seeing his family again.
Aside from stereotypes, disobedience leads to the devastating ending. In “Identities,” the officer “orders [the main character] to halt,” but instead “he reaches his hand not in the air as he is ordered to, but toward his wallet for his identity.” According to the law, police officers are allowed to shoot the suspects if they pose a serious threat. This causes the officer to shoot the main character as he disobeys his command. In this situation, it is not the officer’s fault for shooting the main character, but the main character’s own fault for acting in a reckless manner. The main character’s disobedience of the officer’s orders causes him to get shot to death.
Another cause that leads to the terrible ending is the lack of self-awareness. The main character knows that he looks like a criminal up until the officer appears. In the instance the officer “orders him to halt,” he forgets his personal appearance and acts in a careless way when he reaches into his pocket for his identity. The main character gets too excited and relieved, which causes him to fully forget his current criminal-like appearance and acts in a way that a high-class civilian would. When he does this, the officer shoots him because he thinks he is a criminal reaching into his pocket for a weapon. The main character’s lack of self-awareness when the officer confronts him causes him to die.
The three main factors that lead to the tragic ending are stereotyping, disobedience, and lack of self-awareness. The fatal misconceptions caused by stereotyping do not only occur in the story but also happens in the world today. Police officers often stereotype criminals by color and race. According to Snopes statistics, black Americans are 2.5 times as likely as white Americans to be shot and killed by police officers.