3D

Ok, so I think this rhetoric stuff is starting to make some more sense. I really enjoyed the section on rhetoric and identity. I am surprised that I liked this part at all because I despise psychology. However, the way that Ramage describes the importance of language and identity really clicked. After all, we can't go through our daily lives without language. It truly does make us who we are. On page 36 Ramage says that some rhetoricians believe identity to be something that can't be defined, but something that is a "work in progress". I really liked this passage because I believe that identity is a work in progress. No one is born with a set identity and that is who they will be forever. I believe that a person has the power to change who they are and don't have a determined path they must follow.

I really liked Ramages description of the three identity types. I believe this is true as well. Everyone changes their identity slightly depending on the situation they are put in. I know, personally, that I act different when I am in class than I do when I am at home with my boyfriend. I also act slightly different around my family than I do around my friends. I think alot of this has to do with comfort levels. It also has to do with language. The way we talk and interact with people at work or school should be different than the way we talk to our family or friends. The readymade identity I see as being the most changing of the three. The construct identity I see as being the overall package. It is what we ahve made ourselves and although it can be altered it can not be changed as quickly as the readymade. The one thing I did not agree with was that Ramage said the "given is the least interesting of the three dimensions," I don't think that is true at all (pg 43). The inherited part of a persons identity is their core. It is what all else is based on when building an identity. Without the differences in our given identities, many people would end up the same. For this reason I believe the given is the most interesting of the three.

I really liked this section and am starting to understand the importance of rhetoric more. I never really sat down and thought about how important language is to who we are as individuals. It makes me want to stop and think twice about things I say.