I'm currently reading Identical by Ellen
Hopkins. This book is about two twins who live with a father who is a judge,
but contradicts himself at home where he drinks and sexually abuses his
daughter. Their mother is gone most of the time and could care less about her
children. These twins may be identical on looks, but couldn't be more different
on the inside. Noticing their differences has led me to think deeper about why
they are so different, and why they handle the problems they have internally
without any expression of them.
Raeanne, one of the twins, deals with a lot of
issues. Many of these issues are secrets that she feels can only be kept, and
if she tells them she will be judged. Her biggest secret is she is in love with
her father. I think this is such a deep and tough topic because not every
daughter feels sexual love towards her father, and also, it is something that
society keeps a secret and doesn’t bring up often. I think that having this
secret to keep is probably the hardest thing to deal with when trying to have a
“normal” life. Raeanne repels her internal self from society, and finds a story
to live by. What I mean is, she keeps her secrets and problems to herself and
fakes who she is on the outside. At school she is the out going kid who talks
to everyone and pretends to be that kid that everyone wishes they could be. I think
Raeanne not only does this for society judgment, but also for herself. I think
that Raeanne is afraid to admit her confessions to herself, because once she
does, everything will be too complicated.
I think this issue can be connected to the real
world in a lot of ways. Many people fake who they are, because they are afraid
of being judged and given a label. I think that coming through to your true
self is based on what society thinks of you. I think that all the eyes shape
who you are as a person. I know I live life a lot of times thinking, “what will this person think of me if I do
this?” or “what will they say about
this?” I think that in a lot of ways, this is wrong. I think judging people
is wrong, but I think that its part of humanity.
