Change, Shame, and Isolation

In Written on the Body the main character has troubles with their identity. Because we never find out the sex of the narrator, it leads me to believe that the author chose to depict X as confused. Confused in sexual preference and sexual identity. In contrast, in Me Talk Pretty One Day the main character, David, is from a young age, identifying with female or feminine norms. We spoke about shame in the beginning of the semester and on page 10, David talks about hiding his stacks of Cosmopolitan under Boy’s life and Sports Illustrated. The concepts of shame and conformity run wild through our readings. What I find to be very interesting is this need in grade school to have someone like Agent Samson in the school. While at first I should have realized the negative connotation around her due to the analogy of being taken out in handcuffs, I assumed it was just because David was embarrassed because of his speech impediment. As I continued in the first chapter it is disheartening to think that teachers try to correct more than just a lisp. David’s efforts to cover his lisp corrected the scrutiny from the teachers but Samson could not change him as a person. The idea of shame, again, comes up in David’s concern that he would be stranded alone if Agent Samson were successful in “changing” the other boys. The fact that the boys just became quieter speaks to the shame, too. By keeping their mouth’s shut, harassment could be kept to a minimum. But, this leads to a sense of isolation that I believe was the ultimate reason the narrator in Written on the Body also ended up being isolated in a cabin in the woods. With everyone trying to change people to make them become “normal” those who are not going with the norm feel the need to hide. People in power, whether parental, school, political, etc. are social dictators of this matter. In my own experience, if my parents get made at me, well, ok. But, when they say they are disappointed in me I feel so shameful and disheartened. Shame is a horrifying feeling that David and the narrator have to continuously overcome.