Joe the Lawyer's Personal Identity

Since Mr. Lawler and Mrs. Logan introduced our new unit about American identity and the search for one's self, I've given some thought to the dominant narrative of the North Shore, and how this affects individual's personal narratives.

Whenever I'm away from home and tell someone I go to New Trier and live on the North Shore, I always get the same stereotypical responses. "Ohhh, so you're like rich?" "Do you live in a mansion?" "Are there any clothes you wear that are NOT designer??" While these reactions seem laughably dramatized, I really have been asked these questions. While these are only stereotyped responses, they do say something about the community we're living in. Walking through the halls of New Trier, one can see girls toting Martha Vineyard book bags, guys sporting Lacoste polos. $300 designer jeans are worn and Louis Vuitton wristlets are the new pencil case. While these brands do not make us who we are, we are the product of the environment we grow up in. And it sure seems like we're being submerged in an environment shouting a clear message: success and happiness are achieved through money. 

In thinking about how the North Shore's dominant narrative affects the individual's search for identity, it would be easy to say that anyone and everyone who buys into brand's appeals for happiness and success is too busy thinking about what everyone else thinks to know who they really are. It'd be easy to say that one cannot possibly know their personal wants and desires, their goals and ambitions if they do not create their personal, unique narrative, but aimlessly wander their way into the footsteps of society's dominant narrative. It'd be easy to argue that because that argument has been argued before. But what if I were to propose that in some cases, individuals actually find their identity in a materialistic item. I won't deny that it's a rather shallow identity, but it's an identity nevertheless. The recent recession has affected everyone, even New Trier and families on the North Shore have had to cut back. Fathers have had to give up their Jags, mothers can no longer afford those Gucci sunglasses, and teens have to give up their $300 designer jeans. With that Jaguar, Joe the Plumber (scratch that, Joe the Plumber couldn't afford a Jag, let's call him Joe the Lawyer) Joe the Lawyer knew some things about himself. He knew what kind of a world he fit into it. He knew how he defined success and he recognized his self worth. However, once Joe the Lawyer has to give up his Jaguar due to financial circumstances, he loses a significant part of who he is-or at least a part of how he characterizes himself. 

This is a sad, yet seemingly accurate portrayal of how some on the North Shore define their identities. Of course, there are many that determine their identity on a much more personal and spiritual level, yet I have seen many indications in my home community that sadly seem to support my claim.