Heath- Dilemmas of Identity

The essay Work, Class, and Categories: Dilemmas of Identity written by Shirley Brice Heath explores the role different identities play in writing. Heath addresses the dilemmas of identity by forming a narrative that deals with different problems. The scene takes place in an urban area on the third floor of an abandoned school. Here, a group of kids from all different backgrounds are free to express different forms of art such as writing, dance, and even music. Throughout the essay, Heath looks at how each is affected differently based on their class, work ethic, or social background. Each kid was somehow shaped by the community around them.

I personally did not agree with this essay. While I do think that where a person comes from or what ethnicity, religion, or even social class you belong to does have a impact on writing, I feel the writer's beliefs are really what shows. A writer evolves their own identity throughout their life and who is to really say if we have just one identity. I have read many different pieces of literature from the same author in which each new piece they write they reinvent themselves. I don't think that any one person has just one identity but a combination of identities.