The idea of “self” and “other” is generally the idea of how a person’s characteristics develop based on the influence of others, their overall environment, their actions, and more. It can also be considered the way a person sees themself or another person. These ideas of “self” and “other” are brought forth and touched upon in the three texts we have read: Citizen by Claudia Rankine, Signs Preceding the End of the World by Yuri Herrera, and Excess—The Factory by Leslie Kaplan. Within these pieces of literature, the authors depict their own stories or views of “self” and “other.” In Citizen, Rankine tells her story of past events and microaggressions that she has experienced that highlights how society and other people can affect one’s vision of “self.” In Signs Preceding the End of the World, Herrera depicts a story that tells the reader of the flexibility of “self” and “other” and how easily it can be altered by outside influences. Lastly, Excess—The Factory by Kaplan reveals to the readers the effects a forced lifestyle and unhappiness can have on the “self.” Although these pieces of text have distinct differences, some ideas are recurring and how they relate can be further elaborated on.

In Citizen by Claudia Rankine, the author goes through a plethora of microaggressions that she has experienced or heard of throughout her life. While the book was being narrated, America was in a state of racial tension nearly constantly. Although the same issues exist today, the text illustrates to us the injustices and conditions that were put upon individuals of color at the time. For example, one of the microaggressions that could be found in the text places the reader in a scenario in which you and your significant other go on a trip to the movies while your friend picks up your child from school and babysits for you as a favor. However while on your way home, your neighbor calls you and tells you that there is a “menacing black guy casing both your homes. The guy is walking back and forth talking to himself and seems disturbed”(Rankine 15). Even though you state that that is your friend who is babysitting for you, your neighbor who has met him before insists that that isn’t him and “he’s called the police”(Rankine 15). When you finally arrive home, the police are gone and you learn that your friend who was indeed the man outside your homes was simply talking on the phone. Your neighbor then apologized to both you and your friend. Afterwards you tell your friend “that the next time he wants to talk on the phone he should just go in the backyard”(Rankine 15). After a moment of staring at you, your friend replies by saying “he can speak on the phone wherever he wants”(Rankine 15). Despite the truth of the matter being that this situation could’ve been avoided if his friend went to talk in the backyard of the house, it is also true that this interaction is outrageous in of itself. Every person should be free to talk on the phone wherever they please yet his friend of color got involved in a problematic situation simply because he went outside to do so. Suggesting that he should’ve gone in the backyard to avoid such a situation proves the oppression that people of color have to face while your response of “Yes, of course”(Rankine 15) hints towards your recognition of this issue in the society you live in. That society that oppressed those within it gave readers a fine example of the effects that the “other” can have on the “self.” Normally, the idea of “other” is referred to as another person; the self of a different person. However, it can also be seen as any other existence that isn’t the “self.” Using that definition, Rankine uses the text to show how society can affect a person’s “self.” The society that is portrayed in the book is a majority white society in which things that are not culturally norm to them are looked at in disgust, stereotypes are abundantly present, and people that weren’t seen as part of that white society felt out of place. A prime example of this resides in part two of the text. In this part, Rankine uses Serena Williams, a professional tennis player to further show the injustices that people of color must face. During the 2009 US women’s semifinal, Williams explodes in anger as she lets out all of her emotions after being mistreated in her profession multiple times due to her being a woman of color in a majority white setting. In the text, the quote “I feel most colored when I am thrown against a sharp white background” is an extremely impactful quote that encloses the society that existed at the time. That quote informs those that read it of how people of color feel when they must live in a “white society” in which their culture is seen as barbaric and their actions are viewed as abnormal or dangerous despite none of those being true. That idea in which society causes people of color to be viewed differently ties in with the way that the “other” can influence the “self.” Due to both people and society in general, many felt out of place and were treated differently which would, without a doubt, influence the behavior of those that are being outcast which we can call the “self.”

Signs Preceding The End of The World by Yuri Herrera, continues the trend of the previous text we explored by illustrating the change and overall development the “self” goes through after being exposed to to the outside world and certain events also known as the “other.” Within the story, Makina is tasked by her mother to deliver a message to her brother in what can be inferred to be the United States while she and her family is in Mexico. While going on a journey to go across the border to personally deliver the message, she ends up interacting with different people and things. It is through those interactions does her “self” develop by the influence of the “other.” In the text, the “other” is depicted by people met along her journey and the trials she ends up facing, as previously mentioned. She encounters acts of racism, attacks from gunmen, and even the despair of nearly giving up on finding her brother. A deeper example into one of these encounters is in part 6 of the book. In this chapter, Makina finds herself wandering aimlessly for her brother that was in the country to claim land. She would approach anyone she saw speaking Latin tongue and give a plethora of information on her brother in order for them to provide any useful information on where he may be. It was only after coming across a familiar face that she was able to get some useful information on her brother. After getting an address, she rushed to the house in such a manner that “she literally felt her feet not touching the ground, as if she could float”(Herrera Part 6) but after ringing the bell and seeing the man who answered the door was not her brother, disappointment met her. The goose chase for her brother was not over yet despite her strongly believing that this was the conclusion of her journey. Even though she had gone through so much to reach that point, more seemed to be in store for her. However, despite all these troubling events, Makina’s “self” has not necessarily been negatively warped. On the contrary, all of the events she’s experienced has caused her to strengthen her resolve as a person and take on a new identity towards the end of her journey. Her journey came to a conclusion when she had received a new identity while in the U.S. and thus throwing away the person she originally was which is very similar to what had happened to her brother. Despite her previous self essentially “dying”, Makina accepted her new life and “finally said to herself I’m ready”(Herrera Part 9). Her “self” had been strengthened through her experiences as she transformed into a new person, proving that depending on the “self” of the person and how they are affected by outside experiences(the “other”), one’s “self” can develop for the better.   

Excess–The Factory by Kaplan is a text that is narrated in the second person in order for the reader to understand the position that is trying to be conveyed. The text places you in the role as a factory worker experiencing their everyday life and the emotion behind it. This of course relates back to our idea of “self” and “other.” Similar to the previous two texts, the “self” and “other” are related based on influence. With the “other” being the factory and its fellow workers, the “self” is heavily influenced and ends up changing because of the horrid quality of life in the factories. The text alludes to the idea in a multitude of ways that factory workers were not content or happy with their job. Their jobs made them feel unfulfilled and unhappy as they worked in a filthy environment doing the same task repeatedly for a pay that didn’t even allow them to practice proper dental hygiene. That is told to us through the line “most women have a marvelous smile, missing teeth”(Kaplan Part 1). This line alone tells us that factory workers are unable to earn enough to care for their dental health and also do not have access to the time needed to get that care. That and many more issues can be found in the setting of a factory through the text. Such conditions would negatively affect one’s “self” making them possibly feel more inferior and discontent with their job as we see in the text. This text is slightly more different than the previous two however because of the way the “other” is involved. In this text, the  “other”, which can be seen as the factory, is more of a forced task made to keep its workers unhappy. As a result, the workers give off a feeling as though they are trapped within the factory which makes the “self” seem more bitter and distraught than the others.

A glaring theme evident in the three texts are the idea of “self” and “other” and their relation to each other. Signs Preceding the End of The World, Citizen, and Excess–The Factory each have different main themes that exist throughout the entirety of each book respectively. In Signs Preceding The End of the World, a central theme of identity was established. This theme was established through Makina and her brother who ended up “dying” in a sense and adopted a new life after moving across the American border from Mexico. This theme related to the idea of “self” and “other” the most compared to the other two texts due to its involvement in shaping who a person is. Citizen and Excess–The Factory have themes that target those that are undermined or mistreated in society; those people being people of color or poor factory workers. Despite these differences, the constant theme that exists between each text is how outside influences build your character and form the “self” of each person. Each outside influence, whether it is a person or an event/experience, is the “other”. Therefore the theme that remains constant in each text is that the “other” in a person’s life plays a major role in forming the “self” of a person. In Signs Preceding the End of The World, Makina went through character development as she embarked on her journey to land she was not welcome to and made the ultimate sacrifice of foregoing her original identity and adopting a new one. In Citizen, Rankine explains how the society around a person can affect the way they feel in that society. It also involved the way other people can affect the “self” through microaggressions that were mostly targeted towards African Americans. Lastly, Excess–The Factory presents its theme of the “other” molding the “self” of a person by having us experience the life of a factory worker. The text demonstrates to the readers how a person’s “self” is affected by the position of being in a factory setting. The result ends up being living a life in which your private life and work life have fused. With such an unfulfilling life, the person’s “self” becomes depressed as it lives a distraught life dictated by the factory. This pattern of the “self” being altered by the “other” is the recurring theme throughout the three texts.   

Despite the many similarities in the three texts, there are also apparent differences in each text that help prove the individuality each has to offer. Although each text has a theme of “self and other”, there are differences in the method each one uses to present this theme and the result that comes after dealing with the problems that they deal with. For example, in Signs Preceding the End of the World Makina is sent on a journey to find her brother and manually deliver a message to him across the American border. Makina faces multiple trials throughout her journey to the point where she nearly gave up despite her being so close to her goal. Due to her perseverance, she accomplishes her goal and the result ends up being a complete reformation of her life. She abandons her old life, thus figuratively “dying” and becoming a new person. That is how Herrera expresses the idea of how the “other” affects the “self” or in different terms, how outside influences can affect/change an individual. Through the trials she faced and the people she came across, Makina had abandoned her “self” in order to accept a new one. That changes in the other two texts. In Citizen, Rankine presents this theme of “self and other” through microaggressions. In the text, Rankine goes through the many micro aggressions that people of color faced during that time and the effect that it had on them. The effects of the segregation that society and people inflicted upon them caused many people who were a target of that behavior to feel inferior while in that majority white society. It is further suggested through the text that this affects the “self” of each person targeted through these aggressions by making them feel out of place in society as suggested by a reoccurring point in the text of feeling most colored when placed upon a purely white background. In Excess–The Factory, the cause of the change in “self” changes again. In this text, it is the factory in which the setting of this book takes place in and is a key component that molds the “self.” In the factory workers feel a lack or purpose in their job and a feeling of restraint due to your job taking over most of your life. That factory driven lifestyle results in a person’s “self” becoming distraught and unhappy with the life they live as they are forced to become a machine for the sake of their job. These differences are what makes the similarities previously reviewed more distinct and impactful.

As previously discussed, Signs Preceding the End of the World by Yuri Herrera, Citizen by Claudia Rankine, and Excess–The Factory by Leslie Kaplan have many similarities and differences. One of the most important similarities being the way “self and other” is portrayed in each text. All of them provide a theme of character development that is sparked or guided through outside forces or interventions. This recurring theme of developing one’s “self” or identity is important because it proves that any type of circumstance or outside influence can change a person in some way. In each text a character or a categorization of people come face to face with trials or situations that result in a change in the person’s “self”. That change is consistent, however the change in which the “self” experiences can vary. In the three texts, each varies in accordance to the type of event the person faces. These points are important to the theme of the three texts because it shows that the “other” is always what changes/reforms the “self” of a person. How that person reacts to those outside influences along with what the influences(“other”) are, is what determines the character growth or formation of the “self.” The differences in each text highlights the similarities between them and supplies us with the idea that a person’s “self” is heavily impacted by the things they experience in their lives.

Each of the three texts that we have discussed have a theme concerning identity. A theme of identity that each text attempts to convey through the idea that a person’s “self” is molded and developed through the influence of the “other” can be found in each of the three texts. Despite their differences such as the form in which the “other” took in order to change the character(s) that the texts focused on or the or the result of these changes, that theme has been touched on heavily. In the three texts, the “other”, which took the form of either a challenge, a lifestyle, or society typically posed as the driving force that shaped the character(s) of the text. The development that transpires in each text is what shapes the “self” based on the theme of the three texts. This theme relates not only to the three texts but it also relates back to everyday life. What a person experiences in their life is what forms their character and thus their “self” and changes the way they perceive things and many of the decisions that they make in life. That is what these texts try to teach us using the examples and overall language present in each text.