Identity Crisis Part II

Last week our class took a walk through Westminster to Old Bond Street, the same route that Mrs. Dalloway took when she walked to pick up her flowers in the opening scene of Mrs. Dalloway. During the walk, I was distracted by all the cars bustling by and the crowds of people and toursits walking along the sidewalk. Even when we were walking through St. Jame's Park, I felt my surroundings were constantly busy with the sound of people talking, walking, and the loud noise of the hailstone hitting our umbrellas. There wasn't a moment during the walk where I felt like I had peace and quiet to think to myself about things that's been on my mind.

This is what Mrs. Dalloway must have felt like when she was walking through the metropolis streets of London. With people from all social classes roaming through the streets to get to their own individual destinations, I can begin to understand how she must have felt like- confused, startled, mesmerized, overwhelmed. I think Mrs. Dalloway felt like she was nothing compared to the people around her because she was questioning the purpose of life. She didn't know how people around her knew what their purpose in life was and didn't understand why she can't find her own purpose in life. I thought this issue ties in with identity crisis because like Jasmine, Mrs. Dalloway is lost in a world that she does not understand. She lives in a life that she has no control over because it seems like she just followed everything that was planned out for her. Because of this, she has forgotten who she really is or even, hasn't met the person who she trully is.

'She had a perpetual sense, as she watched the taxi cabs, of being out, out, far out to sea and alone; she always had the feeling that it was very, very dangerous to live even one day' (5-6) this passage describes that everyone faces the phase when they feel like they are alone in the sea of life. Despite the fact that London is a busy city that constantly has something going on, loneliness is everywhere. It may seem like she's the only one suffering from internal pain of not knowing who they are, but it's only a matter of taking chances and discovering one's self.