Written by Sharon E. Cooper, Mistaken Identity: A ten minute play highlights some of the challenges and conflicts that some people face in life. For instance, the play presents Kali, a lesbian Hindu girl, and Steve, a 32-year-old man who is desperate for marriage ( White , 2016). These conflicts influence Kali and Steve’s lives in various ways. Against this backdrop, this essay is aimed at a nalyzing the conflict between an individual versus the society such as what Kali and Steve endure.
Individual versus society conflict is presented when the interest of an individual differs from what the society expects of them. Kali is a lesbian Indian girl, a character trait not condoned in Indian traditions (Cooper, n.d.). This quality makes Kali hide her sexual orientation from her brother Raj, her parents and other relatives as well. On the other hand, she is secretly engaged in a romantic relationship with a teacher named Michelle. This conflict forces Kali to hide her lesbian sexuality from her family for fear of what their perception of her would be ( White , 2016). In this regard, she tells Steve that she fears that if she tells her family and relatives about her sexuality, she will be denied the privilege of visiting her cousins.
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Another illustration of individual versus society conflict is presented when Steve talks of arranged marriages in the Hindu customs. These marriages are a violation of an individual’s freedom to choose their marriage partners. Due to traditions, Steve’s mother expects him to have married at the age of 32 (Cooper, n.d.). Due to these expectations, she continually taunts Steve to do so and give her grandchildren.
Mistaken Identity: A ten minute play is a play that brings out conflicts that people go through, and particularly individual versus society conflict. In this conflict , people are forced to limit their freedom of interest for fear of how the society will perceive them.
References
Cooper, Sharon (n.d.). Mistaken Identity: A ten minute play
White, J. Y. (2016). Yes All Women: An Analysis of Gender and Culture in Mistaken Identity.
