What an identity crisis means in literature
In everyday use, an identity crisis is a period of deep uncertainty about who you are, what you value, or where you belong. In literature, it is a character’s struggle with that question, often driven by a change in circumstances: leaving home, losing a role, moving between cultures, or being treated by others in a way that does not match how they see themselves.
Identity crisis is frequently a theme (the idea the work explores) and also a source of conflict (the internal struggle that drives the plot). It shows up often in coming-of-age stories, but it is not limited to young characters.
Where the term comes from
The phrase “identity crisis” is usually credited to the psychoanalyst Erik Erikson, who developed the idea in the mid-20th century as part of his work on psychological development, particularly adolescence. Erikson’s book Identity: Youth and Crisis (1968) is a commonly cited source. If you need a citation for a class, check the exact publication and wording yourself.
As for “identity theory” in literary study, this is a loose label. It usually refers to approaches that ask how a text represents selfhood and how factors like culture, gender, class, race, or history shape a character’s sense of self. There is no single agreed definition.
Identity crisis examples in novels and stories
Each example below can be read in more than one way. The notes describe common readings.
- The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger (1951): Holden Caulfield rejects what he sees as phoniness in the adult world but has no clear picture of who he wants to be. His wandering across New York is often read as a search for a self he can believe in.
- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865): After changing size several times, Alice asks “Who in the world am I?” It is a playful but direct example of a character questioning her own identity.
- The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (1915): Gregor Samsa wakes up transformed and finds that his family’s treatment of him changes who he is to them, and perhaps to himself.
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818): The creature asks what he is and where he belongs. His loneliness comes partly from the lack of any place or kin.
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925): Jay Gatsby has remade himself, shedding the name he was born with, and the novel tests whether that invented self can hold.
- A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce (1916): Stephen Dedalus tries to define himself apart from family, church, and country.
- Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (1952): The narrator is repeatedly defined by others’ expectations, and his search for an identity that is truly his own is central to the book.
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (1937): Janie Crawford moves through relationships that try to define her, working toward her own voice.
Cultural and postcolonial identity
Identity crises often involve belonging to more than one culture or being pulled between a traditional way of life and outside influence.
- Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (1958): Okonkwo’s sense of himself is tied to the values of his community. As colonial and missionary influence grows, those values come under pressure, and the novel shows the personal cost.
- The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (2003): Gogol Ganguli, the child of Bengali immigrants in the United States, struggles with his unusual name and the gap between his parents’ culture and his own.
Names are a recurring device in these stories: a name can mark inheritance, an imposed label, or something a character chooses to change.
How authors show an identity crisis
Writers have several tools to make an inner struggle visible:
- Name changes or confusion over names (Gatsby, Gogol).
- Physical transformation or changes in appearance (Gregor Samsa, Alice).
- Mirrors, doubles, and masks, which hint at a split between public and private selves.
- Journeys and displacement, where moving to a new place unsettles old definitions.
- First-person narration, which lets the reader hear self-doubt directly (see different voices in writing).
- Clashing expectations from family, school, work, or society.
Settings can reinforce this, as when an isolated location removes the usual markers of identity. See island symbolism in literature for a related example. Stories that feature a doubling or split self are also common in the Gothic short story tradition.
Identity crisis and coming-of-age stories
Many coming-of-age novels, including The Catcher in the Rye and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, use an identity crisis as a turning point. The character finds out what they do not want to be before they learn what they do. The resolution may be an acceptance, a departure, or only a clearer question. In craft terms this is a coming-of-age arc; see the list of character arcs.
Writing about identity in an essay
- Define what kind of identity is at stake: personal, cultural, social, or moral.
- Identify the pressure: what is forcing the question?
- Trace the stages: confusion, resistance, discovery, or refusal.
- Use specific details: names, objects, repeated images, and key lines.
- Make an argument, not just a summary. For example: “Ellison suggests that identity cannot be given by others’ expectations alone.”
If you are practicing essay writing for an exam, our guide to AP Literature essay examples shows how to turn this kind of claim into a thesis. For the other building blocks of a story, see short stories with literary elements.
Frequently asked questions
Can you give me an example of an identity crisis?
Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye and Gregor Samsa in The Metamorphosis are commonly cited examples. In both, the character cannot find a place or a self that feels right.
What are 5 examples of literature?
Literature includes novels, short stories, poems, plays, and essays. Each of those categories is a form of literature.
What is identity theory in literature?
It is a loose term for ways of reading that focus on how a text represents selfhood and the forces that shape it. It is not a single, formal theory.
Who introduced the concept of identity crisis?
The psychoanalyst Erik Erikson is generally credited with developing and popularizing the term in the mid-20th century.