How is your identity determined? Hopefully not by your ID card. Is it based on where you live? What you do? What you look like? The people of Manifest at first base their identities on where they come from. Everyone keeps to their own people or holds on to their pasts. But with Jinx's help, they begin to see their new identity as citizens of Manifest. However it's determined, both stories in Moon Over Manifest—Abilene's and Miss Sadie's—are driven by characters looking for their identities. And it's only when they find them that they can finally be happy with themselves.
Questions About Identity
- Are there any characters in Moon Over Manifest who are certain about their identities?
- Does it work out better for characters in the story to create a new identity for themselves, or try to perfect their old ones?
- In Moon Over Manifest, is it bad to have a fake public identity and a true private one? Which characters would you say have that?
Chew on This
Abilene says she's "all middle," but this applies to the entire town of Manifest, too.
Sister Redempta must have had to adapt her identity to be able to work closely with a fortune-teller.