Question

Is a person’s identity defined by his/her words or actions? Take a position in which you argue that a person’s identity is defined by either words or actions, both, or neither. Support your answer with examples from personal experience and from the book Anthem.

Answer 1

A person is defined by their actions. When an individual is silenced, action can speak volumes. The phrase "all bark, and no bite" is used for a reason; using words helps with communicating to others, but if our words and our actions do not align, our word means nothing. My cousin has a bad habit of lying whenever her mom tells her to do something. She tells her mom that she is going to clean her room, but never follows up with action. Similarly, Equality, from the novel Anthem, uses subtle actions rather than words to convey what he is thinking and feeling toward Liberty. Their conversations are far and few between, but the eye contact and small acts of affection define their relationship rather than their words, which are forcibly mechanical and empty.