When the average person looks upon their past, they usually recall memories and facts that categorize them into a predefined group of people. Seldom can a person not find some sense of belonging in their lives, whether it be belonging to a culture, to a nation, or to a religion. The idea of not fitting in to any social group is a surreal one to say the least. Even so, that seems to be the tragic case brought to light by Meena Alexander in her 1993 autobiography entitled, Fault Lines. In this autobiography, Alexander uses a unique style of language that includes excellent diction and tone, among other rhetorical devices, to delve into her scattered and uncertain identity.

After reading the selected passage from Alexander's autobiography, it's hard to come away from it without a feeling of how much Alexander belittles herself in her work. Throughout the text Alexander uses many questions concerning her identity to show her lack of conviction as to who she really is. The angle from which she poses these questions tends to conjure an image o

Though Alexander's writing sounds like it's straight from the heart, she obviously took some time to incorporate superb diction and other literary devices that heighten the readers experience even more. Her use of words like, "splintered", "fractured", "shards", and "cracked" manifest her feelings of a shattered identity. In her mind, this identity is shattered into far too many pieces to allow for it to be put back together in any recognizable fashion. Alexander focused on the word fault when she attempted to define herself using the dictionary. To her this word is exceptional in that its two prominent meanings both apply directly to her. On one hand she sees herself as a defect or imperfection, on the other she sees herself as split in multiple directions. Alexander lists the various meanings of the word fault in the passage as well as listing a few other things. In listing all the languages she has learned and used and all the places she has lived, she further demonstrates that traditional thought processes cannot encompass her being. These lists are evidence of the jumbled masses of background informa

Some common words found in the essay are:
Fault Lines, Lines Analysis, Meena Alexander, , it's hard, fault lines, word fault, fractured identity,
Approximate Word count = 754
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)