Dead like me: A tool to reflect upon the influence of social pressure on identity development

Students: M.A. and Camila Chaves

To what extent are adolescents willing to renounce to their own essence in order to belong to a certain group of peers? How much of their identity is lost when nurturing that sense of belonging?

Dead Like Me is a zombies’ story by Adam-Troy Castro, in which the main character loses his own human identity pretending to be a Living Dead. This allows him to belong to the group of zombies which have taken the city where he lives in order not to be literally devoured by them. In this way, the story explores how social pressure makes people lose their own identity in order to fit in a particular social group. Thus, the aim of this paper is to prove that Dead Like Me constitutes a good narrative source for teachers to discuss with teenage students how peer pressure influences their identity.

During adolescence, human beings experience a series of physical, cognitive and social changes which lead to what Erik Erikson called identity crisis (Erikson: 1994). He defined this crisis as a turning point in adolescents’ sense of self, and considered identity formation as the “developmental task” of adolescence. This developmental task is shaped by the choices that adolescents make during their identity crises and among these there is one that is crucial: that is the selection of peers that teenagers make. Since during the teen years people spend more time with their peers than with their family, it is during this period that teens are more susceptible to be influenced by their friends. This external influence can lead them to adopt the norms and standards of the group at the expense of their own, causing the loss of their sense of self (Erikson cited by Saul McLeod: 1998).

It follows that this denial of one’s self does not only take place in the world of adolescents but also in the fictional world of zombies described in Dead Like Me. In the story, the main character adopts the zombies’ norms and customs, renouncing to his Living identity. This is shown through some of the narrator’s descriptions of his zombie-like behaviour:

Now find a supermarket that still has stuff on the shelves. You can if you look hard enough; the Dead arrived too quickly for the Living to loot everything there was. Pick three or four cans off the shelves, cut them open, and eat whatever you find inside. Don't care whether they're soup, meat, vegetables, or dog food. Eat robotically, tasting nothing, registering nothing but the moment when you're full.

This change in behaviour allows the main character to be “accepted” by the zombies that surround him and, in that way, to belong to their group. The same applies to teenagers. Most frequently, adolescents are victims of peer pressure. This means that in order to fit in a social group, they are profoundly influenced by their peers and they are forced to restrict their own identity development. Thus, this restriction they imposed on themselves is intended to belong to a certain group of people, and in that way, to feel they are part of it.  “The sense of belonging is the most salient aspect that pushes adolescents to conform to a group and share thoughts and believes that sometimes harm the youths’ identity” (Haynie, 2002).

All in all, this paper makes it possible to draw inevitable connections between the peer pressure phenomenon and a specific piece of writing, Dead Like Me. Besides, this essay helps us to see literature as a tool to be used in the classroom. It is important to bear in mind that literature, and more precisely storytelling, promote the identification of readers with the characters or with the situations described, and that “...Conflicting values and roles can be explored through stories, because storytelling is a problem-solving activity” (Gall de Vos: 2003).

Therefore, Dead Like Me can be a valuable tool for teachers to debate with students about the role of social pressure in the construction of their identity. This can be done by establishing a comparison between the loss of identity of the main character in a zombies’ world, and the adolescent’s loss of identity in their own social context. In the same way the main character in Dead like me adopts a fake zombie-like behaviour and renounces his human identity, adolescents often adopt the behavioural patterns of a group, putting at risk their own identity.   Research has shown that adolescents often engage in false self behaviour (acting in ways that are not the true self), particularly when among classmates and in romantic relationships. (Harter et al 1996 cited by Steinberg and Morris: 2001). Dead Like Me can be used in the classroom to reflect upon identity concerns and, in that way, to help adolescents withstand the peer pressure they may be victims of.

REFERENCES

• Brown, B. Bradford; Lohr, Mary J. (1987) Peer-group affiliation and adolescent self-esteem: An integration of ego-identity and symbolic-interaction theories. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=buy.optionToBuy&id=1987-15208-001 Accessed 09/07/12
• de Vos, G. (2003) Storytelling for Young Adults: A Guide to Tales for Teens. Westport, CT Libraries Unlimited.
• Erikson, E. (1994) Identity: Youth and Crisis. New York, W.W. Norton & Company.
• Haynie, D. (2002) The Relative Nature of Peer Delinquency. Quantitative Criminology. http://cooley.libarts.wsu.edu/soc3611/Documents/Haynie_network.pdf Accessed 09/07/12
• McLeod, Saul (2008) Erik Erikson. Simply Psychology http://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html Accessed 11/07/12
• Steinberg, L; Morris, A. (2001) Adolescent Development. http://www.colorado.edu/ibs/jessor/psych7536-805/readings/steinberg_morris-2001_83-110.pdf Accessed 09/07/12