"New Identities"

“New Identities” is a short story about a high school outcast who moves to another school and changes identities. He changes his personality to fit in with the “in crowd” and goes against his true identity. The consequences of this decision lead to leaving him in the hospital with a friend dead, and a guilty conscious the size of Texas. Obviously, the writer wanted to convey the idea that changing who you are just to fit in with a certain crowd is wrong and will end up badly. The main character, Gavin, realizes his mistake at the end of the story. However, he has this realization at a heavy cost. The idea of the story is very evident; the writer did a good job of conveying this message. I liked the part of the rumor of Brad drawing Japanese characters on his notebook; to me, this was the most specific image given in the story. A couple of things really stood out to me. The first major issue I had with the story is the school scenes. Almost all of them are clichéd: the bully tripping the nerd, the boy spreading a rumor about someone being gay. I feel like the writer could have made these scenes a bit fresher and could have been more creative with them. The second issue I had is with the idea of the story. I understand the message the writer is conveying; however, the assignment said not to have a moral of the story or a bigger message. This left me a bit confused. Since it is a plot we have heard before, I kind of knew how the story would end: the main character realizes his mistakes and decides to stay true to himself.