Dragon Pearl

Identity plays a role for both individuals and groups throughout Dragon Pearl. Whether as a struggle or a way of understanding the world, identities shift and allow the characters to become more than they once were. As the story unfolds, the author uses the shifting identities and relationships of the characters to analyze the impact of identity on human decisions and self-esteem.

Though identity is a personal journey, it is heavily influenced by one’s companions. From the moment Min assumes Jang’s persona on the Pale Lightning, she begins to change, both physically and emotionally. Up until then, Min has one specific idea of who she is—a girl from a poor planet who wants more out of life. However, when she takes on Jang’s identity, Min’s idea of herself begins to blur as she tries to keep the two versions of herself straight. In Chapter 19 when Sujin announces Min as Cadet Jang to a superior officer, Min inwardly wonders whether all this indoctrination will have her saluting her own family members when she gets home, adding that “whether I’d recognize my own name at all was an open question at that point” (153).