2022 IB Diploma Extended Essays

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open” to demand that Danny “make that decision” (129). This anthropomorphism and the demanding lexis point to Danny’s lack of control over his life due to the constant influence of social expectations. Adiga exemplifies the impact of taboo on Danny’s identity through internal monologue references to Danny’s guilt for leaving his father. Introducing Danny’s self-hatred, Adiga conveys Danny’s paranoia about how others perceive him, telling himself “man who has run from his family, you’re not natural” (49). Moreover, he recalls promising his father that after coming to Australia, Danny would earn enough to support the immigration of his family (170). While Danny descriptively remembers this conversation, a paragraph break and subject change leaves the story open-ended, emphasising his hope that this promise may yet be fulfilled as well as his avoidance of the issue. Adiga employs Danny’s thoughts of his father’s expectations to highlight the limitations of this on his freedom and sense of self; moreover, it furthers readers’ understanding of the control that rules have over Danny’s life; Danny is defined by guilt, and his choices are influenced by social expectations. Ultimately, Adiga discusses the damaging role of social rules in harming one’s identity, especially that when an immigrant is faced with multi-cultural expectations. Throughout Only the Heart Caswell discusses the impact of familial duty, emphasising the identity consequences of generational expectations. Early in the text, Caswell introduces the role of expectation in constructing family dynamic; in his first interview, Toan reflects on being told that it was “not [his] place to know” the plans to flee and being given “no further explanation” (12). In contrast, he immediately discusses that “one thing [they] learned early was fear…” (13), building an ominous tone and foreshadowing the coming events. Moreover, the lexical proximity of these contrasting statements furthers the dire connotations of Toan’s reports, indicating that his family’s attempts to protect him ultimately fail, resulting in his untimely loss of innocence. The consequences of the hybridisation of familial culture extends to Linh, as guardians Minh and Hoa suggest she surrender her relationship in favour of dating