Exhibit for Doniger

In “Many masks, many selves,” the author, Wendy Doniger discusses the reasons why people try to masquerade as others. One of her main theories is that “individuals are often driven to self-impersonation through the pressure of public expectations.” (Doniger, 60) She asserts that people try to change into another person by wearing masks, but will inevitably fail and fall back to their “default position” (Doniger, 68). Doniger does not mention any possibility of a person successfully transforming into another person. In the 1954 film Seven Samurai directed by Akira Kurosawa, one of the samurai hired to protect a village from bandits, Kikuchiyo, masquerades as a noble-born samurai, even though he is merely the son of a farmer. Kikuchiyo desires nothing more than to be recognized as a samurai, because he hates the lifestyle of farmers. In the final battle scene, one of Kikuchiyo’s comrades is dishonorably shot in the back by the bandit chief. Kikuchiyo blindly charges after the bandit, and despite being shot in the stomach, manages to kill the bandit before succumbing to his mortal wound. With this brave act, he proves his worth a samurai, and is recognized as thus by the villagers and his fellow samurai. In this case, Kikuchiyo was able to create his own sense of identity through his actions, not because society bestowed one upon him. He successfully impersonated a samurai in order to become one, since samurai had higher status and were more respected than farmers. Kurosawa’s character Kikuchiyo proves that people can change themselves instead of reverting back to their normal selves after a period of impersonation.