In a broad sense, identity is the characteristics that make up who you are. It can be divisible into self-concept, and others' concept of the self. It may or may not be that different factors and circumstances affect it. William Shakespeare's Henry IV communicates the idea that self-concept is innate and untouchable, and that others' concept of the self is more consequential, and thus more important to the notion of identity. It makes a very distinct division between the two aspects, inward and outward, identity. In contrast, Ivan Sen's Beneath Clouds and Rob Reiner's Stand By Me, show a distinct connection between factors and circumstances, and their influence on self-concept.

Writers present the relationship between self-concept and others' concept of the self in different ways. Rob Reiner's Stand By Me relates the idea that others' concept of one's identity has the power to influence the self concept. Beneath...