Based on the readings from this week, it seems clear that “lesser-studied” genres and artifacts of writing, such as scrapbooks, zines, graffiti, vernacular writing on the web, and notebooks, have much they can teach us about the relationship between materiality and identity construction. Throughout the readings, we saw connections that linked these genres to the formulation of identity that is not necessarily private (or at least, in most cases the texts are meant to be seen by more than just the writer). To a certain extent, each of these texts involve either a performative or social aspect that widens its circulation and contributes to its “afterlife” of being studied as a writing artifact. The social and performative aspects of these genres contributes to our sense that identity is not unitary, but is rather a constellation of multiple, shifting, selves.
Why couldn’t the materiality of the scrapbook be a socially acceptable place for Frederick to navigate his identity in addition to Immel’s understanding? After all, Frederick is discussed as a boy who is clever and witty beyond his years: “As he grew older, Frederick’s remarks continued to exhibit an endearing combination of close observation, shrewd insight, and infant wit” (81). It seems impossible to determine with certainty whether Frederick’s intent for the scrapbook was to function as a means to construct his identity, but regardless of his intent, one could interpret his fictional account of a future life as indicative of his personality and a representation of his multiple identities.
One “lesser-studied” genre that we see as ripe for multiple representations of the self is the scrapbook. Usually considered as crafts meant to preserve memories or narrate occasions, scrapbooks pose an interesting genre for identity construction. As they are sites which necessarily involve selection and specific presentation, it seems fitting that scrapbookers have the capacity to construct their own versions of reality, including their users’ identities. For instance, Andrea Immel writes, “Adults’ scrapbooks are almost always exercises in self-fashioning. Through the attempt to preserve the past through a collage of pictures, letters, and printed ephemera, an adult attempts to recapture some sense of the person she was and to communicate an idea of the individual she has become” (74). Yet, she goes on to say that a child “is less likely to be motivated by the same desires” (74). Granted, since Frederick was a child when he composed his scrapbook, he really would not have been able to look back to shape his identity. Instead, he looked forward as a place to construct his future identity as an adult. By captioning the pictures with his and his family and friends’ names, Frederick has the agency to construct multiple versions of himself that need not be exclusive: “Naturally protean, Frederick cast himself in a wider variety of parts, alternately dashing, pathetic, and ridiculous” (74). The scrapbook provides a space for him to negotiate aspects of his personality and try on different identities. However, Immel casts Frederick’s scrapbooking as satisfying an “urge to collect” and as a playful, yet educational pastime, which seems limiting.
