Through the usage of motif and diction, Meena Alexander distinguishes her fractured identity by illustrating the confinement of the many fragments of her identity that do not seem to fit together, creating a dissatisfied and despondent tone. The passage in itself presents her vicious cycle of her search for an identity to concluding as her original state in protection.
Within herself, it is as if multiple identities are captured and attempting to free themselves as if to find their position in her identity. Her "condition of being fractured [that] had freed the selves jammed into [her] skin, multiple beings locked into the journeys of one body" personifies the desperation in seeking her true and single identity, while many are confined into such a small space. Diction of "fractured," "jammed," and "locked" all present a forced lifestyle not well suited for her identity. Her "tales" throughout her life had "closed back on themselves, as a snake might, swallowing its own ending." Again, the forceful nature, symbolized by the snake, imprisons her search for her individuality. As opposed to the imprisonment, she fantasizes about free life, represented through nature, where as she sometimes wishes her life to be as individual "as a bud opening in the cool monsoon winds, then blossoming." This simile depicts her desire to breathe and be solitary upon one identity, yet being able to withstand hardships through her life and creating beauty out of these. Yet she is "uprooted so many times she can connect with nothing" portraying that the nature which she links with freedom cannot be achieved, and the force that dislocates her does not allow for her to attach to a sense of belonging.
Creating controversy, glass reveals its characteristics of clarity and reality, yet within that an indistinctness of her self is viewed to further promote her questioning of identity. Alexander's protection is provided through glass, which presents a fragile and undependable status.
