I'm nobody! Who are you? by Emily Dickinson Analysis

In the poem “I’m nobody! Who are you?,” the poet Emily Dickinson struggles with identity and fame in order to conveys the worth of an individual or lack of it.

Since the beginning of the poem, Dickinson opens up with “I’m nobody! Who are you?” (Dickinson 1). In other words, the narrator admits that she owns little or no importance in the eyes of her community or somebody else who doesn't care about her wellbeing and minimized whatever she has accomplished so far. Rather than to confront her adversary with a sassy response that would defined herself and her values. Dickinson takes a submissive position or approach that portrays her as  nothing or an individual whose held not worth. As a result, she does not found necessary to dwell in front of her society by establishing a list of characteristic and skills about herself that would limited her to a standard definition of her identity and public self. By Dickinson refuses to provides a specific answer that would label her and add a value to her persona, Dickinson is indirectly implying that her worth, as human, can not be calculated.

When the narrator respond “I am nobody!”, then, Dickinson could be using a sarcastic tone to emphasis that she might not have a voice, a position of authority or even any credentials that might guaranteed a high level of authority, yet, by definition of nobody on itself, she is a somebody who has a body and it is active in the universe whether or not she holds a position of power. Rather than to being associated or known as the shadow or offspring of some family relatives, husband, or last name, the narrator as a woman is trying to defined her identity independently from everyone and established her own essence. Because Dickinson or any other writer was not famous during her lifetime like she was after her death, the narrator might be alluding that her worth might become insignificant or even nonexistent as a housekeeper in her house during her time, however, she leaves the door open to multiple definition and indefinite identity that does not assigned her to a single category, but rather, convert her into anyone and everyone that one or she personally desired.

    When Dickinson asked, “Who are you?,” it could be taking as a challenge that she is posting to the omnipresent being who have asked who she was in the first place. In a way, the tone reveals that there is an arrogance and confidence attached to this answer or voice that it is not expected or seen to be encouraged by the narrator's audience when she is “just” a women. By challenging this conservative voice, the narrator is questioned his authority and providing a voice and cleverness to the subordinates or women to rebel passivity to those who degrade the others without even knowing them personally or assigned a value or worth to them due to their appearance. Dickinson seen to be encouraging the audience to not become affected by the perception of others about themselves, but rather to know who they are and to know their personal worth despite of critics. On the other hand, this question could be Dickinson’s way of challenging the readers directly to questioned or defined who they are.  Rather than to simply provide their own name which it is the most reasonable answer or whom their relatives are, Dickinson expects the readers to get into a philosophical debate with themselves that goes beyond their name or their title, family etc in order to move beyond their origin in search of their own sense of identity. Because a name is a label who it is being assigned to us by ours parents or society without our consent before we are even born, Dickinson might be giving the readers the permission to think who they are beyond the label or role that it is being assigned to us even if one take possession of them as real and taken it for granted by identified with it automatically due to the years of conformity and social training. Because a name or role is something that the individual can change and still be the same person, one can speculates that Dickinson wanted the individual to become awake to a form of rebellion and desire of inquiry by questioning the most basic things in order to become free and obtained another form of internal insight into themselves. Rather than to continue to embrace the facade that the individual shows and sells to others in order to reach a level of acceptance and conformity that would set them comfortably in a social setting, Dickinson wants the individual to become uncomfortable to search his true potential, ability and authentic self without the fear of being rejected or suppressed by failing to act according to a standard added to them before their birth.

When Dickinson asks directly to the audience “Are you - nobody -too,” one can perceived that she have been considered and label as insignificant too due to the lack of a career or job that would provide credibility, powerful, successful and respectful. Because the audience can be considered as readers of poetry, one can expects that those individuals whose job falls under the liberal arts and words are nobodies because they do not earned enough money to be considered as rich, Dickinson connects with them on a personal level. Because Dickinson was considered as rich or middle income during her time, however, one would not expect her to feel isolated from her social circle or feel unacceptable as to be a “nobody.”

             When Dickinson anticipated this answer and answered “Then there’s a pair of us!,” however, one can assume that  she considered herself to belong to this category as an outsider and outcast who does not owned much or it is acceptance due to her failure to comfort to the regular standards of normality.The ironic, however, it is that threw their abnormality or differences is that the writer and readers are eternally connected threw a secret pact that enforced the same passion for words and poetry rather than respectful, authority and power. Because there is a pair of them or a pair of allies, the readers should not feel alone because there is another individual whose despite time or space shares the same pain, love and rejection.

     When Dickinson whispers “Don’t tell!  They'd advertise - you know,” she sends a double message that it is wrap between the lines and depended on the tone of the narrator. If the narrator chooses a playful tone, one can assumed that the narrator is making fun of the somebodies who will talk shit about something that they do not know anything about and it is on itself self apparent to anyone else who look closer enough. Despite the playfulness or parody of her tone, there is a need of privacy or silence in order to promote a resistance or rebellion that would guaranteed freedom. Rather than to want a public persona, the narrator wants to maintain her privacy and identity as a secret in order to be “the nobody” who she choose freely. Because the narrator already knows that she would not be socially included and acceptance as an equal, but rather, she would be restricted and cast out as a bad influence by her society. Rather than to be sell as a commodity or object who could be molded to be desirable, dominance by having a family or patronize  by her society, the narrator wants to be unique on her irregularity. When Dickinson also mentions “they,” one does not know who she is referring to. However, one can speculates that the “they” could be those who judge her without knowing her personally, society, or the media who published without verify its information and the somebodies who hold the door closes for the nobody, yet whose can not stop to monitor their every move due to a level of fascination and thread that their lifestyle might imposed to the government itself. If one assumed that a serious tone was used for this line,on the other hand, Dickinson might be providing a warning to the readers of poetry that these words would have an impact on the life of somebody even if its word or fame is not publicly promote as bestseller.

   When Dickinson further writes “How dreary to be somebody!,” the tone of sarcasm or repulse might provides two meaning to this quote. On one hand, Dickinson states that being a somebody is a difficult task to fulfill because its demands kills the  individual and possibility in order to be replaced as a puppet of everyone’s desires and demands rather than your owns. As a consequence, the somebodies feels a sort of distorcionated of his identity and deprioritization of his own desires and wishes in order to fulfill a role that it is demand of them. Because the somebodies needed to be included and acceptance by their society, he feels that he needed  to sacrifice his real self in order to create a mask that would hide his real self and persona,yet included him as a social death figure who appeared to be happy. Because dreary is link to a feeling of “discouragement or deadness,” one can assume that Dickinson summarizes that by being a somebody, the individual is converts into an empty individual without feelings or courage to stand up for their passion or owns beliefs. In a way, the somebodies would depended on their admirers, education and prestige in order to be happy. The fact that the narrator is a nobody allows her to do anything or be anyone that she wants rather than to have every single moment monitored by a society that rejected her since the moment that she does not sell or fill the expectation attached to her name. When the narrator does not provides her name, in a way, Dickinson agrees that anonymous served as a protection of her identity and tool to achieved her happiness without being restricted by anyone. The somebodies,at one points, would not be able to satisfy everyone and be distorcionated as to they are and the perception of who they sell to others which inevitably would created a confusion.

   An interesting simile that Dickinson applied is used when she compares a frog and a somebody when she writes “How public- like a frog-”. On one hand, one can speculates that Dickinson concludes that it is bad to be public because her life become a source of the public domain or entertainment segment that everyone is informed of and seen to exaggerate even if it is her business and her to vocalized her to the public. Rather than to feel vulnerable by having her past, problems and struggles exposed to everyone on her town, Dickinson seen to be angry because she feels entitled to a level of privacy and secrecy that did not concern anyone rather than herself. When she compares those who exposed their secrets and intimacy freerly, Dickinson might be alluding that their exposed served as a vulgar display or an unnecessary exaggeration of their tongue who got the best out of them  by exaggerate their life with everyone. Because a frog is an animal who might be easily camouflage with his surrounding and able to stay afloat despite the territory, one can speculates that the comparison guaranteed that the somebody are animal associated with speeches and campaign in front of a community, this individual would have the courage to jump in land or deep water in order to crock their soul out like it is expected from a frog. Because there is a negative connection to frog, one can assume that frogs expulses everything without thinking what he releases to the environment and just announces his intention to procreate with any female available despite their poison. In a way, the somebody illustrates that they have demands that they expect the women or anyone else to follow and comply, yet who they are compulsive and vulgar's nature made them similar on a social level to the somebodies. Dickinson with this quote, finally, reveals that the frog or somebodies intention might be to verbalized or advertised their critic and comments in order to destroy the nobody's fame, yet the nobodies are the ones who win because they do need to pay an app on the newspaper or encourage anyone to expand her fame due to the somebodies advertisement.

       When Dickinson concludes with “ To tell one's name – the livelong June – / To an admiring Bog!”. Dickinson expresses directly that the somebodies or individuals who searched fame threw their name would be exposed to a hot summer day or hell itself because their fame would come to an end eventually and be replaced with a cold winter that would steals its shine and its brightness. When Dickinson finally concludes with the transformation of the nobodies or somebodies into a bog, however, the narrator could be celebrating that the somebodies have the chance to convert themselves into beautiful beings with the potential to change and be the nobodies who have the potentiality to be nature itself and everything in itself rather than to change into frogs with their tongue exposed.