How does The Outsiders suggest the individual identity of a person is determined by their external influences? How do the techniques and...

The statement "the individual identity of a person is determined by their external influences" is certainly an opinion-based statement; evidence from the text can be used to agree or disagree with this idea.

Conventions and techniques refer to literary techniques and conventions used by the author, such as foreshadowing, figurative language, character development, flashback, flashforward, backstory, unreliable narrator, and more.

I would suggest you choose a position (is a person's identity in fact determined by external circumstances or not?) and back it up with evidence from the text, which would include the literary techniques of the author. For example, if one were to argue that a person's identity is determined by his/her external circumstances, using the example of Darry would work well to support this argument. Darry doesn't finish high school and becomes the sole breadwinner of the household after his parents' deaths. He had a lot of potential as an athlete and was smart, but his external circumstances changed the course of his life and subsequently, his identity. His former football buddies saw him as an outsider after he dropped out of high school.

If one wanted to argue that a person's identity is not determined by his/her external circumstances, he/she could use the example of Ponyboy. Ponyboy is a gifted writer, academically driven, and not given to violence. He does not fit the stereotype of a typical greaser. He has integrity of character and a moral fortitude that others don't have. A literary technique that supports this argument is the full-circle ending. The first and last lines of the book are: "When I stepped out into the bright light of the sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home." This full circle ending suggests that Ponyboy does not change despite the circumstances of the novel. This is echoed in Johnny's advice to Ponyboy to "stay golden." Despite the violence and horror around him, Ponyboy remains true to himself. His identity is rooted in something deeper than his external circumstances.

Also consider the use of flashback, foreshadowing, and figurative language to reference the techniques used by the author when writing this essay.

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...

nouns - what do you call the person who passes the trophies to the prize giver/presenter?

The person who gives out the trophies to the winners are called award presenters. So what do u call the person who passes the trophies to the presenter? Thanks!

Is 'efficate' a word in English?

I routinely hear the word "efficate" being used. For example, "The most powerful way to efficate a change in the system is to participate." I do not find entries for this word in common English dictionaries, but I do not have an unabridged dictionary. I have checked the OED (I'm not sure if it is considered unabridged), and it has no entry for "efficate". It does have an entry for "efficiate", which is used in the same way. Wordnik has an entry for "efficate" with over 1800 hits, thus providing some evidence for the frequency of use. I personally like the word and find the meaning very clear and obvious when others use it. If it's not currently an "officially documented" word, perhaps its continued use will result in it being better documented.

Notes

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