Identity in "Twelve Blue"
One example of the communal identification with the river is in the section “riven wishes”. The girl “dreams in algae, lotus blossoms in saline solution, a sister in the oyster” all she can subconsciously think of while asleep is aspects of this river according to Joyce. Why is this river so impactful on the people when all that has come from it is sadness? The reader can find nothing to make them believe that anything good has ever come from this river. The river none the less has impacted the young and pure people in this community such as this girl in a way that it has become a part of her identity.
Another example of how deep rooted the identification with the river is in the people of the community is in the section ”white moths”. A woman speaks of the entire world as a drum of water, this same water reflecting constellations. This water is the river and on the river at this time is her daughter. Her daughter is swimming in the river therefore she believes that her daughter will “grow strong”. She adores the river​ and thinks that it will somehow be beneficial for her daughter. The time in this story does not seem to progress linearly however a boy has drown in the river. Whether that drowning be prior to or after this even is not as important as it is a statement. The community identifies with and may even adore this river even though this blue feeling surrounds it. The people in this community all identify with the river in their own way and the river a large part of the community’s identity in this recurring theme of identity encompassed by the river.
