Introduction:

What makes identity? How can we express our identity? language/words/dialects. The way we speak is part of our identity, ex: the Barbarian culture/history of a nation story of a life/events, ex: Alex's life is part of his identity dreams: the dreams we make are a reflect of our identity =>There is a parallel between the characters looking for their identity and the Scottish endeavour to strenghten their sense of national identity.

Plan:

1.How do the characters of The Bridge characterize Alex's identity/personality? How is the theme of identity treated through the characters of The Bridge?
2.How in The Bridge, the Scottish sense of national identity is treated?

1.Identity in The Bridge

In the novel, we have three different identities/characters in one. Cf specificity of Banks as a post-modern writer. So we have: Alex, the Barbarian and Mr Orr with the last two ones both bringing something different to Alex's identity.
First Alex: he finds himself in coma after a car accident and that's why the reader is confronted to his unconscious state of mind. He has lost his identity (he can't remember his name). The whole story is about him trying to remember who he is/his identity. -> quest of identity.
So how can we define Alex's identity?
First we can discuss the relation between Alex and the machines: there is a strong link between the two. For example Alex is at the hospital, linked to some machines so he can breath, then before his accident, he used to love cars (very expensive, sophisticated and fast cars), more than that: he is an engineer. Cf P352, 371. This relation to the machines also appears in J. Orr's story: his world is the one of the bridge which is described as a machine, as a huge superstructure. Mr Orr's phone, with its rhythmic beeping is in fact Alex's heart monitor. What does it say about identity?