How do you get an identity? This is one of the questions that sociologists have been trying to solve for some time now. Many argue that the self is created and nurtured by the society and cultures with which we interact and is therefore capable of change and adaptation. Bringing this topic into literary works, the self represented in narratives depends not only on the narrator but on all the characters and the setting of the story. In this article I will define the "self" in the concept of writing and how this concept developed was used in the book "Jordan, Mary Ellen 2005, Balanda: My Year in Arnhem Land". The author, a young single white woman, leaves her home and goes to Maningrida where she hopes to learn more about the cultures there. The only reason he is visiting the place is because he knows very little about the area and would like to know more. Jordan (p. 25). The story is told starting from the concept of personal life writing that this article seeks to address. In trying to understand the self I will rely on the arguments of Harré who described three types of self. According to Harré, narrating our encounters will bring three of these selves into play. Self 1, as Harré calls it, plays the main role in recounting the encounters they have. He simply reports what is happening and does not interpret it or attach any feelings to it. Self 2 on the other hand is defined as a “context of reflections in which one actually begins to look at one's inner self in relation to the encounters one faces. In reference to Jordan, he simply begins his narrative by describing the environment without much emotion or reflection attached to it. It's just a description. At this point we can say that Self1 is in play. However, when we meet new characters, we plead for... middle of paper... emptiness. The article also managed to successfully illustrate and argue that the self is not rigid and can therefore be influenced. Works Cited Bart M., Postcolonial Life-Writing: Culture, Politics, and Self-Representation. Viewed 3 August 2011, Brockmeier, J. and Carbaugh, D. 2001, Narrative and Identity: Studies in Autobiography, Self and Culture, viewed 3 August 2011.f.deakin.edu.au/lib/deakin/docDetail.action ?docID =5004938>Jordan, ME, 2005, Balanda: My year in Arnhem Land. Seen on August 3, 2011,