"Eddy Bensen" by Hilton Als

The question "What makes a person who they are?" is a common question that comes up in society. Some say that you are who you are because of the way you were raised. Others say that you are who are because of the way God created you. For Hilton Als, none of these popular reasons are reasons that explain who he is. Hilton Als is a staff writer from The New Yorker since the year 1994, and has also taught at Yale University, Wesleyan, and Smith College. He is the author of the article "Gay Marriage and Queer Life" which is relative to his 2011 essay explaining what made him who he was, in this case who made him who he was. In the essay, Eddy Bensen from The Believer, makes it clear that "It's the queers who made [him],"(Als 1) by starting off every paragraph with that statement.  Als reveals many memories throughout his lifetime that included those who made him who is: a gay man. Als's purpose in writing this essay is to explain to his readers, those who question "What makes a person who they are?", that the people you surround yourself with, is a big contributor to what makes a person who they are. Als uses the repetition strategy to highlight important ideas that he presents throughout his essay. For example, as I mentioned before Als starts every paragraph with the statement, "It was the queers who made me" (Als 1). Repeating this sentence highlights for the reader that this is an important idea that Als wants his readers to receive from this essay. Another thing that Als repeats and very often is the word "who." He starts off every sentence, but the first sentence of each paragraph, with this word. Als decided to do this to communicate that it is not always "what", but "who" makes a person who they are. In my opinion Als did achieve his purpose, but with a downside. With Als's repetition strategy he did not only make sure  his readers know that it is the "who" that contribute to what makes a person who they are, but he made it seem like it is the only contributor that makes a person who they are. Many people may not think the "who" is the only answer to the question "What makes a person who they are?",  making his readers believe he is biased. 

What makes a person who they are...what makes their identity?

 http://aphilosopherstake.com/2012/09/26/personal-identity-who-are-you-what-am-i/

Author information from: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/bios/hilton_als/search?contributorName=hilton%20als