Alienation and Identity

Alienation and Identity appears as a literary theme in 6 works in the BetterReads curated set. Each book develops the idea in its own plot, voice, and historical moment — the links below open the book-scoped theme guide beside the text.

Scanners are alienated from their own bodies and from normal human relationships, struggling with their identity as 'habermans' (living dead) who are neither fully human nor fully machine.

Characters like Peter Duane, Glenn Tropile, and the time traveler Harse struggle with amnesia, displacement, or loss of self, questioning who they are in unfamiliar or hostile environments.

Khalid is perpetually an outsider—in America, in Syria, and even among his own people—struggling to define himself against cultural, religious, and social expectations.

Theron's journey from a naive young minister to a disillusioned man who feels trapped in his role reflects a deep sense of alienation, as he struggles to reconcile his new intellectual and emotional self with the identity imposed by his profession and community.

The narrator experiences profound isolation, feeling disconnected from both his family's aristocratic past and the modern world. His identity is destabilized by the mysterious woman, who challenges his sense of self and his place in a changing society.

Miriam experiences a profound sense of estrangement from family, colleagues, and social groups, often feeling like a 'closed book' or an 'inmate returning after an absence,' as she struggles to define a coherent self amidst conflicting pressures.