Mahatma Gandhi's “Playing the English Gentleman” explores the themes of identity, acceptance, transformation, perception, and tradition. The reader realises after reading the essay that Gandhi may be addressing the subject of identity because it is taken from his autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth. Gandhi may have lived a lifestyle that an English gentleman would find strange when a student in England, but there is a sense that he wants to fit in with his contemporaries (being a vegetarian for example). Gandhi, in spite of all this, makes an effort to look to be an English gentleman. going so far as to take dancing classes, don new clothes, pick up the violin, and study public speaking.
It is significant that Gandhi
can have identity issues because it implies that he might be struggling with
his identity on the inside. Even yet, it's crucial to keep in mind that Gandhi
gets through these concerns and rediscovers his own self. a student and
resident of England from India. someone who doesn't necessarily need to alter
how they look or how they speak. As previously stated, it is the obligation of
others to accept Gandhi for who he is.
He has rediscoverd his true self. Something that would eventually be useful to Gandhi. Even if at the time he had no idea how it would, it did. Gandhi discovered his actual identity and gained important knowledge by rejecting the expectations of an English gentleman. How crucial it is that a person be true to himself to who they are. Readers can infer this since Gandhi puts up all of his interests in order to be an English gentleman. Gandhi is acting honestly, something that many people might not do out of a desire to fit into a system that may or may not be suitable for them.
