High school has three main goals: pass finals, find friends, and find yourself. The first two are a breeze compared to the last one.
Many attempt to define their identity from the outside in—wearing an ironic t-shirt, growing a moustache, dying hair a funky color. But as Frenchy in Grease learns, beauty is only skin deep. And you can't find your identity until you figure out who you are all the way to your core.
Sandy and Danny might change their external appearance at the end of the film, but they won't truly know themselves until they're singing "You're the one that I want" into the mirror.
Questions about Identity
- What prompts Danny and Sandy to change to please each other?
- Do you think Rizzo is happy with who she is?
- Why is Frenchy encouraged to drop out of beauty school? Does she make the right choice?
- What does each character learn about him- or herself during the movie?
Chew on This
Danny and Sandy, as impressionable teenagers, totally change themselves to be with one another.
Or, Danny and Sandy, as young adults, make mature compromises to make their identities more compatible with one another.