Rainbows End Theme of Identity

In Rainbows End, identity is often about "power" and ability: in some sense, you are what you can do. Here, identity comes in two unique flavors: a) Who is Robert Gu now that he's back from the dead? Is he still a jerk? What is he if he can't write poetry anymore? b) In a virtual world, are you who you say you are? (As the saying goes, "On the internet, no one knows you're a dog.") And do you have the "power" and the skill to do what you say you can do?

So we get questions like "Who is Rabbit?" and "Is Sharif really Sharif?"

1. There are lots of issues about identity that don't seem that important in this book. For instance, race, gender, and even social class don't come up a lot. How does it change your reading if these issues aren't important in the future?
2. The oldsters who have come back struggle with what identity they have in this world. How do different oldster characters deal with that issue of identity? If they try to get back their old identities, how do they do that?
3. What struggles for identity do the young people face in this book? (You know, the few young people there are.) How similar are the struggles of the young and the struggles of the old?
4. What's most important to Robert's identity besides his poetry? What's most important to Miri?
5. How do relationships and community affect character's identities?

In Rainbows End, identity is all about one's wants and whether one has the power to get those wants met.

Although identity seems to be tied up with power, the most important aspect of identity is actually caring for others.