Grenouilles Search of Identity Anonymous 11th Grade

The search for identity that the protagonist, Grenouille, in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer occurs differently than others because his identity is driven by the beauty of the innocent scents which appeal to him. Grenouille is brought up with a gruesome environment, thus influencing the indifference between his personal needs and society's expectations. He has been unawarely pushed into this quest of finding his identity rather than having a choice causing his mindset to differentiate at time as well as his goals to capture his identity. As Grenouilles urge to hunt strengthens, scent starts to become the symbol for identity which Suskind uses. He greatly emphasizes on the olfactory scents as an aid for Grenouille in trying to pursue his sense of identity. In “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer”, Suskind uses the format of bildungsroman to form Grenouilles quest as well as olfactory imagery towards the scents he captures which guide him through his transformation to find his identity.

As a consequence of Grenouille being thrust into his horrific childhood background, he wasn't able to give an influential decision on choosing what his quest was meant to be and couldn’t select his own calling. As Grenouille entered the world, “[H]e...