Topic > Grenouille's search for identity

The search for identity of the protagonist, Grenouille, in Perfume: Story of a Murderer happens differently than the others because his identity is guided by the beauty of the innocent perfumes that attract him . Grenouille grew up in a gruesome environment, thus influencing the indifference between his personal needs and society's expectations. He was unconsciously pushed into this quest to find his identity rather than having a choice that caused his mindset and goals to be differentiated to capture his identity. As Grenouille's desire to hunt grows stronger, the scent begins to become the symbol of the identity that Suskind uses. He greatly emphasizes olfactory scents as an aid to Grenouille in attempting to pursue his sense of identity. In “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer,” Suskind uses the Bildungsroman format to shape Grenouille’s quest and the olfactory imagery towards the scents he captures that guide him through his transformation to find his identity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay As a result of Grenouille being thrown into his horrific childhood past, he was unable to make an influential decision on choosing what his pursuit was intended to be and could not choose his own vocation. When Grenouille entered the world, "[H]e was an abomination from the beginning... [H]e decided in favor of life out of pure spite and pure malice..." (22) and had "...the need to hunt.”(34) Grenouille grew up with hatred and a cruel background, which drives him to the need to begin the search for his identity. The impulse he has to pursue his hunt foreshadows the way he will act while will try to create an identity by claiming the smells of others. Grenouille's goal was to “…become a perfume creator…not just a mediocre creator….[B]u, rather, the greatest perfumer of all time. ” (45) This is the first time that Grenouilles goal is spoken about. He begins to realize the quest he has to do because it has been cast upon him rather than something he has decided to create to his need to hunt and begins to become familiar with his goal and surroundings which prevent him from excelling further in pursuing his goal. Now that Grenouille is aware of his goal and his journey, he encounters some trials and tribulations having to do with objects and humans who suppress him forcing him to delay the discovery of his identity. When Grenouille achieved his goal, "...he was taken prisoner."(124) Grenouille's goal throughout his experience was to find the perfect perfume that would allow him to find his identity in the process. As he achieves his goal, he is slowed down and held captive by the influence different scents and people have on him. An obstacle to Grenouille's research was the difficulty of finding the smell of glass and "[W]hen it finally became clear to him that he had failed, he stopped his experiments and became deathly ill."(104) Since Grenouille can no longer do the only thing that makes him gain an identity, he gets sick because he can't stay strong. This is also one of the things that keeps him prisoner because he almost dies, holding him back to get the scents to create a disguise and get closer to finding his identity. The trials and tribulations faced by Grenouille have prevented him from capturing his scent due to the effect the action of achieving his goal has on him. While Grenouille faced trials.