Secret Codes

A person’s identity is something that changes all the time. Because one’s identity is unique to those that sees them or knows them, it can take on many outlines and can be written on anything. The novel, “Written on the Body” by Jeanette Winterson illustrates a story of lovers, love gain and love loss. The narrator reveals a secret code that he/she has written on its lover’s body; this secret code is only visible to the narrator; as the narrator is the one who wrote the code, and its meanings is understood as a message of love, which helps the narrator to reflect on its lover and the special moments they shared together.         

The body can hold many secret codes; these codes are secrets because they have been written secretly on one’s body by either a love one or by the person themselves. I will use for example my children, because I have five, I am sure when they see me, that each one  sees me (my body) as having their own personal secret code written on it, so to know me as my children know me, you would have to understand the secret codes they have written on my body. I have noticed on several occasions my children staring at me for long periods of time; when I ask them what they are looking at, they often would say, “Oh nothing.” They are probably writing more secret codes on my body for that particular moment. On occasions when I felt a certain urge to suffocate them with my love, I would secretly write things on their body that only I could see; the secret codes that I write on their bodies helps me to identify them with a special moment in my life that will forever be memorable and special to me.

A secret code can be written anywhere on the body; I have codes that I have secretly written on my body. I have several scars some visible and some invisible that acts as codes to help identify me, and there is a story behind every scar. For instants, I have a scar on my leg that has faded; it is not noticeable to anyone, but I know it is still there; therefore, I can call my scar a secret code that is written on my body. There is a message written on my leg that tells a story of a bike ride. My eyes at time tells a story of my life; I have once been told I have sad eyes, or that I have happy eyes, but the truth of the matter is that there are many secret codes written on my corneas that identifies me as having many stories to tell of being a daughter, sister, wife, mother, employer, and student. Each secret codes written on them is identifiable only to those who know me as such, or to others whom I have chosen to reveal my identity to. Furthermore, my hands tell many stories; they are soft, other times they are dry and chapped, and on occasions I have used them to speak for me. I have written secret codes in their palms as well as on the backs of them, because my hands have assisted me in my life’s ventures, they help to identify me though secret codes that I only know and see when I look at them.

The novel Written on the Body shows how the body can be used to hold secret codes, theses codes were messages of love, and they were written on the body by a lover. These secret codes are—a secret—not visible to anyone, but to the person who wrote them and understands their meanings and significants.