The search for personal identity is a topic addressed often in literature. The process of self realization is universal to all cultures. In Amy Tan's, Two Kinds, this theme is central to the plot. In The Man Who Was Almost a Man Dave is faced with the enormous burden of finding his true self. Janie Crawford of Their Eyes Were Watching God , while not preoccupied with this concept, eventually liberates herself and reaches self realization. The theme of personal identity is so often encountered because it appeals to the reader's desire to find comfort in himself rather than solely in the material world.