The Penguin Canadian Dictionary defines Identity as ¡°Who somebody or something is.¡± An identity is something everything needs, whether it wants it or not. For example a nerd is identified as a nerd because of the way he or she acts and a ¡°brainiac¡± is identified as a ¡°brainiac¡± because he or she appears to know everything. An identity is a universal tag. It can vary from place to place and time to time but in the end one constantly has an identity. The book Midnight¡¯s Children by Salman Rushdie is a prime example of showing how identity can be changed and mutilated by time and place.