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Top Banana
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I know of a few ("Zorro", "Cyrano de Bergerac" and "The Importance of Being Earnest" are ones I can think of) but I'd love to come up with some other ideas. Also a summary of them can be helpful as well (I have not read Zorro or Cyrano so I can't really summarize those very well).
"The Importance of Being Earnest" is a farce written by Oscar Wilde that focuses on two male characters pretending to be people they are not (when at the end, one of them learns that he is in actuality named Earnest when he had been PRETENDING to be Earnest, thus being earnest unintentionally).
CLARK: No. I'm just worried I'm a jinx.
JONATHAN: A jinx?
CLARK: Yeah. Let's face it, ever since she's known me, Lois's been kidnapped, frozen, pushed off buildings, almost stabbed, poisoned, buried alive and who knows what else, and it's all because of me.
-"Contact" (You're not her jinx, you're her blessing.)
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Well, Aragorn goes by Estel and/or Strider to keep his identity (Aragorn, heir to the throne of Gondor) secret (the enemy Sauron will kill him if it is revealed that the king of Gondor still lives) in The Lord of the Rings.
Not sure if this is what you mean or not...
Battle On,
Deadly Chakram
"Being with you is stronger than me alone." ~ Clark Kent
"One little spark of inspiration is at the heart of all creation." ~ Figment the Dragon
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Top Banana
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In the Stephen King novel 11/22/63, the protagonist, Jake Epping, goes under the name George Amberson when he goes back in time to prevent the JFK assassination.
In the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, Stephanie frequently pretends to be a hooker or a bimbo in order to throw off the skips she's supposed to be catching (she's a bounty hunter).
In the classic novel Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson, Ramona changes her name to Majella when she runs off with her lover.
In Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo, Jean Valjean goes by the names Monsieur Madeleine, Ultime Fauchelevent, and Urbain Fabre in order to hide his past.
In Shakespeare's As You Like It, Rosalind flees persecution at court and disguises herself as a young man named Ganymede.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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Kerth
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Kerth
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The Princess Bride (successive people use the identity of the Dread Pirate Roberts) Most spy novels and films - For example, James Bond uses numerous fake identities http://www.bondmovies.com/alias.shtmlAlso the Peter Sellers / Woody Allan Casino Royale film in which everyone is called James Bond! Several instances of Death taking on a human identity in various genres, e.g. the film Meet Joe Black, a couple of instances in Sandman comics spinoffs, Bill Door in the Discworld novels. Tom Riddle AKA Lord Voldemort
Last edited by Marcus Rowland; 08/14/15 11:20 PM.
Marcus L. Rowland
Forgotten Futures, The Scientific Romance Role Playing Game
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Not quite keeping secrets, but there's the old switcheroo in The Prince and the Pauper.
Battle On,
Deadly Chakram
"Being with you is stronger than me alone." ~ Clark Kent
"One little spark of inspiration is at the heart of all creation." ~ Figment the Dragon
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Beat Reporter
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Beat Reporter
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There is The Saint who goes through several identities first The Saint until the police figure out that Simon Templar is the Saint and then Sebastian Tombs with many short term identities used during capers.
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
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In classical mythology, the gods often disguise themselves for various reasons. In the story of Baucis and Philemon, for example, Zeus/Jupiter and Hermes/Mercury disguised themselves as humans to see whether they could find any humans who would offer hospitality to them in the form of giving them dinner and a place to sleep at night. Zeus/Jupiter also put on various disguises (everything from becoming a swan to becoming a beam of sunlight) to seek out hospitality of the nfic variety.
Joy,
Lynn
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Top Banana
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The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Emma Orczy
Sir Percy Blakeney is a wealthy English baronet who is a master of disguise, a skilled swordsman, and a quick-thinking escape artist who helps members of the French aristocracy escape the guillotine during the French Revolution. He poses as a dim-witted, foppish playboy to keep people from catching on.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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Blogger
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Blogger
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Ooh, love the Mulan idea. In that vain, Sleeping Beauty.
Battle On,
Deadly Chakram
"Being with you is stronger than me alone." ~ Clark Kent
"One little spark of inspiration is at the heart of all creation." ~ Figment the Dragon
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
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If we're going the fairy tale route, how about the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood?
Joy,
Lynn
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Features Writer
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Features Writer
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Top Banana
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Some film examples:
Star Wars. Senator/Chancellor/Emperor Palpatine is secretly Darth Sidious. Darth Vader used to be/is Anakin Skywalker.
A Kid in King Arthur's Court. The Black Knight is a master jouster who gives to the people. He's also a princess.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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LOTR again - Eowyn masquerades as a male warrior (I want to say Elmhelm?) to fight at the battle of the Pellanor (sp?) fields and only reveals herself as she slays the Witch King.
Battle On,
Deadly Chakram
"Being with you is stronger than me alone." ~ Clark Kent
"One little spark of inspiration is at the heart of all creation." ~ Figment the Dragon
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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I don't know if this quite fits, but how about Robin Hood?
VirginiaR.
"On the long road, take small steps." -- Jor-el, "The Foundling"
---
"clearly there is a lack of understanding between those two... he speaks Lunkheadanian and she Stubbornanian" -- chelo.
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Star Wars Ep 1 - The ruler lady pretends to be her handmaiden in case of capture. I think. I only watched that atrocity once.
Battle On,
Deadly Chakram
"Being with you is stronger than me alone." ~ Clark Kent
"One little spark of inspiration is at the heart of all creation." ~ Figment the Dragon
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
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How about The Prince and the Pauper? Two secret identities for the price of one.  Joy, Lynn
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Columnist
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Columnist
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How about the Count of Monte Cristo? Then again, there's Queen by Aley Haley.
Shallowford
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Top Banana
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How about the Count of Monte Cristo? Then again, there's Queen by Aley Haley. There's a fanfic by Stopquitdont based on The Count of Monte Cristo. PurgatoryIt's a good story and definitely worth a read.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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Kerth
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Kerth
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There's always the swapped at birth option, as in Good Omens: There's a trick they do with one pea and three cups which is very hard to follow, and something like it, for greater stakes than a handful of loose change, is about to take place.
The text will be slowed down to allow the sleight of hand to be followed.
Mrs. Deirdre Young is giving birth in Delivery Room Three. She is having a golden-haired male baby we will call Baby A.
The wife of the American Cultural Attaché, Mrs. Harriet Bowling, is giving birth in Delivery Room Four. She is having a golden-haired male baby we will call Baby B.
Sister Mary Loquacious has been a devout Satanist since birth. She went to Sabbat School as a child and won black stars for handwriting and liver. When she was told to join the Chattering Order she went obediently, having a natural talent in that direction and, in any case, knowing that she would be among friends. She would be quite bright, if she was ever put in a position to find out, but long ago found that being a scatterbrain, as she'd put it, gave you an easier journey through life. Currently she is being handed a golden-haired male baby we will call the Adversary, Destroyer of Kings, Angel of the Bottomless Pit, Great Beast that is called Dragon, Prince of This World, Father of Lies, Spawn of Satan, and Lord of Darkness.
Watch carefully. Round and round they go . . . . The Wikipedia article on secret identities may be useful https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_identity
Last edited by Marcus Rowland; 08/17/15 01:14 PM.
Marcus L. Rowland
Forgotten Futures, The Scientific Romance Role Playing Game
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