I once waited tables, and one table in particular will haunt me forever. After a normal meal, an older gentleman gave me his credit card to pay for the meal. The name on the card was none other than Gordie Howe. I was star struck to say the least. When I approached him, I immediately asked for his autograph on my grandfather's 50th anniversary card. He looked the part and acted the part too. After giving the card to my grandparents, I had it appraised. I was happy to find that an authentic Gordie Howe autograph is worth anywhere from $300 to thousands, waiting for the autograph. I was not happy to find out that the autograph I got was not an autograph of Gordie Howe, the famous hockey legend, but the autograph was of someone who looked, acted and had the same name as the hockey legend . To this day I have never told my grandparents about the uselessness of the autograph. Identity swapping can happen anywhere. But when it's a story or a play, the characters have no control over who they are. Characters with mistaken identities in works like “Oedipus the King” and “The Brothers Menechmus” have had very different outcomes. Below I will first define what mistaken identity is, show how mistaken identity helps the reader see that characters have no control over their fate, and show that through mistaken identity the characters' lives change rapidly. Through these three characteristics, I will show that mistaken identity helps make a story interesting to the reader. First, let's define mistaken identity. To do this, you need to define a character's identity, before you can figure out what the mistaken identity really is. The identity of the character in a play is very similar to the identity of any individual… in the center of the card… the king was no longer there. In fact, it would have looked the opposite. It would be everything he lived his life for. He would never regain the honor and pride he once had due to his mistaken identity. In hindsight, Oedipus probably shouldn't have killed anyone. Then perhaps he would be able to escape his fate. Or if Meneachmus 1 had lived a life based on the deception of his loved ones, perhaps he could have avoided losing his wife and friends with his newfound brother. This is what makes swapping identities in drama or real life so interesting. It can change fate and/or life for the better and sometimes for the worse. Regardless, mistaken identity is a great way to make a comedy or situation interesting. If I had known that the man I was getting an autograph from wasn't the real Gordie Howe, would I have gotten his autograph, probably not?