In Chretien de Troyes, names play a very big role in the self-discovery of the knights. The knights in the stories conceal their identity, stripping away all of the glory that comes with their reputation and do battle under an alias. For example in Cliges, Cliges conceals his identity by changing the color of his armor each day he goes out to fight. He does this because he does not want the knights to recognize him on the battlefield. Cliges is a good fighter, being very strong and skilled in combat, but he wants to prove himself to the knights he is fighting rather than have them be intimidated by his reputation. In a way, he proved his identity by concealing it; reputation is a trait that must be hidden to sustain the knightly order of
combat and preserve the fairness of the fight. However, in the tale of Erec and Enide, Erec does not only conceal his name from the knights he does battle with to not let his reputation preceed him. Erec also refuses to give up his name to his fellow knights of Arthur’s court when they find him in the forest after all of the adventures he had gone on to determine Enide’s loyalty to him. Because he is unrecognizable from being out in the wilderness for so long, when Gowain and Kay find him in the forest and ask for his name, he refuses to give it up, due to shame, almost sparking a battle with Kay. Not letting his reputation precede him has nothing to do with his motivation for anonymity, in fact his motivation is quite the opposite being that he is at rock bottom and has “fallen from grace,” so to speak, and does not want his colleagues to see him in that shameful state. However, had he revealed his identity to them sooner, he might have received aid and assistance from them faster. In a way, each instance of identity concealment in these tales has purely selfish and egotistical motivations be it to prove oneself on the battlefield or to not loose face in front of friends.
In this tale Lyonet was sent to find a noble knight to rescue her sister from the Red Knight of the Red Launds.When she came to King Arthur’s court to ask of such a knight to aid her, a man to the name of Sir Beaumains asked to be the one to rescue the sister of Lyonet. At this point of the tale Sir Beaumains was considered to be not as noble as Lyonet had wanted. Beaumains wouldn’t leave her on her journey back to her sister. Lyonet kept referring to Beaumains as a kitchen knave from King Arthur’s court and would give him no respect as a knight. Throughout the journey Beaumains would not reveal his true identity and Lyonet kept wishing him gone. She would tell all of the knights that they came across in their journey what kind of man he was and taunt them to get them to fight. Every time Beaumains would win. Finally Beumains overcame the Red knight of the Red Launds and saved Lyonet’s sister, Dame Lyonesse. Once Lyonesse was freed she fell madly in love with Beaumains and wanted to be with him. Everytime Lyonesse would sneak into the room to “be with” Beaumains Lyonet would send a knight into the room and to do great harm to Beaumains so that they could not do the things they were trying to do. Lyonet never trusted Beaumains to be a truly noble knight until his name was revealed and his lineage was known.
Identity represents the people around us, friends, family, complete strangers, but not often do people stop to think about what makes up a specific person’s identity. The novel No Great Mischief demonstrates the importance of identity by exploring national and family history of a Scottish family. It is a novel about the MacDonalds that immigrated to what Canada was in the 1700s. Their family history is told by Alexander MacDonald, a descendant of Calum Ruadh who was his great-great-great grandfather. Calum Ruadh set off on the journey from Scotland and settled in Cape Breton Island in 1779. Calum Ruadh and his successors kept family identity for centuries by keeping the dogs from the same ancestor, the dog that Calum Ruadh brought with him from Scotland, from his land of origin, to Cape Breton Island in 1779. In addition, the family identity is recognizable by their physical appearance unique to their family. The
People often drop names to assure the achievement of whatever goal it is they are trying to achieve. This tactic works especially well in business, but it can also work in argument. Names of influential people have influential affects. “I know Don Corleone,” would certainly have gotten nearly anything done in Mario Puzo’s The Godfather. Both Simone de Beauvoir and Niccolò Machiavelli used the names of well-known people to add a sense of importance and truth to what it was they were saying. Their choice of names is very similar. They both chose fabled heroes, past and present political figures and fictional powers to help their work gain value. However, they differ in a subtle way. The names are used much like a recipe uses measurements: one part politics to two parts fiction. This ratio adds a different tone to each argument, which also helps to get the author’s, de Beauvoir or Machiavelli’s, point across.
What's in a name? that which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet; / So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, / Retain that dear perfection which he owes / Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, / And for that name which is no part of thee / Take all myself."
We think people act the way that their true identity is. Every person has disguised
...le knowing their identity, so that they do not have to face the judgments of others. "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person! Give him a mask and he'll tell you the truth!" (Velvet Goldmine).
Authors have used the element of secrecy to produce a desired effect in their novel throughout history. Vital pieces of information are often withheld from other characters for various reasons. Secrecy is necessary in some cases. Information may be withheld to protect the one sharing the information, to protect others, or a person might not be in the right position to share such information to other trustworthy people. Some secrets are meant to be kept until death and others are to be withheld until the moment is right to share among others. In Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice the main character, Elizabeth, has to decide which secrets she has to hide forever and which ones to share with others.
Himmelfarb, Martha. Tours of Hell: An Apocalyptic Form in Jewish and Christian Literature. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1983.
Everyone has a poker face. Everyone has a bunbury. Everyone keeps secrets, and everyone lies. The question is, how does one tell if another is truthful about their intentions? There are many different cases in which one will lie about who they really are, but there is no telling when it is okay and if they can be forgiven. In many different stories that were read in Late British Literature this semester, we have characters that keep secrets from friends and loved ones. The simple truth is, people’s words are often different from the truth.
An identity is more than just a name. Sometimes an identity is the first thing and possible the only thing a person notices about one or the other. A person's identity can represent their culture, their race and sometimes, even possible their family background. My identity is what represents me. For those who does not know me personally but knows my name, knows my identity. This identity is what people will recognize me as for now and possible for ever.
In the Medieval Period, knights dedicated their lives to following the code of chivalry. In Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, a number of characters performed chivalrous acts to achieve the status of an ideal knight. Their characteristics of respect for women and courtesy for all, helpfulness to the weak, honor, and skill in battle made the characters King Arthur, King Pellinore, and Sir Gryfflette examples of a what knights strove to be like in Medieval society. Because of the examples ofchivalry, Le Morte d’Arthur showed what a knight desired to be, so he could improve theworld in which he lived.
When attending a masquerade, a person is expected to wear a mask. In fact, it’s looked down upon if a mask isn’t worn. But, what if for some people that mask never came off? In A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, each character has constructed their own metaphorical mask that they set firmly in place every morning when exiting their bed. Each character: Nora, Torvald, Kristine and Krogstad all have masks that they put in place when speaking to each other. Throughout most of the play, it is clear that all of the aforementioned characters have multiple facades that they use when speaking to one another; often switching quickly as they begin speaking to someone else. Henrik Ibsen’s use of the masquerade serves as an extended metaphor to show the masks that the characters use in their everyday lives.
Leonato: ‘I find here that.bestowed much honour on. Claudio’. Deeds in war of course come hand in hand with reputation and a good name, which plays an important role in the play. Another quotation showing the importance of a good name is where Hero talks to Ursula about Benedick in the garden scene in Act 3 Scene 1. Hero: ‘Indeed, he hath an excellent name’.
Deception, deceit, and a false appearance all describe a lying technique known as a facade. Presenting the facade to Winston and Julia of a member of the Brotherhood, O’Brien successfully convinces them of his hatred towards the Party. During their meeting with O’Brien, Winston describes O’Brien as his “whole life was playing a part, and that he felt it to be dangerous to drop his assumed personality even for a moment” (Orwell 170). Winston refers to O’Brien’s obvious discomfort and strange behavior, believing that he is placing a facade of a Party member while he did the opposite. The entire quote properly describes a facade using the key phrases of “playing a part” and “assumed personality.” O’Brien directly lies to Winston and Julia through
Abraham Lincoln once said that character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing. Reputation can be destroyed by one poor decision or speech while character is stable and unlikely to waver. A person who is proud of their actions is more likely to hold their character in high regard and behave in ways that they consider honorable. In order to determine an individual’s reputation, a society will view a person based on how they appear given the beliefs and value systems of the community. A good reputation is earned when an individual’s unique value system aligns with the community’s values. In the event that a good reputation is soiled by acting against what society views as