In My Name By Okaikor Aryee-Price, And The Color Of Water

The concept of identities being defined by a name (or vice versa) is not an unfamiliar one -- in fact, one could argue it to be one of the most globally discussed topics in writing. My Name by Sandra Cisneros, What is in a Name? by Okaikor Aryee-Price, and The Color of Water by James McBride all prove that society judges people’s identities unfairly based on their names, devalues those with unfamiliar names, and shows little regard for personal identity.

Throughout these three texts, it is apparent that people often find themselves being treated differently if they have uncommon or unfamiliar names. In My Name, for example, Cisneros explores this idea through Esperanza’s struggle with her peers’ treatment of her name: “In English my name means hope,” she begins, in stark contrast to later in the story, where she writes: “At school they say my name funny as if the syllables were made of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth.” (1; par. 1, par. 5) This instance exemplifies the issue of

devaluing identities based on names. In this example, Esperanza finds her name being spoken with derision simply because it sounds slightly foreign. She continues: “ … in Spanish my name is made out of a softer something, like silver … ” This describes her love for her name, but also the feeling that her uncommon name causes her entire identity to be devalued.
This societal divide is expounded upon in the other stories, where the protagonists experience two similar situations.

“I do remember my Jewish name: Ruchel Dwajra Zylska,” wrote McBride in the The Color of Water. “My parents got rid of that name when we came to America and changed it to Rachel Deborah Shilsky.” (1; par. 2) Aryee-Price shares a comparable story in What is in a Name?, where her father was forced to change his name (originally Nii-Ayikuma) in order to attend a Catholic school. After being turned away the first day with his name, her father “return[ed] to school the next day with a new identity, a new name [Thomas Arnold]…” wrote Aryee-Price. (3; par. 17) The diminishing of identity here is clear; a child was forced to take on a name completely unrelated to his heritage or personal identity just to attend a school. These pieces describe perfectly the struggles that come with maintaining identity in the face of societal divides and

mistreatment.
Building upon this, the texts express the idea that names are crucial to one’s identity, and when society treats names with derision, that identity is threatened. The Color of Water’s protagonist’s experience with immigration to America is a strong example of this; while she changed her name to an Americanized version while she lived in the country, this couldn’t accurately capture her identity: “...I got rid of that name when I was nineteen and never used it again after I left Virginia for good in 1941. Rachel Shilsky is dead as far as I’m concerned. She had to die in order for me, the rest of me, to live.” (McBride 1; par. 2) Ruchel’s name was so crucial to her existence, she felt that if she continued to live that way, it would become not only a fake name -- but a fake identity and life.
In My Name, this idea is presented in a very different light at the end of the excerpt: “I would like to baptize myself under a new name,” said Esperanza, “A name more like the real me, the one nobody sees. Esperanza as Lisandra or Maritza or Zeze the X. Yes. Something like Zeze the X will do.” (Cisneros 1; par. 6) Not only did Esperanza feel like her given name misrepresented her identity, but she felt the need to change her name to reflect her true self. And in yet another case, in What is in a Name? Aryee-Price describes an experience she had while teaching that brought to light the importance of appreciating names and identity. In this case, she encouraged a student to embrace his uncommon name (Jayendra). Timid and bashful at first, the child gradually opened up about it as Aryee-Price “showed him his name carried strength and power.” (3; par. 31)
It is interesting that three pieces, from three different authors writing three completely different stories have so much in common. My Name by Sandra Cisneros, What is in a Name? by Okaikor Aryee-Price, and The Color of Water by James McBride explore these universal ideas: society devalues identity by judging those with uncommon names unfairly; and only by having pride in their identity can people be true to themselves.