Do you think your name defines who you are? The chapter from the book The Misfits by James Howe and the article New Life In The US No longer Means New Name by Sam Roberts both deal with the ways names can affect someone culturally and personally. Although both texts have similar messages, the theme of names is different in each. In The Misfits by James Howe the theme addressing how names can affect someone is revealed through Bobby’s speech. Bobby addresses the effect of the way names can affect someone as he talks about his own personal experiences he encountered with being called a name. For instance, When the kids call Bobby fluff when he said “And that hurt”. Bobby showed how that when the kids call him fluff it hurt him. He does not want other kids to feel hurt by names people call them. Bobby further states, that “Another thing …show more content…
Sam Roberts reveals the ways how immigrants coming to the US altered their last names to fit in more by giving examples of real life experiences of when immigrants came to the US. To illustrate, when Sam Roberts says “Adopting names that sounded more American might help immigrants speed assimilation”. When he says this he is explaining that changing a name to sound more American helped you fit it and not be discriminated. If you didn’t you would possibly be treated differently than someone who Americanised their name. Additionally, In the article says “Some names were simplified by shipping agents as immigrants boarded ships in Europe.” When this is addressed in the article they are talking about if you’re name was complicated the staff who worked in immigration would anglicize their name to make it easier to say. In this article Sam Roberts is addressing how names affect the way and how fast you could assimilate to the
In life, people basically know who you are only if they know your identity. But the meaning of identity can be a factor of things that represents who they are based on a person's belief. For some people, their name is their identity. In the article, "Why Should Married Women Change Their Names? Let Men Change Theirs" by Jill Filipovic, the author argues how women, who change their last names to their husband's, consequently lose their "basic marker of their identity" (Filipovic 25). The author makes this argument to question if there is a such thing as family unity if a woman gives up her last name to "[subsume her] own identity into [her] husband's" (Filipovic 26). The author's claims and views on the issue may seem not completely fair since
One’s identity is influenced by many things. It’s something that one has a choice of what he wants to become. One has a personal choice as to what identity he possesses; for instance, he can choose what he likes, who he wishes to be friends with, and what he wears. After all, “Fashion is an expression of personal identity” (Latterell 11). Queen Latifah states, “All things start inside your soul and work outward” meaning that it is one’s choice as to what he lets work its way out (Latifah 34). People have even made personal choices that affect their identity by changing their name. Just as Firoozeh Dumas describes in The “F Word”, “Thus I started sixth grade with my new, easy name and life became infinitely simpler” (Dumas 86). People made fun of Dumas’ name, Firoozeh, and thus made her want to change her name to fit in; she changed her identity. An identity is mainly comprised of personal choice.
After reading “ My Name” by Sandra Cisneros I realized something i really never thought was important was indeed important. In this excerpt Esperanza states how she doesn't want to be like her great-grandmother whom has the same name but she wants to be different, she wants to break free from the meaning that her great-grandmother gave to the name. From her saying this I found out that I related to Esperanza more that what i thought. I relate because I know what it's like to have inherited a name and have to try to exceed in being the meaning of that name, but like Esperanza “I don't want to inherit a seat by the window’’, instead i want to break free from the chains of the meaning of the name and create a new meaning.
name is nothing but character of a particular person , if developed and strengthened over time,
Names are an important part of defining one's identity. After all, when someone asks you who you are you tell him your name. Reading A Personal Matter I was struck by the role of names in the story. The main character is known as Bird and this nickname gives Bird an identity that he struggles to overcome throughout his story. He sees himself as being just like a bird. "It wasn't only that his hunched shoulders were like folded wings, his features in general were birdlike. His tan, sleek nose thrust out of his face like a beak and hooked sharply toward the ground....Then the image he was observing in the window glass was a composite of his entire life"(3). His only problem is that he can not fly away from his problems, despite the desire he harbors in regards to "flying off" to Africa. He appears more to flap his wings helplessly much of the time, lacking direction in his life and in the decisions that he must make.
A person’s identity is shaped by many different aspects. Family, culture, friends, personal interests and surrounding environments are all factors that tend to help shape a person’s identity. Some factors may have more of an influence than others and some may not have any influence at all. As a person grows up in a family, they are influenced by many aspects of their life. Family and culture may influence a person’s sense of responsibilities, ethics and morals, tastes in music, humor and sports, and many other aspects of life. Friends and surrounding environments may influence a person’s taste in clothing, music, speech, and social activities. Personal interests are what truly set individuals apart. An individual is not a puppet on the string of their puppet-master, nor a chess piece on their master’s game board, individuals choose their own paths in life. They accomplish, or strive to accomplish, goals that they have set for themselves throughout their lifetime. Individuals are different from any other individual in the world because they live their own life rather than following a crowd of puppets. A person’s identity is defined by what shaped it in the first place, why they chose to be who they are, and what makes them different from everybody else in the world. I feel that I have developed most of my identity from my own dreams, fantasies, friends, and idols.
I have read an account called " 'What's in a Name? " ", which is composed by Henry Louis Gates. This account demonstrates to us a youth experience of the creator that happened amid the mid-1950s. In the article, Gates alludes to an occurrence when a white man, Mr. Wilson, who was well disposed with his dad, called his dad "George", a name which was a prominent method for alluding to African Americans in those circumstances. In any case, Gates' dad needed to acknowledge this separation and couldn't make a move around then. By utilizing sentiment to bring out individuals' enthusiastic reaction, and utilizing suggestion, Gates effectively communicates his claim that name shapes individuals' discernments
As you grow up you learn the language which is a system of arbitrary signs and symbols used to communicate (pg. 77). The language of any culture can define a person, but ultimately your name can define much more than what a language can. With our verbal communication, the way in which we use the words in a language to generate meaning (pg. 77), we can generate a meaning with our names and with that meaning we can potentially define who we are. As I think of my whole name, “Elisa Monique Hernandez”, I personally enjoy the way it flows, so when asking do I like my name, I do because it is the name I was given and the name I will keep forever, unless I get married.
The name Megan defines who I am as a person because of the name it is derived from, the translation of the name it is derived from,
They even can become of use to you. If you want to change their character, you just need to assign them the name that you speculate will get the job done. So if you think you’re friend needs to lose a few pounds, you start calling them pudgy or jelly belly, to make them hit them gym. With all the new names we gain through life, what’s the point of being named at birth? Our friends, family, and co-workers will be able to give us new names as we go through life. Week to week people could have different names. People can obviously share a common name as well. If there's countless Madisons in the world, it’s possible for millions of women to have the name slut! With names coming out on the daily, the options will soon be endless. You’ll have new names daily based on your personality, quirks, and things people may just not admire about your
I have a name, it is not my given name but it carries with it great pride and love, to some it means nothing, to me it's a gift and an ongoing accomplishment, my name is mommy. Before I was a parent I did not understand how being a parent could be work, babies do nothing but sleep, toddlers just draw, then when they are a little older you shove them off to school and teenagers are never home. Piece of cake, right? Of course, now being a parent I realize that I never truly understood what the word busy meant and that "Nothing was true about me until now" (Versulys).
On the subject of how your name can alter how well you do in school, “In 1948, two professors at Harvard University published a study of thirty-three hundred men who had recently graduated, looking at whether their names had any bearing on their academic performance.” (Konnikova, Maria. The
Through all the years of your life how do you feel about your name? Of course everyone has a name but then again how would you feel if someone was calling you a name that your parents did not give you, or trying not to remembering your name at all or giving you a new name just because of the reputation you’ve made good or bad. Either the situation name calling good or bad has given the person emotion and feeling to the name that he or she has gotten.
With a great name, comes great responsibility. This means that there is a lot of expectations that come with a name. If your name has been passed down from generation to generation you probably understand the feeling of having to meet certain “standards”. If i could count every time someone assumed I was an Anglo girl because of my name using my fingers, I’d have a million hands. The name Samantha has always been a heavy weight I haven't been able to lift off my shoulders because I believe it represents me as a Samantha that carries books and has perfect grades. A Samantha that plays sports and is the president of the student council. A Samantha that has won employee of the month for 6 months straight while, I, have won none. People assume that because I have an Anglo name that I will be fair skinned and blonde. People assume that because my name can be shortened and dismembered that I am automatically their friend. My name, is a burden.
Is your name your identity? And if not, is it possible to maintain a stable and truthful inside identity when deprived of all signs of uniqueness such as your own name?