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Describe the importance of individuality in society
Relationship of one's language to social identity
Factors that shape personal identity
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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. When thinking of my name influencing my self-concept I believe it does because
However, Xxxxxx is my preferred name and the name that relates to my culture and the land where I grew up. It is “my piko name connecting to my aina”. It also connects me to my ancestors and enables me to feel their presences. Even though I highly prefer this name, I cannot use this name openly as I want to which is a big burden for me. Nevertheless, the significance it carries and the culture that prevents me to disclose this name are very important to me. The significance of my home lanf and my cuture is what makes this name very special. Therefore I feel comfortable sacrificing my preference over my culture and belief.
In the article “The Name Is Mine” by Anna Quindlen, she explains her story about her name, why she chose to keep it, and why it has such meaning to her. As a result of keeping her maiden name, there were many positive and negative aspects that went along with it.
“Can you imagine what a mess a world would be without names? (website)Names are very important to a person and their individuality. Ayn Rand’s novel “Anthem” is a book in which the people written about do not have names. The importance of having your own individual names is huge. A name can have meaning given to it, like how the name Sue means lily. Most parents when giving you your name have a meaning behind it and put much thought into what their future child should be named. Names can give you a part of your identity.
A name given to a person at birth is out of his or her control. Esperanza had no choice in the name she was given. Changing her name would give her some control.
The one aspect that separates humans from other species is the ability to use language and create names. The combination of letters and syllables which make up a name is a powerful piece that distinguishes one individual from another. A name is given at birth and is one of the most personal characteristics which provide a sense of uniqueness and belonging. In the book The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, the main character Esperanza is so consumed by the negativity in her name that she begins to perceive herself in the same manner and believes that inheriting her grandmother’s name will cause her to share a similar fate.
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.
As a young girl, I was never fond of the name Anna. The name came along with too much baggage.. Unknowingly, people would constantly call me the wrong name, and some people, disregarding my opinion, even created strange nicknames for me. Over the years, I have been called a variety of names including Annie, Ann, Anna, Annabelle, Anne Frank, banana, banana boat, etc. Frankly, there are just too many variations of the name “Anna”. Being an extremely common name, almost everywhere I go, whether it be school or the grocery store, I always seem to find another “Anna”. Although nameberry.com tells me that “Anna” means grace, it actually means unique, intelligent, and affectionate.
Over the course of my childhood I faced an obstacle of my identity as a child, I was becoming everyone else image of me instead of creating my own portrait. Unfortunately, I began to dress, talk, and behave like the people around me, I became a product of my environment. Myself started to change I gained a reputation of this little girl with a careless attitude, and a malicious looking face. I wasn’t being recognized by my own family members, and it started to affect my relationship at home. I started slacking in my studies, and just started diminishing myself and my personality. The issue was focused in middle school when I joined the Science Technology Engineering Mathematics Scholars after school team. I was a fanatic about learning about
All of my life I have been called countless names, some of which irritated me and some did not bother me at all. In elementary school, when kids thought about the name ‘Jackie’ they tended to connect it to Jackie Chan thus calling me ‘Jackie Chan’. Furthermore, the kids seemed to link the name to being a masculine name the majority of the time, which began to annoy me since I answered the question, “Why do you have a boy’s name,” so many times. As years went by, I became used to being asked the question and the kids matured, thus stopped calling me ‘Jackie Chan.’
Identity-“Ones personal qualities.”Identiy is something only he or she can fully define. My uncle says I am affectionate,cheerful, and calm. My grandmother sees me as slim, pretty and sweet. My dad described me as perky, cheerful and happy, my mom says beautiful, gentle, and self-conscious. These adjectives describe me accurately, yet they are only abstract versions of me. Adjectives cannot begin to describe me and I aknowlege these descriptions for what they are, a condensed translation from my outward self to the world. It is impossible for anyone to understand me completely because nobody has experienced the things I have. My mother has never cherished a raggedy doll named Katie and my father never spent hours upon hours making collages and scrap books for his future children. My uncle never hid in the back of a pick-up-truck and traveled four hours to New York and my grandmother has never walked hours in the rain looking for the Queen of England. My identity is something only I can define.
Is it important to know what is behind your name? Now in days, many names are given without knowing their meanings or where they come from. For example, I was given the name of Judith just because my parents heard it and liked it. It depends where and in which culture were they raised. For this purpose I researched my name Judith. Some of the main points I found were interesting to me like the history and my personality.
I love my name and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I love my name because it is a family name, it really means alot to me. I love my family and that is the most important thing to me other than God. In “The House on Mango Street” Esperanza says “I don’t want to inherit her place by the window”, she also says she “inherited” a family name like me. Esperanza says that she does not want to inherit her grandmother’s “place by the window” and I can’t blame her I wouldn’t either, but I want to inherit everything I can from my family. Like being humble, kind, loving God, having a way with people, good hunters, but most importantly putting God first and family second. I want to carry every bit of that with me that I
Name Perception: What’s in a name? Does a name shape the way one is perceived in a positive or negative way? There has been much discussion about names and if they do or do not impact identity. No two people seem to have the same opinion.
A name represents more than just a person; it represents who they are. I look up to my mother because she has maintained a positive outlook in life, which has allowed her to acquire everything she wants. However, she has dealt with many obstacles along the way, some of which are a minor stroke, skin cancer, a broken leg, pneumonia, and arthritis.
Nearly half of my lifetime ago, I had written out those four letters in sharpie on his bruised flesh, making him pinky-promise (the specified appendage made the covenant all that much more official, of course) to think of me every time he wanted to shoot up, so that I could help him through it. I had expected it to work, to fix him; after all, I’d always been able to make him all better before. It wasn’t until I saw him in person again years later that I realized how wrong I was.