No matter what angle you perceive identity from; everyone is born with a name. This is a specific name that you are to be called in common acknowledgement. However “the precision of naming takes away from the uniqueness of seeing.” –Pierre Barnard-. Names may promote an individual’s identity, yet it can also defy it.
Although his approach changes, this time seems to have stuck out the most to me. The importance of a name, is like the importance of big moments through your life. A name is what makes you yourself, how people remember you and what makes you special and unique. 4. “In America anything is possible. Do as you wish.”
Iranian writer, Firoozeh Dumas, in her narrative essay, “The F Word,”illustrates the challenges of having a different name in America. Dumas’ purpose is to represent the importance of accepting one’s identity and other’s. Having a different name brought her a great challenge to fit in with her peers. Through the story, she learned how to accept her own name and how should others accept people’s differences. She portrays this idea in a humorous way.
Society likes to paint a picture of what ethnicity belongs in what type of job or career. In movies, TV shows, or even in advertisements we see certain races portray certain roles. Hispanics usually are seen is housekeeping or hard labor roles, whites usually are portrayed in professional careers like doctors, lawyers or business men. While African Americans are usually view as athletes, whether they are in high school, college or the professional level they are seen playing sports. In an essay written by Henry Louis Gates Jr. called “Delusions of Grandeur” he makes a lot of great points regarding African Americans and how they are viewed in the professional aspect lifestyle.
What’s in a name? that which we call a rose/ By any other name would smell as sweet” (Romeo & Juliet 2.2 43-44). Shakespeare wrote these words to indicate that the value of a name is placed there only by the people who use it and no matter the name, it does not change the object. Roses are sweet in smell no matter the name and Mt. Denali is going to be the largest mountain in North America whether the name is Denali or McKinley.
Henry Louis Gates Jr., Delusion of Grandeur Henry Louis Gates Jr., PhD, distinguished educator, writer, and editor, wrote “Delusion of Grandeur,” an article for Sports Illustrated explaining the limited professional athletic career choices available to African American youth. Gates uses two of the three rhetorical appeals, pathos and ethos, to provoke the audience to bring about change in the public school system along with the community. His interpretation of the appeal is presented in a purposeful and compelling manner; Young African American children are encouraged to pursue athletics over academics. Can the emotional appeal to the parent’s in the audience influence a change in the public school system policy and practice of promoting children to the next grade due to athletic success by provoking a change in the mindset of society?
It is chosen with the characteristics from past bearers in mind. Names carry stories. They hold stories of the past. Names hold the history and culture of the past and bring them to the present. They are vessels through which the present can connect with the
From then on, I had no other name." 51). The. A person's name is one of the most important things to a person. It is the one thing you would assume
Although one’s name might seem menial in the grand scheme of things, it is a crucial part of one’s identity. By choosing to take her first husband’s last name, she was choosing to be her own person, without the obvious connection to her family that followed her wherever she went. Choosing which name she wanted to go by gave her the power to define her relationships, both with her parents and her second husband. By separating herself from the Cibber name, she was allowing herself to make her career, as well as her identity, her own, without the overbearing influence of her
Names essentially are used to give meaning to a person, ordinarily a person fills in that criteria. In the play The Importance of Being Earnest, Algernon, Ernest, and Cecily all have meaning behind their names and reasoning for their names that introduces themselves throughout the play. Algernon’s name comes
What’s in a name? Julian McCormick started the introduction to his 1899 book, The Child’s Name: A Collection of Nearly Five Hundred Uncommon and Beautiful Names for Children; with an Introduction on the Tasteful Use of Christian Names, with this very question. McCormick believed that the question of what to name a child is “the first important question in the child’s public life” and, therefore, “the duty of naming a child should not be considered of lesser importance.” He believed having a bad name can cause a child embarrassment and be a hindrance if it is difficult to pronounce or spell, issues which will persist throughout that child’s life. McCormick feared parents were setting their children up for failure and humiliation if they gave them names such as Pizarro McGiniss or Bartholomew Sweeney; although these names belonged to “great men and great saints, [they] are not remarkable for felicity or beauty, and are rather an affliction than an honor to their bearers.”
Roger Dooley starts by talking about the importance of names. He quotes Dale Carnegie, who says,” Remember that a man’s name is to him the sweetest and most important sound in any language” (Dooley 39). This quote in other words reminds us that hearing your own name can be a
A third implication mentioned by Ludden is that names contain "multiple words." In most cases this is true, it's natural in many cultures for people to be given a first, middle, last name as well as names of endearment (nicknames). This makes remembering an individual all the more difficult. Also, getting to know only one part of an individual's full name can be seen as rude or a lack of respect. In addition, providing one name offers no clear association to someone's full identity because one must take into consideration that a majority of the population can share similar names Therefore, it's safer to remember one's full name even though this is a task for most people to
Your name is who you are; it’s the essence of your being. You and your name will go through thick and thin, young and old, and life and death together. You two are forever inseparable, like brother and sister, white on rice, or a fat boy and triple chocolate cake. My name happens to be Mykel. To many people I encounter in life, phonetically pronounce my name as “Michael,” “Mukal,” or even “Mah-Kawyll” by my Southern eleventh grade AP English teacher, Ms. Clawson, who always butchered my name with different pronunciations for the first two months of the quarter, and somehow managed to make it sound similar to an imitation crow call by an amateur bird caller.
Another positive way is changing your name to fit in with each of religious beliefs, whether it relates to a culture, a country, or a religion. You can customize your name to fit your identity better to adjust your beliefs a bigger influence. For example, you can shift your name to honor an ancestor, a grandmother or grandfather or other relatives, or something from your heritage. Unfortunately, there are negative reasons for changing your name. For certain reasons, the frequent common reason is about the spelling.
