Sunday, April 14, 2019
Names pt3
This blog is in response to the two posts about names in Beloved. Via Ritchie and Lainey. I agree with the both of you that names are a huge significance in Beloved. In fact, names are a huge deal in everything we read, watch and write about. Authors take time to think of specific names with specific allusions or meanings, parents spend 9 months- their whole lives thinking of the perfect name for their even more perfect child, and little kids take about .6 seconds to think of a name for their brand new puppy they got for their birthday. All are significant in their own way. On the bus ride back to the hotel in Austin after one of the days of the conference this weekend, we were discussing the significance of names and their meanings. We talked about names we might name our children one day, our own names and their meanings, and the names we might have been called by our parents otherwise. Lana Day told us about the significance of her picking the name. Lana means “to float” in another language, and she explained that it brings her peace to think of her name and floating when life becomes overwhelming and it feels like she’s drowning. Pretty deep, right? Names are sooo important in our society and how we identify ourselves and our work. What does your name mean to you?
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Since Bella asked, I'll answer her question about "what my name means to me?" Gabriella, in Italian is "Woman of God." My family is Italian and has named me accordingly. My middle name is Elizabeth, modeled after a late aunt of mine. It is clear that my name wasn't just a cutesy one on a list in the year of 2001. My family put in thought toward the meaning and significance behind what I am to be called forever. As my name means "Woman of God," I have personally attempted to be as spiritual a person as much as logistics allow. Additionally, as I am named after one in heaven, I live in someone's memorial as well. No, it is not something I think of everyday, but it is something that I allow to define me, as do the characters in Beloved. For example, Sethe is named after her father and was kept due to her father's race. I'm sure she doesn't wake up every morning and think of her namesake, nor do I, but it is something that lives inside of her as it does in me, and it resonates as part of our identity.
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