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Name:Date:Period:What’s in a Name? Writing AssignmentTo help us get to know one another as the year is beginning, we will be writing mini-essays about our names and what they mean to us.As a way to get started, let’s look at a few pieces of literature about names:#1:Her first name was India – she was never able to get used to it. It seemed to here that her parents must have been thinking of someone else when they named her. Or were they hoping for another sort of daughter? As a child she was often on the point of inquiring, but time passed, and she never did.Mrs. Bridge, by Evan S. Connell#2:In Bali, if I may digress, there are only four names that the majority of the population give to their children, regardless of whether the baby if a boy or a girl. The names are Wayan (pronounced “Why-Ann”), Made (“mah-DAY”), Nyoman and Ketut. Translated, these names mean simply First, Second, Third and Fourth, and they connote birth order. If you have a fifth child, you start the name cycle all over again, so that the fifth child is really known as something like: “Wayan to the Second Power.” And so forth. If you have twins, you name them in the order they came out. Because there are basically only four names in Bali it’s totally possible (indeed, quite common) that two Wayans would marry each other. And then their firstborn would be named, of course: Wayan.This gives a slight indication of how important family is in Bali, and how important your placement in that family is. You would think this system would become complicated, but somehow the Balinese work it out. Understandably and necessarily, nicknaming is popular. For instance, one of the most successful businesswomen in Ubud is a lady who has a busy restaurant called Café Wayan, and so she is known as “Wayan Café” – meaning, “The Woman who owns Café Wayan.” Somebody else might be known as “Fat Made,” or “Nyoman-Rental-Car” or “Stupid-Ketut-Who-Burned-Down-His-Uncle’s-House.”Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert#3JULIET:O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?Deny thy father and refuse thy name;Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,And I'll no longer be a Capulet.ROMEO:[Aside] Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?JULIET:'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,Nor arm, nor face, nor any other partBelonging to a man. O, be some other name!What's in a name? that which we call a roseBy any other name would smell as sweet;So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,Retain that dear perfection which he owesWithout that title. Romeo, doff thy name,And for that name which is no part of theeTake all myself.ROMEO:I take thee at thy word:Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized;Henceforth I never will be Romeo.Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare#4:In English my names means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting. It is like the number nine. A muddy color. It is the Mexican records my father plays on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, song like sobbing.It was my great-grandmother’s name and now it is mine. She was a horse woman too, born like me in the Chinese year of the horse – which is supposed to be bad luck if you’re born female-but I think this is a Chinese lie because the Chinese, like the Mexican, don’t like their women strong.My great-grandmother. I would’ve liked to have known her, a wild horse of a woman, so wild she wouldn’t marry. Until my great-grandfather threw a sack over her head and carried her off. Just like that, as if she were a fancy chandelier. That’s the way he did it.And the story goes she never forgave him. She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow. I wonder if she made the best with what she got or was she sorry because she couldn’t be all the things she wanted to be. Esperanza. I have inherited her name, but don’t want to inherit her place by the window.At school they say my name funny as if the syllables were made out of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth. But in Spanish my name is made out of a softer something, like silver, not quite as thick as sister’s name-Magdalena-which is uglier than mine. Magdalena who at least can come home and become Nenny. But I am always Esperanza.I would like to baptize myself under a new name, 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.“My Name” from The House On Mango Street, by Sandra CisnerosPrewriting 1:Fill this sheet up with ideas for information that you could include in your mini-essay. Here are some questions you might want to answer.What language is your name from? What does it mean?How did your parents choose your name?Do you go by any nicknames? Why or why not?What do you think about when you think of your name?Do you like your name? Why or why not?How does your name sound? Is it harsh or soft? Is there alliteration? Does it rhyme with anything?Prewriting 2:Choose a tone for your piece. Look particularly at the Sandra Cisneros selection as a model for this step; in her piece, I would describe the tone as “melancholy,” and I think her word choice, anecdotes, and sentence structure reflect that.*Note* - Your tone does not also have to be melancholy. It can be whatever you feel about your name and yourself.The tone I am trying to establish: ____________________________Words that could support this tone:Anecdotes that could support this tone:A note about sentence structure:Smart authors use short and long sentences purposefully.A short, simple sentence might:Emphasize something important.Create a terse, moody tone.Show that the author is trying to state things plainly.A longer sentence might:Effectively communicate a complex idea.Create a “flowing” tone.Create a sense of suspense (the reader has to get through more to find out how the sentence will end).The best pieces of writing often use a variety of sentence lengths, and the author chooses those lengths based on what the writing needs. Keep sentence length in mind as you compose your essay.Your essay about your name should be around 500 words. Please type this assignment. Include a creative title. ................
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