What one idea from Mr. Allard's chapter on the significance of names and their relationship to story struck you and why? Post a 3-sentence comment to this post.
I found how we were able to create an entire detailed story from just a few names as very significant because it accentuated how us humans have an extreme tendency to assume things based off of first impressions. We even built relationships between these characters and how they feel and look by simply hearing their names.
Names have the power to shape the way we perceive different characters from the moment we read them. If a storyteller names a character William Harrison Winthrop III, listeners can already create images in their mind of a wealthy, snobby, eccentric, British man; in contrast, they would assume a man named Scooter Bodine resides on the other end of the socio-economic spectrum. Unfortunately, names can also affect our perceptions of actual people, resulting in the stereotyping of those with ethnic sounding names as somehow inferior to those with more Caucasian sounding names.
The final portion of Mr. Tom’s show, during which we created complex characters based solely on their names, made me realize how easy it is to be prejudiced. We all imagined that a character with a pompous sounding name was a rich, snobby nobleman who earned his money in a questionable manner, even though he very well could have been a normal person who inherited an aristocratic name. Judging a person by his name is, after all, no better than judging him by the color of his skin.
I was struck by the fact that a character’s name plays a pivotal role in who that character is. When we hear someone’s name, we can make prejudgements on what we think that person looks like, what their social status is, or even the kind of person the are. The power of names in stories will be something I remember for my own writing when I need to come up with a name for a character.
When our class made connections and personalities when just given a name, this shocked me because I had never given much thought to the fact that authors pick names for specific reasons. This struck me because when I have written something and needed a name, I just used what I came up with first and never gave much thought about what could be associated with that name.
Authors put names in a book for a reason. Looking back on different stories I thought of the movie The Lion King; each main character’s name means something different. Simba means Lion, Mufasa means King, Rafiki means friend, and Pumba means foolish.
I found that once we as a class were given a name, everyone got about the same idea of who that person is, what they look like, what they do, and their position in society. A simple name was able to create generally the same image in everyone's mind is confusing and makes me wonder if this is something to do with how our brains work, or if that is how we think in a modern day context.
Names can create a story; with just a name you can create a background and connections with other characters. This is striking because when you hear a name, you can create a life for them (what they look like, what they do, etc.). Opposite characters can be connected too, like the example we did in class: Toxxic and Mrs. Flanders who were completely opposite still new each other and Mrs. Flanders takes care of Toxxic.
I find it staggering how we can judge a person just by their name and when storytelling, our class was able to come up with characteristics just by hearing a name. When the name Sally was mentioned everyone thought of characteristics in which pictured she was from the south and for a girl named Toxxic, we all came up with dark and pop rock character. Toxxic does sound like a name that would belong to someone into tattoos and piercings and Sally as a south girl, but we judge them by their name automatically which I believe many people do in reality.
The power of storytelling is especially striking because of how stories may not be based in fact, but are nevertheless more powerful because of their power to twist the ideas of the common people. In class, the story that Mr. Tom told us involved him allowing us to draw assumptions from a name alone, and surprisingly, a gargantuan amount of information was created just based on one person’s name, for instance, what their personality was like, what they did as a career, what the people around them thought of them, and so much more. Stories are so powerful because while the presidential polls get a lot of coverage in media, stories are actually the things changing the results of the polls, and so many other things that influence our daily lives.
The names activity Mr. Tom performed with our English class fascinated me for it gave name calling an entire new meaning. He mentioned how names can develop all sorts of personal stereotypes, ideas, and identities in your own head. I particularly remembered when Mr. Tom mentioned that the only things you need for the activity is a creative mind and story since I assumed story had nothing to with the activity.
Everyday, we makes split second conclusion about the world around us, and one thing we draw these conclusions from is names. We can create an entire person and what their life is like, just from hearing their name.
Just as an artist paints the picture they want us to see, a storyteller shares the story he wants us to hear. Rather the judge than the judge the story based on what he sees and hears, it is the responsibility of the of the listener to analyse how the story impacted him personally. The listener is then prepared to draw his own conclusions and create his or her own story.
I found how we were able to create an entire detailed story from just a few names as very significant because it accentuated how us humans have an extreme tendency to assume things based off of first impressions. We even built relationships between these characters and how they feel and look by simply hearing their names.
ReplyDeleteNames have the power to shape the way we perceive different characters from the moment we read them. If a storyteller names a character William Harrison Winthrop III, listeners can already create images in their mind of a wealthy, snobby, eccentric, British man; in contrast, they would assume a man named Scooter Bodine resides on the other end of the socio-economic spectrum. Unfortunately, names can also affect our perceptions of actual people, resulting in the stereotyping of those with ethnic sounding names as somehow inferior to those with more Caucasian sounding names.
ReplyDeleteThe final portion of Mr. Tom’s show, during which we created complex characters based solely on their names, made me realize how easy it is to be prejudiced. We all imagined that a character with a pompous sounding name was a rich, snobby nobleman who earned his money in a questionable manner, even though he very well could have been a normal person who inherited an aristocratic name. Judging a person by his name is, after all, no better than judging him by the color of his skin.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI was struck by the fact that a character’s name plays a pivotal role in who that character is. When we hear someone’s name, we can make prejudgements on what we think that person looks like, what their social status is, or even the kind of person the are. The power of names in stories will be something I remember for my own writing when I need to come up with a name for a character.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhen our class made connections and personalities when just given a name, this shocked me because I had never given much thought to the fact that authors pick names for specific reasons. This struck me because when I have written something and needed a name, I just used what I came up with first and never gave much thought about what could be associated with that name.
ReplyDeleteAuthors put names in a book for a reason. Looking back on different stories I thought of the movie The Lion King; each main character’s name means something different. Simba means Lion, Mufasa means King, Rafiki means friend, and Pumba means foolish.
ReplyDeleteWhen Mr. Tom described how sitting around the campfire allows us to connect with our family and ancestors, I was reminded of the many other ways humans try to satisfy our primal desire to commune with deceased loved ones. The ancient Greeks spoke to the dead at a sacred Necromanteion, the Chinese burn incense and ask their ancestors for advice and guidance, many Latin-American countries celebrate Dia De Los Muertos, a day to pray to and communicate with the dead, and hundreds of thousands of Japanese people who lost loved ones to the 2011 tsunami speak to them by calling them on the “wind phone.” These séances show how humans are loving and dedicated, but also how we are unwilling to give things up, highlighting both the strengths and weaknesses of human beings.
ReplyDeleteI found that once we as a class were given a name, everyone got about the same idea of who that person is, what they look like, what they do, and their position in society. A simple name was able to create generally the same image in everyone's mind is confusing and makes me wonder if this is something to do with how our brains work, or if that is how we think in a modern day context.
ReplyDeleteNames can create a story; with just a name you can create a background and connections with other characters. This is striking because when you hear a name, you can create a life for them (what they look like, what they do, etc.). Opposite characters can be connected too, like the example we did in class: Toxxic and Mrs. Flanders who were completely opposite still new each other and Mrs. Flanders takes care of Toxxic.
ReplyDeleteI find it staggering how we can judge a person just by their name and when storytelling, our class was able to come up with characteristics just by hearing a name. When the name Sally was mentioned everyone thought of characteristics in which pictured she was from the south and for a girl named Toxxic, we all came up with dark and pop rock character. Toxxic does sound like a name that would belong to someone into tattoos and piercings and Sally as a south girl, but we judge them by their name automatically which I believe many people do in reality.
ReplyDeleteThe power of storytelling is especially striking because of how stories may not be based in fact, but are nevertheless more powerful because of their power to twist the ideas of the common people. In class, the story that Mr. Tom told us involved him allowing us to draw assumptions from a name alone, and surprisingly, a gargantuan amount of information was created just based on one person’s name, for instance, what their personality was like, what they did as a career, what the people around them thought of them, and so much more. Stories are so powerful because while the presidential polls get a lot of coverage in media, stories are actually the things changing the results of the polls, and so many other things that influence our daily lives.
ReplyDeleteThe names activity Mr. Tom performed with our English class fascinated me for it gave name calling an entire new meaning. He mentioned how names can develop all sorts of personal stereotypes, ideas, and identities in your own head. I particularly remembered when Mr. Tom mentioned that the only things you need for the activity is a creative mind and story since I assumed story had nothing to with the activity.
ReplyDeleteEveryday, we makes split second conclusion about the world around us, and one thing we draw these conclusions from is names. We can create an entire person and what their life is like, just from hearing their name.
ReplyDeleteJust as an artist paints the picture they want us to see, a storyteller shares the story he wants us to hear. Rather the judge than the judge the story based on what he sees and hears, it is the responsibility of the of the listener to analyse how the story impacted him personally. The listener is then prepared to draw his own conclusions and create his or her own story.
ReplyDelete