The Importance of a Name

A name is one of the first things you are ever given when you enter into this world. It is a special string of sounds that is unique only to you. It is something that your parents spend time crafting because it will follow you throughout your entire life. It is what your friends, acquaintances, teachers, bosses or cousins will refer to you as. Your last name is where your entire family history gets tacked onto the end of yours. It is one of the few things that stays unchanged throughout your entire life. Names make you unique and they give you a sense of individuality. In the Holocaust, victims were tattooed with numbers on their wrist to distinguish them. This is completely different from having names. The Nazi’s stripped all the Jews from what made them different and generalized them for convenience. This is extremely similar to the way a farmer would number his cows to keep track of them. All numbers are the same, they vary from one to nine, the only thing different being the order that they were arranged in. In “Song of Solomon,” many characters in the book have unique names. In the first chapter Macon Dead III gets the nickname Milkman for being breastfed at such a late age. He is referred as Milkman throughout most of the book. He had no control over the name, but it will becomes something that distinguishes him throughout the rest of the book. Names are very important, they serve as your personal identity and are one of the only things you have to carry throughout your life.