The House on Mango Street My Name Writing Assignment After reading, annotating, and discussing the chapter My Name in The House on Mango Street as a class, I want you to begin thinking about your own name and its significance. As you saw while reading, a name can have many different meanings to a person. Esperanza feels a strong connection to her grandmother even though she never knew her because they share the same name. Along with this she has a fear of becoming her grandmother and wishes to live a different life. She also mentions the meaning of her name in both Spanish and English and how her name sounds differently depending on who is speaking it. She makes the conclusion that she would like to change her name to a name more like the real me, the one nobody sees (11 The House on Mango Street). This chapter shows what Esperanza thinks about the significance of a name, and what connections she makes with her own name. Think about the following questions: What does your name mean to you? Does your name also have some kind of importance in your family history? Is it pronounced or spelled a certain way that is unique or has significance? Is there some kind of interesting story behind why you received your name? Do you think your name defines you a great deal, or are you who you are regardless of your name? Your assignment is to write one page, typed and double spaced, exploring your name. This is due Thursday, 11/20. Look up the literal meaning of your name and try to find the religious or historical significance your name may have. Take some time to think about the above questions and how you would answer them and then pick two or three questions to write about. Feel free to be creative while you write! This is not a formal essay and might be fun for you! For help, refer to the example essay provided for you on the back! Also see questions for the next three vignettes. Answer and prepare to discuss in class.
What s in a name? My name is Sara Angelina Bernhardsen Benedetto. I dare you to try saying it four times fast, or even to pronounce it correctly on your first try. When I was growing up I hated my name for the obvious reason because it was different. My appreciation for my unique name has grown immensely over time, because I understand what a gift it is to have a name that is a little different, a name that means something to me. The part of my name that sticks out to both the eye and the ear is Bernhardsen. This name came from my Danish grandfather. When he was very young his parents had many kids and were very poor and gave him to friends to adopt to make their lives easier. Though he still grew up seeing his brothers in school and eventually came to know them as an adult, he took his adopted parents last name, my mother s maiden name, of Sorensen. When I was born my mother gave me the second middle name of Bernhardsen in an effort to prevent the name from dying out in our family. As a child I listened to this story and eventually began to appreciate my strange second middle name that seems out of place, but on second glance fits right in. When I was a little girl my favorite name was Maria. I wished and wished that my parents had named my that instead of Sara, or at least made that my middle name. Eventually I found out two things: my dad had wanted to name me Maria but my mother refused and that my grandmother s middle name was Marie, which was almost as good as Maria in my mind. This just made me want the name Maria even more. I remember arguing with my mother about it as a child but why couldn t you have just let Dad name me Maria?!?! It s funny how a person can not only develop an appreciation for their name but grow into their name as well.
Sara is a modification of the name Sarah in Hebrew, and the meaning of the word is princess. In the bible Sarah was the wife of Abraham. What does this mean to me? Absolutely nothing. A name is what you make of it and what others make of it based on knowing you and the image you portray to go along with your name. Though a name certainly carries significance I don t think it can possibly define you, because without a name, your essence would be the same. At the core, we re all nameless humans stemming from the same place who need to be identified in some way.
Name Read the next three vignettes for Tuesday, 11/11 and prepare to discuss. Cathy Queen of Cats Why is Cathy s family about to move? What does that mean to Esperanza? What is your impression of Cathy? What evidence do you have to support this impression? What do you notice about the writing style in this vignette? What effect does this technique have? Our Good Day The name of this vignette is Our Good Day. What is so good about it? Find an example of contrast in this vignette. What effect does it have on the reader? Laughter Find an example of figurative language in this vignette. What effect does it have on the reader?
How does this vignette compare to the one called Boys & Girls?