the name we get and the one we receive

                Have you ever yelled out “Who is the MAN!!!??” from being overly excited? What about the time when you are called by a different name by someone else? What do the names used actually mean? The Doctors and Professors title, what does it mean? We grow up in a society with labels. We have to label someone a certain way to distinguish who is who. Needless to explain, we all goes through episodes where we are called names and, sadly, vice versa. There are times when we would give our self a different name, one that would best describe who we are at that specific time. The names I used in my email to the names I use when I am at the bar or strip club. It give us (me) a sense of belong to that specific time.

                Through the novel, Jasmine, the name character goes through a list of names. From her birth name, Jyoti, to her Americanized name, Jane. Which name is the official one? Does the name define who you truly are? Jyoti Punjab was born in India. She wants to change at age seven when she was foretold her widowhood and exile (Mukherjee pg 3). Even at the age of 24, she is still changing declaring: “I know what I don’t want to become” (Mukherjee pg 5). She realizes that she does not belong to India or its culture. She married Prakash and changed her name to Jasmine.

                Other names Jasmine was called was Jazzy, Kali, Jase and wife. On her journey to change, she was called Jazzy by Lillian. Jazzy sound so much more Americanized then Jyoti or Jasmine. Lillian would make Jazzy try different things like food. Her first taste of a western food was from Dairy Queen. “I remember Dairy Queen as my first true American food. How it soothed my still-raw tongue” (Mukherjee pg 133). Lillian even gave Jazzy test to see how she has exceeded her appearance of American. “We drove into a mall in Clearwater for the test. Time to try out my American talk and walk” (Mukherjee pg 133). Jazzy even changed herself physically by wearing “a T-shirt, tight cords, and running shoes” (Mukherjee pg 133).

                Jazzy goes through a lot of changes in each of her life, being called differently in each one. “I have had a husband for each of the women I have been” (Mukherjee 197). Her first husband, Prakash, was with Jasmine. Taylor was with Jase. Bud called her by Jane. She called herself Kali for Half-Face (Mukherjee 197). Kali is a Hindu goddess associated with death and destruction. She gave the name Half-Face to the perpetrator that raped her. Kali retaliate by killing Half-Face, thus giving herself the name Kali.

                There are names that we get and names that we give. Hey, what is up DUDE? That name probably means as much as nothing. Dude, probably describe half the population in America. Now replace dude with Veng and you've pinpoint your target into a single entity. I go through a lot of name changes. Each one would mean describe me in a different way. Lee used by most of my American name. It’s like a sense of belonging to America. At home, I am called Veng and that person at home is differently from the Lee far from home. Do the two names influence what the body does and, if it does, does it ultimately means we are two people? Jasmine goes through this process. Her name is forever changing in the novel. She knows what she does not want to become. With the name change, in her mind, she is changing. Her name became her identity, her action and herself.