Diagnostic
What’s in a Name?
Daily Work
See page 51 in Convergences. The prompt suggests three perspectives. Note that I am asking for two, a personal response and a consideration of what someone else says.
The first part of this assignment asks you to reflect on your name. You may write about its meaning, its connection to family, your feelings about it, your pet name (sobriquet) or any other important aspect of your name. Express your thoughts freely and honestly. Remember to consider paragraph organization and rules of Standard English.
The second part of the assignment asks you to add a paragraph that discusses one of the texts from the cluster “What’s in a Name?” Please use a quote; introduce it with a signal phrase (examples below), and use your Handbook for a proper MLA citation.
The Greg Klee illustration William, Bill, Billy reminds me of the way we refer to children according to the circumstance or feeling at hand. For some I am Sammy, and I will always be Sammy, I guess, at least until my aunts are dead.
In his essay “Leave Your Name at the Border,” Manuel Munoz suggests that names often say more than we realize.