What’s in a Name?

A story as tragic as “Romeo and Juliet” came to be, simply because of a name. The age-old question, “what’s in a name” reminds us of the importance of ancestry, names, and even cultural symbols.  Taking a cultural approach to this question, we can examine different cultures and the importance they each hold in names. We can look specifically into African and African American culture through the works of Achebe, Senghor, and Head to examine the importance of names and their connection to ancestry. Bessie Head in her story, “The Deep River” explores the idea of only having your name left as a connection to your ancestry and the stories and meaning that comes along with it. Achebe gives us the story of Chike and his three names along with the complexities that come with blending two cultures. Senghor shows us the importance of names and naming objects in his poems, as he uses apostrophe to call out to people and inanimate objects. 

Lesson Idea 

Adding these texts to a core text such as Romeo and Juliet can help emphasize and understand the complexity of each story. This would create cross-cultural ties and allow students to examine their own cultural identity and what their name means to them. After reading the main text Romeo and Juliet, begin the discussion about names, allow students to reflect and discuss what their name and the family name means to them. A great project would be a lineage project or a conversation with their grandparents about their ancestors. As this project continues, introduce texts such as the above, to help the students draw connections to other cultures. Not only will this be an immersive project but also a time to self reflect and learn about themselves.