Names and Titles in Gloria Naylors novel, Mommy, What Does Nigger Mean

Names and Titles in Gloria Naylors novel, Mommy, What Does Nigger Mean Words themselves ar innocuous it is the consensus that gives them veritable power. (Naylor 344) A name is a mark of classification, a basis for self identity. subject to elevate or annihilate a persons perception of herself and the surrounding society, these designations earth-closet uplift, joke, chide, mock, insult, degrade. Society implies the spate and the atmosphere encompassing an individual in her perfunctory life. Culture is closely tied to the society of a person--it is the aspects of her life which are directly influenced by such issues as race, color, nationality, religion, sexuality, and any other anatomy of things that mark a person as distinct. Culture, though an integral take apart of everyones lives, is frequently misunderstood or seen as threatening by people outside of the group in question. This ignorance of other people leads to judgments and assumptions, which frequently pervert daily issues. The most ignorant people stoop to name-calling, a execrable slap of hatred. Stereotypical, anti-Semite(a), religious, and sexist name calling, especially, can affect the victims views and opinions for life. Most dangerous to these taunts are children, innocent and uncallused, who hear these name and know neither their true meanings nor the depth of senseless hatred behind them. As shown by henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Gloria Naylor, these labels can be taken in and their meanings rendered harmless. By clutch and possessing these hateful words, a group can reshape the meaning of the slurs at once wielded so forcefully against them. In Gloria Naylors novel, Mommy, What Does Nigger Mean? she tells of her experience as a young child called a ni... ...round the family. While terms such as nigger remain excruciatingly prevalent in todays society, victims of racist slurs have found healthy ways of dealing with the abuse. By project new meanings on to old words and focusing on the ever-changing names for African Americans for reassurance, the victims strengths allow them to reroute hate, instead creating a more positive cognition of intelligence, beauty, and individuality. Works Cited Gates, Henry Louis, Jr. Whats in a Name? both(prenominal) Meanings of Blackness. American Mosaics Multicultural Readings in Context. Eds. Barabara Roche and Sandra Mano. Boston Houghton Milfflin. 1996. 424-38. Naylor, Gloria. Mommy, What Does Nigger Mean? New military man of Literature Writings from Americas Many Cultures, second edition. Eds. Jerome Beatty and J. Paul Hunter. New York Norton. 1994. 344-7.