Sunday, November 14, 2010
Naggings about "Nicola"
Sometimes I wish I had a different name. One people could pronounce. One people could relate to. However, we cannot choose our names, can we? In Jhumpa Lahiri's 2003 novel The Namesake, Gogol obsesses over the uniqueness of his name. Although I do not obsess over my own name, I find that I can relate to Gogol's discomfort in various ways. When Gogol's English teacher Mr. Lawson decides to focus on Nikolai Gogol's work, the third-person omniscient narrator notes Gogol's reaction and states, "Warmth spreads from the back of Gogol's neck to his cheeks and ears" (91). Every time I meet a new person, or a substitute teacher pronounces my name wrong, I can feel the embarrassment creep up my cheeks, illuminating them with an indiscreet rosy red. In this way, I can note how Lahiri utilizes pathos for Gogol’s embarrassment, creating sympathy for his situation, an occurrence I can empathize with. Later in the lecture about Nikolai Gogol the narrator notes, “Each time the name is uttered, he quietly winces” (91). No matter how many times I repeat the correct pronunciation of my name, some people just cannot accept the correct pronunciation of my name. They come up with rather ridiculous variations like “Nikolai” (a boy’s name), “Nicholas” (once again, a boy’s name), “Nicole” (have they seen the spelling of my name?), and I guess the easily misunderstood “Nicole-a” (thanks Coca-Cola and Ricola). However, I feel embarrassed when people mispronounce my name after I have told them the correct pronunciation. In this way, I can relate to Gogol’s feeling of humiliation at having his name said out loud because I do not like it when people pronounce my name wrong in front of others who know the correct pronunciation. Also, as Lahiri indirectly characterizes Gogol as insecure and self-conscious, I can draw a parallel to myself because I become too ashamed to correct people. All in all, I enjoy having a unique name, even though I do not appreciate it all the time. I would never change my name because it makes me unique and different. I mean, how many other Nicola’s do you know?
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Nicola, this reminded me of Mrs. Owen's class in 6th grade because she always used to say your name wrong! And I agree with what you said about feeling awkward when people always pronounce your name wrong, especially after you have corrected them a few times and they still don't get it. I can relate to the problem of people emphasizing the wrong syllable, I have had teahcers who emphasize the second syllable of my name the whole year. I never know what to do because they are not really pronouncng it wrong, but it stil doesn't sound right. I guess the fact that this even bothers me emphasizes how much importance we place on our names.
ReplyDeleteThe truly nagging thing about names is, I think, that we cannot really escape them. They become much more than just identification, which is why we place so much emphasis on them. While I don't have issues with other people mispronouncing my name, I sometimes wish I did, that I had a more interesting name. What I've gathered, from out class discussion and from just talking to other people in general, is that most people are never completely content with their names all the time, but accept them as a part of their identity.
ReplyDeleteAs far as names go, it seems to be a blessing and a curse to have some originality. Oh and Nicola, I am ALL TOO FAMILIAR with mispronunciation and the combination of embarrassment and irritability that comes with every Domino and Dominique (seriously, that's a french girl's name, come on).
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