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- Mimi Livisay coming to terms with her name
- Introduces the topic in a story (fun)
- Attention grabber

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- Story about the preacher
- is our name really who we are? no- our character is what makes us us.

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- Photographic lens
- Comparing the lens to his name
- He knows it's important, but doesn't know what do do with it/how to use it.

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The first one - The girl saying her name introduces the subject of the essay.

The preacher - we are not the epithet, we are ourselves.

The lens - metaphor for him not being able to let go of his name, even though he couldn't do anything with it.

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- "As Henry James suggests"
- Leaves the reader with smtg to think about (nails down the idea again)
- Loops back to the opening and contributes to credibility (ethos)
- Relates to reader (pronoun use)

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- Another Ralph (ralph waldo emerson edgar allan "powe")
- He was a good writer, speaker, poet
- Meant to be funny

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- Lists people that he wishes he was named after (his heroes)

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- Traditional Essay Structure
- Introduces the topic, then narrows to a thesis
- General discussion about names and African American names
- Then shifts to a discussion about his own name
- Then chronological order
- Then shifts into conclusion

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Parallel Structure:  gives a rhythm to the writing

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Parallel Structure:  gives a rhythm to the writing

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- or or or (second page, discussion about what he wished he was named)
- emphasizes his frustration

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- I could,  I could, I could not, I could not (3rd page, discussion of the lens/his name)
- Shows progress with his name and emphasis on the importance of the lens and his name.

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Ralph Ellison is saying that our names do not define us- we can use and relate to them as we see fit, and while they may have an effect on us, they do not create who we are.

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Humans are confused/scared of what they don't know

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Humans are confused/scared of what they don't know

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Emerson was always confused when people would finish his name incorrectly, or laugh at it. This was because he didn't know who he was named after, or why the figure was important.

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Our names dictate our lives, but Ellison is saying that we still maintain control.

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Our names dictate our lives, but Ellison is saying that we still maintain control.

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The author is telling us readers that no matter how hard we try to escape our names sometimes, they're still a part of us and we have obligations to them.

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Names are not something we can define easily. They are something we have to give meaning to through our various life experiences.

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Names may influence who we are or how people see us, but they do not ultimately define us.

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Names may influence who we are or how people see us, but they do not ultimately define us.

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Our names may influence us and our actions a ;little but they should not be able to define us and our character.

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Ralph Ellison is basically stating that our names only hold the value of communicating a identity but you are way bigger than your name.

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The relation between one’s name and their identity in terms of influence.

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Names are a part of us despite it not being our choice, but we have to overcome the pressure we might feel and realize that our character gives us more meaning than our name could.

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A big theme is coming to terms with things. Not only is this theme exclusive to Ellison, it's also not exclusive to the idea of a name. As complex and diverse beings, we can't be "defined" or "summarized" by anything; and at the same time, certain things are attributed to us and make us who we are. This paradox exists for each and every person, but at essence, neither is true unless you want it to be. You choose what defines you and whether anything does.

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He tries to say that a name, while it may have some significant meaning behind it, does not define how we live our own lives. Our experience is what defines us.

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Writing is a form of self expression. He probably wrote this as a way for himself to digest the way he was feeling about his name, and probably decided to share it so that it could help people who were struggling/feeling the same way he was. We can benefit from the writing by analyzing it and applying his message to our own feelings and experiences. Texts offer insights and challenges simply because they are like windows into other peoples' minds. Reading what someone else is thinking is often difficult, because they probably don't think or process things the way you do, so you have to understand someone else's train of thought.

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At first, Emerson exposes his dismay over his name, and the figure he was named after, stating that he wishes he was named after any other kind of famous figure. Over the period of the essay, he comes to a slow, reluctant acceptance of his name, and his identity.

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Ralph is wondering what obligations are there to a name, saying that there are obligations to the person who named you as well as the character to which the name is known for.

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Ralph is wondering what obligations are there to a name, saying that there are obligations to the person who named you as well as the character to which the name is known for.

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The importance of our names isn’t just the meaning behind it, but how our character affects our name. All of our life decisions affect how our name is perceived.

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Ralph Ellison is saying that while our names have certain history and expectation around them, they also have room for us to create our own identities. Thus we can grow within our names, but also grow away from what's expected, in other words, embrace it either way.

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A person's name does not define our role in society. Yet, we are still obligated to them as they are a part of us. Don't let a name dictate how you live your life, but instead use it as a step stool to define who you are.

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name is a complex subject that is a part of us, but it is not the only thing that makes up a person; therefore we must explore and come to terms with it

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Names do not define us. However they do have some power over us and help guide us in creating our identity.

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We all go through phases of identity crisis, whether it's because we're changing, it's because we make an effort to change, or because we learn more about ourselves, it's inevitable. Ellison agrees that we shouldn't let these complexes define us, however we should learn to grow from them.

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Everyone's name has some form of significance, no matter what. They don't necessarily determine out character and personality, but it can influence it in some way, shape, or form.

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Ellison is telling us through his writing that our names do not define us. In addition, it is our job to try to accept our name and establish unity between ourselves and our name. Therefore, we are able to create our own identity with our name.

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Ellison wants us to learn about his name because he feels that we can learn something from his grappling with his name and identity in his life. Texts offer insights and challenges through abstract ideas, and how those abstract ideas are seen in the authors perspective.

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I believe that Ellison shared this story solely for the sake of personal reflection. By articulating how he felt over the situation chronologically throughout his life, then coming to a sort of acceptance, Ellison is seeking some sort of understanding of how he feels, or closure.

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Our names don't fully define us all the time because humans have their own personal identity.

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Our names don't fully define us all the time because humans have their own personal identity.

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Ellison talks about how his name doesn't define him because he stated that he's named after a famous writer. This teaches us that we can figure out our own identities without having our names burden us in life.

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Ellison would want to share his name and its impact on his life with us to show another person's experience with their name and how it can differ from person to person. One may benefit from this writing by pondering the influence of their own name on their life. Texts offer these insights in general by making the reader have further thought and discussion about the topic and theme, and connect it later with experiences or other writings. They can also provide challenges by sometimes going against common notions or beliefs.

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Ralph Ellison shared this to us to express his emotions and feelings regarding his name. I also feel that this is to encourage the reader to speculate their name, and the role it has on their life.

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It could have just been an thought about his own name, and the nature of names, and he wanted to spread his opinion. If he was trying to help someone, it would be the people that also feel weighed down by a name they don't think they can live up to, and tell them that their life is their own story, based on their actions, not their title.

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The theme of the essay is that character defines us - not our name. While humans naturally tend to look at the name of someone and deduce expectations about them, it is really the individual we should turn our focus to and not their name.

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Ralph Ellison is telling us that no matter who or in this case what our name is we cant let our name define us and dictate our lives we can take the wheel and go somewhere we wanna go

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I think many people don't think or care about their names so much, but Ellison is reminding us that our names hold sway over us, and that our names are a key part of how others see us. We can benefit from this by learning the deeper meanings behind our names and fulfilling them.

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Ellison probably would have wanted to show his own story of how his name has influenced him so that others could learn and grow from his struggles in the same way. Texts offer insights and challenges by connecting with the audience and really getting their point across, in a way that makes the reader think about or better understand the topic.

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Ellison wrote this as an analysis of something he found true in his own life and in those around him. He wasn't trying to solve or even remedy the issue, but rather trying to show the complexity that is with the name that we identify as, because often it is avoided or overlooked. We can benefit from texts through gaining new and much more advanced perspectives that allow us to introspect our own realities and lives and implement changes

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He wants to show us how he came to accept his name, which benefits a lot of people in the world who hate their name because it isn’t as cool as others, or it is just boring. We as a whole determine how our name affects us.

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He wanted to share this so that people who are struggling know that it takes time to understand ourselves and our life purpose. He might have also wanted people to know that names are important. Texts offer insights and challenges which is something Ralph did through his anecdotes. He wrote about his life experiences to tell his readers that everyone goes through things in life that make up who we are. Writing uses these insights and challenges of the authors to show how everyone is different and that it's okay to share your experiences with others because everyone goes through challenges.

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While one could certainly argue that Ellison wrote this more for himself than for the readers (someone commented that it is quite self indulgent), his writing, and any writing, does offer some form of insight. He shared his struggles to make a point, and his experience is entirely unique. No other person could have been born with his name and lived the exact same way he did, with the same interactions. Writing about yourself and your stories offers a vast new perspective on an aspect of life that might otherwise be completely mundane to some.
Texts offer insights and challenges by pointing out and highlighting aspects to our lives (shown through other people) that we would otherwise not notice or miss out on. The beauty of writing is compiling stories and arguments together to create an experience in and of itself. That idea that is given to the reader is the essence of writing.

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Ellison shares his own experiences with his name because of the strong feelings he has and maybe that made him realize that others could have felt that way. We benefit from his writing because we can find times where we related to him. Reading a text can put us in the shoes of the writer which allows us to feel what they felt including all their challenges.

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Ellison is sharing this because he encourages us to explore how names have an impact on ourselves. His essay about his personal exploration of his name and the experiences & feelings that came with it might inspire others to attempt to do the same thing.

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Ellison not only wrote this as a personal reflection but also wrote it as a reminder of the importance of the name to his audience. He calls out people for creating "nicknames" and spotting all that is "ludicrous" in an unlikely name. He also affirms that his decision to shorten the Waldo to a W does not necessarily mean that he is diminishing his name. Ellison wants us to reflect on our own names just as he did his and he provides this essay as a guide for us to do the same.

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Why would we want to share this with us?

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Why would we want to share this with us?

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I feel like with most stories like this, the author mainly wants to share a personal experience (or several) to explain a point that we never really thought about, or felt differently in. He shares his struggles with his name and his distaste, later on accepting it. He wants us to know that our names don't make us who we are. It can influence us yes, but it is up to us to change that influence.

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Ellison shared his relation to his name to showcase the journey he endured to come to terms with and accept his name. This may be beneficial by providing others with reassurance that everyone struggles with their identity and in the end should come to terms with it. Texts offer insights and challenges by bringing various topics to attention, expressing one’s opinion on it, laying out arguments and agreements and so much more. These texts often include elements that attract a reader and connect them to the text itself in order to convey the insights and challenges.

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He's sharing it with us because he understands and has been through this time. Whether it's something you truly accept and feel content with or you just learn to live with it/come to terms with it is up to you. He wanted to let us know that we're not alone in what we do or believe. I can speak for myself saying that I benefitted from this understanding that we all go through this. The texts we read gave us many different view points, perspectives, and new ways to perceive life.

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Ellison shares this essay to demonstrate the difficulties that he and others face with their names. It is for us to relate and understand that it can be hard to establish the unity between ourselves and our names. Therefore it allows others who are dealing with similar situations to feel connected and not alone. Also, I think this essay was a personal reflection for Ellison to describe his own relationship with his name.

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As stated in his essay, he says that as a writer, one of his obligations is to report on social reality, as such, he must share this aspect of our reality with the world as one of his obligations. One could benefit by realizing a goal in life as well as the possibility of finding motivation in a name. This text provides an example into how we can see our names. At the end, it leaves the question, but do we really have to conform to the character of our names, or do we create new ones?

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As stated in his essay, he says that as a writer, one of his obligations is to report on social reality, as such, he must share this aspect of our reality with the world as one of his obligations. One could benefit by realizing a goal in life as well as the possibility of finding motivation in a name. This text provides an example into how we can see our names. At the end, it leaves the question, but do we really have to conform to the character of our names, or do we create new ones?

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Ellison is explaining and telling us his story about his name because he wants to share his experince about not knowing the menaing of his name and what we can do in life without knowing our meaning of our name.

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Ellison would share this because he wants us to know his feelings about his name. He is trying to to tell us that our names don't have to dictate our lives. And that it's okay to take time to learn about our names and identities in life. H'es also stating that it's okay to not like your name. We might benefit from this because it tells us that it's fine to not like our identity fully. We can take our time to learn own names and identities. Texts offer insight because they can help us learn about people's viewpoints on life which can be interesting to read.

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How do texts offer insights and challenges?

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How do texts offer insights and challenges?

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I think Ellison wants to share not really the story of his name but rather a central theme. He uses his name as a grand anecdote to do so (and simultaneously show the meaning he discovered while pursuing his name) We can benefit from Ellison's writing by analyzing the actual message he offers and applying it to our own lives.