What is a name?

My name is very valuable to me and to my family.  My full name is James Robinson Carroll VI.  I am the sixth generation of James Robinson Carroll's on my dad's side of the family.  My father is James R. Carroll V, and his father is James R. Carroll IV.  I also intend to name my child James Robinson Carroll VII.  This name defines me as a member of the Carroll family.  However, whenever my family gets mail, sometimes the sender does not put the suffix on James Robinson Carroll so there is a bit of confusion over who's mail it is (It is usually bills, so it is usually my dad's).  I go by Robinson, my dad goes by James, and his dad goes by J.R.  When people ask me to explain how my name doesn't get confusing in our family, I just try to explain to them that even though we all have the same name, we go by different names.  It isn't very confusing to me, but to other people it is and I do not understand it.  My name is very important to me and I wouldn't rather have any other name.  I will never change my last name after marriage, and I don't agree with double/hyphenated last names.  I don't agree with them because, for years past men have kept their last names and women have changed their last name to their middle name.  That is how it is meant to be and I don't agree with double last names.
In my life, I am seen as an individual, yet also as a member of the Ward family.  This may seem weird because my name does not have Ward anywhere in it, however, I am more identified on my mom's side of the family because I have taken more interests into what her family does; fishing, hunting, etc.  As an individual I am more vulnerable and I do not like that.  I have made many mistakes in my life that will be carried with me, however they will not be carried in my family.  Throughout high school, every mistake that I have ever made has been viewed as no more than James Robinson Carroll VI, not the Ward family, and not the Carroll family.  As high school nears its end for me, I am more and more excited.  I am excited to be able to leave the world of James Robinson Carroll VI in Raleigh NC behind and start fresh with no mistakes and no judgements in college.  As for me being viewed as a member of the Ward family, I am seen as a product of my Grandfather and my Uncle.  Whenever I go hunting and fishing with my family I get so many more privileges than the average person will get because my family's name holds great weight in that community.  My Grandfather has been a member of Crow Hill Hunting Club since my mother was a child.  He is also a dentist in Jacksonville, North Carolina.  I have had free dental work my entire life, and I don't know anything else.  Another part of my family also holds very large ground, and that is my Great Aunt and  Uncle, my Grandfather's brother and his wife.  They have season tickets to East Carolina Football games, and are very involved with the school.  It may help my chances of getting in.  The Ward family are very outgoing people and they have so many connections.  I love being a part of that family and don't ever want to leave.  Instead of being viewed as James Robinson Carroll VI, I am viewed as Wade Ward's Grandson, and Chris Ward's nephew, and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Author: Wing Young Huie

1. By looking at this picture we can see that there are fireworks being shot over a lake.  It is the Fourth of July.  We can also see three people standing by the waters edge looking out over the lake, and up at the fireworks.
2. As we look deeper we can notice the houses in the background.  What we notice about them is that all of their lights are on.  Since all of their lights are on, one possible assumption is that the families that are inhabiting them are celebrating the independence of the United States together.  Now, if we think about the three people we can infer that their may be a problem going on with them.  They could be teenagers and could be having trouble with their parents and they may just want to celebrate with their friends instead of being at home.  They may be considered outcasts.
3. In Huie's photograph, and Margaret Atwood's Novel The Handmaid's Tale, othering is very prevalent.  Both of these texts have outcasts from society.  In The Handmaid's Tale, the Unwomen are seen as the outcast whom cannot fit in with society.  They cannot fit in because they cannot birth a child, unlike the rest of the women.  In this photo, the three people are also outcasts of society.  They are not with their families celebrating the Fourth of July.  Instead they are by themselves and on the other side of the lake.  The separation of the vast lake is a huge symbol in this picture because it is as if they will never fit in and they have been cast out. In The Handmaid's Tale, a symbol that represents separation would obviously be the wall, as well as the prefix Un.  Because of these the Unwomen are forced out of society the same way that the three people in the photograph are.