Accepting a Label

Since I was young my family and friends have given me nicknames, or abbreviations to my birth name. Only a couple of these names have stuck, either because I have accepted them or because I fit the profile of the nickname. In my opinion I have control over which names I disregard and the ones I embrace. Since I was young my family and close friends have called me “Ace” for one reason or another. There is no accurate story to how I inherited the name, but nevertheless the name has cemented itself into my persona. Ace was a convenient name for me as I got older and became a baseball pitcher in high school, being the Ace pitcher is a high honor so I felt the nickname suited me well. My birth name is commonly abbreviated by many people. Andrew is commonly made into the name “Andy” or “Drew”, both of which I have no interest in being called.  I have rejected both of these shortened abbreviated versions of my name since I can remember, and in result neither has stuck. At home I am still known as “Ace” to close friends and family, but here in Chico my formal name Andrew is used. Name shifting based on surroundings or location can be related to the main character in Bharati Mukherjee’s novel Jasmine, who regularly changes her name to adjust to the different settings and scenarios of her life.

Jasmine has had a different name and identity to match each of the different relationships she has been involved in, “Prakash for Jasmine, Taylor for Jase, Bud for Jane.  Half-Face for Kali” (Mukherjee 197). Each man in Jasmine’s life has broken down her identity and attempted to rebuild her identity from the ground up. She has accepted these changes one after the other, mainly because she embraces change and allows her character to be manipulated by others, typically the men in her life.

                Upon Jasmines arrival in America she is horribly raped by the captain of the ship Half-Face. To get through this terrifying experience she asks the god Kali for guidance, and after murdering Half-Face in revenge for her rape she is able to progress with her life. Shortly after this experience she is taken in by a woman named Lillian Gordon who gives Jasmine the name “Jazzy”. Lillian teaches Jasmine the American way of life and culture in order to help her adjust to her new environment. Some of the best advice Jasmine receives comes from Lillian, “let the past make you wary, by all means.  But do not let it deform you” (Mukherjee 131). This advice is the precursor for her acquaintance with both Wylie and Taylor in New York City.

                In New York Jasmine takes on yet another identity. As the caretaker for a young boy named Duff, she is given the name Jase by the father Taylor. In New York Jasmine really begins to embrace the American culture. She lives as luxuriously as possible sampling new foods, clothes, and city attractions. She falls in love with Taylor for presenting her with this new identity, but it is short lived once she spots the man who killed her husband Prakash. Shortly after, Jasmine decides to move to Iowa for a simpler and safer life.In Iowa Jasmine is given her final identity of the novel. In Iowa Jasmine meets a man named Bud who calls her Jane because her, “genuine foreignness frightens him.” (Mukherjee 26). Jasmine has a child with Bud but never fully accepts the identity of Jane. Jasmine still longs for Taylor, and this halters her ability fully accept the identity of Jane. Due to this Jasmine returns to her previous identity of Jase, and gets back together with Taylor.  

                Jasmine takes on many identities in the novel. She accepts the names given to her in

order to adapt to any situation she is thrown into. This helps her to survive and essentially b

e reborn into new environments. Jasmine treats names like a temporary face that changes with

each challenge she is faced with, this makes her a strong person and a survivor.