Unidade 3: triunfo dos estados e dinmicas econmicas nos sculos xvii e xviii

11anoHistria AFrancisco Tom

Our name is an essential part of our identity, if someone deliberately changes our name, it is a lack of respect for us. In this story that identity is "denied", since Mrs Cullinan decided to change Marguerites name to Mary, just because it was easier to say. Besides black people didnt like to be called out of their names because it reminded them the times of slavery when white people had no respect for their black slaves identity and named them as they wished. //So, it was natural that black people didn't like being "called out of their names". First it meant the whites didn't respect them, then it reminded them of the slavery times and the insulting names white people used to call them.//The very expression "calling someone names" means "insulting someone", in this case it shows racial prejudice, which is the main theme of the story//When Mrs Cullinan starts calling her Mary, Marguerite, who used to be an obedient girl, just cant stand it. Firstly she decides to do everything wrong so that she can be sent away from that home. Then, as her plan doesnt work, she decides to take drastic measures and breaks Mrs. Cullinans favourite china plates. On doing it she makes Mrs Cullinan lose her temper and yell her real name.Marguerite, the narrator, starts by comparing the education of black girls of her generation in the Southern American States with that of white girls. White girls have a privileged education. They learn how to waltz and social good manners (how to sit gracefully with a tea cup balanced on their knees), black girls learn how to take care of a house and become white people's servants (set a proper table, baking, cooking, etc). Marguerite herself is sent to Mrs. Cullinan, an unattractive white woman, to learn how to become a domestic servant under the orders of Miss Glory, the black servant who teaches Marguerite about the house work, cleaning, cooking, setting a proper table, cutlery and kitchenware. From what she teaches Marguerite we get to know that black servants haveseparate glassesto drink from, which arekeptin a separate shelf.//So, In that time white and black girls had a different education and Mayas first school was Mrs Cullinans kitchen. Her patient teacher was Miss Glory, the cook. Mayas mistress. Mrs Cullinan, was a very rigid woman that for her convenience, changed the names of the servants. Marguerite didnt like her name changed and so she wasnt doing her work with dedication. Recently I have read a short story called Names, its author is Marguerite Ann Johnson, known as Maya Angelou, an African-American woman. This story can be considered an autobiography of the writers life./This short story passed in the 30s, in the South of the USA, that shows the socials differences in that time, mainly with one of the most important characters: Mrs. Cullinan, who is a very conservative woman, because she set up a frontier between herself and her servants, Miss Glory and Marguerite. Miss Glory is an offspring of slaves who worked for Mrs. Cullinan all their lives. On the other hand, Marguerite is considered a debutante only because her grandmother was the only Negro who had a store since the turn of the century./In the history prevails an image of courage and perseverance it denounces white peoples prejudiced attitudes towards black people, which questions the American Dream and its ideals of freedom and equality for everybody. / The author, Maya Angelou, writes in an easy language to understand. Sometimes she uses a sarcastic tone and also is critical and ironic. She makes us feel shocked with the way black people were treated, especially because it is based on real facts. We have also admired her fight for her rights, how strong she is, despite the fact that she is just a young girl, with ten years old, in the narrative Names./My favourite part was when Marguerite by doing something funny at the advice of her brother Bailey, try to make Mrs Cullinan change her bad attitude. Furthermore, she was very proud of her race and was tried to defend her rights.