Global and Local: 21st-Century British Fiction.: Name Etymology in NW

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Name Etymology in NW

This doesn't count as my blog post, but it is something I wanted to share. I think there's something to be said about the names Zadie Smith chooses for her characters. I listed the names of some of the major characters and the meanings of those names, and in parantheses I added some of my own commentary:

Leah = “weary”

Keisha = from Lakeisha (“great joy”)

Felix = Lucky (ironic because being murdered does not make him very lucky)

Annie = Grace (Grace is the name of the other woman Felix was with)

Nathan = Gift from God

Michel = Gift from God (hmm… so Leah marries a guy whose name has the same meaning as the guy she had a crush on throughout her life)

Natalie = Christmas Day (she acquires this name during her relationship with Rodney. She also follows Christianity at this time closer than she does at any other time)

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Blog Guidelines

Throughout the semester, we will use the blog to expand upon the readings, to ask and answer questions, and to pursue new directions in class conversation. For those of you who may be shy, the blogspace is also an excellent place to express yourself.
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Postings are always due by either noon or 8 p.m. on the date indicated on the syllabus. There is a time stamp. Don’t be late (no credit for late postings).

Postings should be 350-500 words and should incorporate material from the reading (such as small quotes or phrases, key words, or imagery). The post must clearly demonstrate that you have completed the assigned reading and thought about it. Think of the Blog Post as a mini-essay. Your responses to Blog Posts should engage with the details of that post. Explain why the post is valuable. Comment on how the post revised, strengthened, or changed your view of the novel. Feel free also to build on, or extend, the claim made by the post. Each comment should be 200-250 words in length. If the post is due on Sunday, you must demonstrate that you have completed and thought about the reading for Monday; if the post is due on Tuesday, you must demonstrate that you have completed and thought about the reading for Wednesday

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Suggested Topics. There is no need to answer all of the questions that follow. I include them to help you think about what to write: (a) Is there a question you have about the reading? If so, ask and suggest an answer for it. (b) What did you learn from the reading? Why do you find this aspect of the reading illuminating or interesting? (c) How might you connect the reading for Monday and Wednesday? (d) You may respond to the reading and class discussion—is there anything you don’t understand? Do you have a different interpretation that we haven’t discussed in class? (e) You may also respond to one of the essay questions about the novel you’ll find posted at Oncourse.

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