What's In A Name?

          Names. It is apart of every day life, but sometimes we forget how much of an impact names can have on our lives. Do we play the role of our names? Do our names define who we are? In a way yes it does, our last names usually represent what family we come from. Our first names is a name that our parents have chosen for us. But sometimes a name can play a bigger role than that. In the novel “Jasmine” by Bharati Mukherjee the character Jasmine plays many different roles throughout the novel, and her life, and with every role she has been called a different name. The question is does her name change the role that she plays? Or, does the role that she plays change her name?

            Jasmine has been called many different names by different people, mainly men that have been in her life. “I have had a husband for each of the women I have been. Prakash for Jasmine, Taylor for Jase, and Bud for Jane. Half-Face for Kali” (Mukherjee 197).  For the start of her life Jasmine lived in a small Indian village Jyoti was her birth name. She was married to Prakash in India and played the role of the respecting loving wife. Prakash is murdered and this is when Jasmine decides to head to the states. On her first day in the United States she is raped by a man called Half-Face, his name for Jasmine is Kali.  Years down the road Jasmine becomes a nanny for a family in New York, the husband that she later falls in love with calls her Jase. Finally Jasmine finds herself in a farming town, of Idaho is a housewife to Bud Ripplemeyer who calls her Jane.

            In all these different relationships she has been totally different people. One thing remains the same every name and role that Jasmine has played has been given to her. Bud gave her the name Jane because she was his “plain Jane.” That was the role that she played while being with Bud. Although they were considered the odd couple with an adopted Vietnamese son, and her being Indian and Bud being a banker in Idaho. She took care of Bud, and played the simple housewife role.  When she was with Prakash and played the role of Jasmine, she was very different from not only Jane but the role she played as Jase when she was with Taylor. “Jasmine lived for the future, for Vijh & Wife. Jase went to the movies and lived for today” (176).

            Jasmine being an immigrant and trying to start a life in the United States, has gone through many different stages and through these stages she played different roles. Even though these roles she played were played very well by Jasmine she still was given the different names by those around her. In conclusion, Jasmine simply hid behind the names she was given. She played to role that was expected of her. Just like names that our given to us by our parents, her names were assigned for her. She than played out the role that she felt those around her wanted to play, in order to fit in with her new life in the United States.