What's in a Name?

While reading Amy Waldman’s, The Submission, I often found myself annotating, in capital letters, IDENTITY. Therefore, while scanning through my annotations, I began to consider a person’s identity. More specifically, I asked myself: who defines a person? At first, the answer seemed simple: a person’s choices and actions shape their character, so clearly, a person defines himself. However, for characters such as Mohammad Khan and Laila, societal judgments and prejudice shape the perception of their character. For example, Laila reveals that following conflict in Iran, her birthplace, her mother told her “not to tell anyone” her nationality (197). Waldman highlights Laila’s mother’s warning tone to emphasize that society’s prejudice and fear of other cultures affects an identity. Furthermore, the novelist recognizes that Laila must live in fear of the consequences of society’s misconception of her character due to prejudice. Clearly, the mother’s fear of the public’s bias emphasizes that society does play a role in defining an identity. Similarly, during an interview about his life following the memorial controversy, Mohammad states that he had left America for India to live where “the name Mohammad wouldn’t be a liability” (330). Waldman highlights the taxing diction of “liability” to create an oppressive tone and to emphasize that due to Americans’ prejudice towards his name, Mohammad could not shape his own identity. Furthermore, the novelist stresses the injustice of Mohammad’s identity, as prejudice does not define a person’s true character. Overall, The Submission made me reconsider how I define my own identity. Although I like to believe that I alone identify myself, I now realize that I must accept the preconceptions of others and like Mohammad and Laila, I must find success despite judgment.