Hi. This is Charlie.

One thing I noticed in both “Brownies” and “Cathedral” was the use of names (or lack thereof). The narrator makes the importance of names obvious when he asks why his wife’s first husband should have a name, saying “he was the childhood sweetheart—what more does he want?” (110). The narrator, jealous of his wife’s former relationship, is willing to deny her ex-husband a name, feeling his role in the narrator’s wife’s life is a good enough identifier. In addition, he narrator in “Cathedral” calls Robert “this blind man” or “the blind man” for the majority of the story. The reader only finds out his name five pages in, but the narrator continues to refer to him as “the blind man,” dehumanizing him and associating him solely with his condition. Later, as the story progresses and the reader learns more of Robert’s character through his dialogue and actions, the reader sees that he is much more than just a man who can’t see. Interestingly enough, the reader never learns the narrator’s name or his wife’s. Any ideas on how this fits in?

Names are used similarly in “Brownies.” The reader becomes well acquainted with the names of the most prominent figures of the story, like Arnetta, Mrs. Margolin, and Octavia, first named on pages 1, 2 and 2 respectively. They have power over the narrator, and give themselves an identity. The narrator, on the other hand, is not named until the second to last page, being called by her nickname for the majority of the story. The other girls call her “Snot” as they mock her and ignore her (418, 420, 421, 424, 429); however, when Daphne wants to listen to her, she calls her by her real name, Laurel (429). Use of her real name shows how she is being seen as a real, respected person. Also, the girls of Troop 909, who are never seen as individuals or real people and are constantly mocked, are never named.