Identity Part One: The Power of Letters

In this piece I will refer to the main character as Jyoti. This is the first name the narrator was given, it is her Indian birth name. I believe Jyoti is her true, pure identity, and so I will refer to her by that name throughout this blog post.

A name is just a grouping of letters. It means nothing. However, in Jasmine, a name is everything. It functions as an identity, a sense of self. A name is what we make it, it is the tool that helps others form judgments about us and through which we are able to present ourselves. A name is also a form of identification, as we take this random grouping of characters and make it mean something to ourselves and the world around us. Jyoti uses the power of letters to change her identity and become someone else, signified by a name change. With the first change from Jyoti to Jasmine, the main character begins to adapt to American life, Jyoti is Indian, while Jasmine is an American girl. Bud also wants Jane to transform herself, assigning her the identity of Jane. Jyoti adopts this identity and remarks, "Plain Jane is all I want to be. Plain Jane is a role, like any other." (26). In this excerpt, it is obvious that Jane just wants to fit in; she yearns for acceptance. She is willing to take on the name given to her by Bud, and she is willing to play the role of plain Jane. The notion that Jane is a role is very interesting, and it seems as though Jyoti is simply playing Jane at first.

Jyoti finds comfort in her name changes. She feels secure in her new identity, and with the permanent change, she can fully and truly adopt her new persona. It is amazing how a person can change with the mere alteration of the letters that define them. Is Jyoti actually different from the Indian girl of her past, or is the power of letters allowing her to leave behind her past identity and transform herself.


Watch the first 36 seconds, but then after that he starts talking about the many detestable qualities of human nature (he is a pessimist)...