Power 2

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because it gives a person a sense of who they are, an identity. In “No Name Woman”, Kingston’s aunt had no identity except for the story her mother told her and in “Mary” Marguerite’s new boss, Mrs. Cullinan changed her name to Mary which then, in a way, removed Marguerite’s original identity and gave her a new one, one she didn’t want.
By changing Marguerite’s name, Mrs. Cullinan proves how much power she has over a little black servant like Marguerite. A rich white member of the society, in which Marguerite grew up, has more power and control over things than someone of a poor background or a black background. Mrs. Cullinan wasn’t the first to incite the drastic change of Marguerite’s name, although she started it off by calling her Margaret, it was in fact, one of her friends who suggested that “the name’s too long. I’d never bother myself. I’d call her Mary if I was ...

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her her name, both were precious items that meant a lot to each of them, and by taking them away from one another, it proved that they both had a lot of power. After Marguerite smashed the dishes, Mrs. Cullinan cried out “Her name’s Margaret, goddamn it, her name’s Margaret”(8) as a way of surrendering her own power and disowning Marguerite. Mrs. Cullinan started off with all of the power in the beginning of the essay, but she then lost it all when Marguerite smashed the dishes and regained control of her own life.
“’You must not tell anyone,’ my mother said, ‘what I am about to tell you.’”(341) Kingston’s mother ...

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