Lost Names Essay
True Identity There comes a point in time in an individual’s life in which their name truly becomes a part of their identity. A name is more than just a title to differentiate people; it is a part of the person. In Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood by Richard E. Kim, names play a major role on the character’s identities. The absence and importance of the names in the story make the story rich with detail and identity through something as simple as the name of a character. Names are a significant factor affecting the story and the characters throughout the novel Lost Names.
When the Koreans are forced to change their family names to Japanese ones, their Korean identity is weakened. Going through this traumatizing experience is extremely hard for the Korean people because their family name is everything to them. To the Koreans, the family name is “the only legacy we hand down to the next generation and the next and the next” (113). Taking away their family name takes away their culture and attempts to convert them to the Japanese way of living. The family does not react well to the situation, as their true names must be erased forever. The day that this takes place is known as a day of mourning among all of the Koreans. They main character’s experiences this loss first had with his grandfather and father both grieving. “Lowering their faces, their tears flowing now unchecked, their foreheads and snow-covered hair touching the snow on the ground. I, too, let my face fall and touch the snow” (111). The family name is a big deal in the Korean culture, and being forced to change this completely devastates the entire family. A name gives people so much about themselves, and being stripped of it can cause many issues. Similarly, not even having a name can suggest some comparable issues.
The way that the characters do not have any names suggests that they are “lost”. Richard Kim refers to the characters as Student-of-the-Day, Teacher-of-the-Day, Japanese
When the Koreans are forced to change their family names to Japanese ones, their Korean identity is weakened. Going through this traumatizing experience is extremely hard for the Korean people because their family name is everything to them. To the Koreans, the family name is “the only legacy we hand down to the next generation and the next and the next” (113). Taking away their family name takes away their culture and attempts to convert them to the Japanese way of living. The family does not react well to the situation, as their true names must be erased forever. The day that this takes place is known as a day of mourning among all of the Koreans. They main character’s experiences this loss first had with his grandfather and father both grieving. “Lowering their faces, their tears flowing now unchecked, their foreheads and snow-covered hair touching the snow on the ground. I, too, let my face fall and touch the snow” (111). The family name is a big deal in the Korean culture, and being forced to change this completely devastates the entire family. A name gives people so much about themselves, and being stripped of it can cause many issues. Similarly, not even having a name can suggest some comparable issues.
The way that the characters do not have any names suggests that they are “lost”. Richard Kim refers to the characters as Student-of-the-Day, Teacher-of-the-Day, Japanese
Cited: Kim, Richard E. Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood. New York: Praeger, 1970. Print.