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Literary And Social Law : What Makes A Symbol Of The Human Experience?

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When one introduces themselves the first thing they tend to disclose is their name. Names are important facets of who we are; names are bestowed upon us in the first moments of our time on Earth and provide us with a sense of identity. That is why when an author decides to defy literary and social law by employing the use of a nameless protagonist, they do so with the intent to make an impact. Namelessness strips the character of the idea of individuality and makes them more of the likes of a symbol of the human experience. The lack of a name intensifies the character 's quest to find an identity in a world that has denied them of one or that has tried to control who they are. Without a name the character is presented to us as nobody or …show more content…

God was named, and yet was not named, for the title given could not be said. Sacks explains the reasoning behind this: “If God had a commonplace proper name, He would merely be distinguished from other deities. Being the one true God, His name is sacred and unutterable.” (Sacks). While a name incapable of being said is used to display holiness in the case of the early Bible, a different kind of “none name” is used in the original forms of fairy tales in order to display the unique situations each protagonist is in. Before Walt Disney, Sleeping Beauty was referred to as just Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid as just the Little Mermaid, and so on, “...thus facilitating projections and identification.” explains Sacks. Today, works use namelessness for a wide array of reasons. The technique is often used to “when modern writers wish to set their tales outside of time” and is “an increasingly familiar trait in the fiction of exile, in which immigrants acquire new titles to suit new lives.”(Sacks). The use of nameless characters has been found throughout time and within various genres because of the fluidity of the technique. Namelessness can be molded to fit so many situations and reinforce the meaning of a work that it is almost definitive and will continue to be. In How To Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C.

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