Children would be a bad idea when…
Once upon a time, I had an idea. If I ever had a child, I’d teach the child that the toilet was called a telephone and the telephone was called a toilet. Thus, when the child needed to use the toilet, they might say “Excuse me, I have to use the telephone”. Hilarity would ensue.
Wherefore art thou Estragon?
Perhaps Shakespeare was right when he wrote “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet” but there seems to be a little more to it than this.
Sure, Romeo might be a good guy and it’s unfair that Juliet can’t hook up with him. But what happens when the name of something changes the meaning of the conversation? If Romeo’s name was actually Ugly Joe or Big Frank, would Juliet have felt differently?
Romeo
By a name
I know not how to tell thee who I am:
My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself,
Because it is an enemy to thee;
Had I it written, I would tear the word.
OK, I’ve got to go use the telephone…so I’ll catch you all later.
2 Comments
That’s extra weird. I mean, I’ve talked about doing such a thing to a dog, but to teach a child that… that’s a whole new level.
Rumplestilskin knew the power of names, Humpty Dumpty too… they feed superstition, manipulate power structures, and put people in their place… More than one person has told me I’m a “Sara” not a “Sarah” – what does that even mean? Nicknames like “Kid,” “Trixie,” and “Blondie” – good or diminutive? And is a diminutive bad or just affectionate… context decides that, I suppose.
David Mamet’s take on this business is as staccato as any of his written dialogue.
http://www.threepennyreview.com/samples/mamet_w04.html