"By Any Other Name" explores cultural clash through renaming, highlighting resistance, power dynamics, and loss of innocence. It reflects colonial education, parental conflict, and the importance of language, tackling universal themes of identity and resistance. The headmistress's precarious bun symbolizes colonial fragility, while the story's relevance endures today.
10 Annotations for "By Any Other Name" by Santha Rama Rau:
- Cultural Clash: The headmistress's inability to pronounce Indian names highlights the cultural clash between British colonialism and Indian identity. Santha and Premila are forced to adopt English names, symbolizing the loss of their cultural heritage.
- Resistance and Identity: Santha's refusal to answer to her English name "Cynthia" demonstrates her resistance to cultural assimilation. She clings to her Indian identity and asserts her right to be herself.
- Power Dynamics: The headmistress's act of renaming the girls reinforces the power dynamics between colonizer and colonized. She holds the authority to define and control their identities.
- Loss of Innocence: The experience of being renamed marks a turning point in Santha's childhood. She loses her innocence and begins to understand the complexities of the world around her.
- Colonial Education: The Anglo-Indian school's emphasis on British culture and values reflects the colonial agenda of shaping Indian minds. The curriculum overlooks and even denigrates Indian culture.
- Parental Conflict: Santha's mother's contrasting reactions to the renaming incident reveal a generational conflict. While her mother initially acquiesces to the school's demands, she eventually recognizes the harm it inflicts on her daughters' identities.
- Importance of Language: The story emphasizes the powerful link between language and identity. The act of renaming the girls signifies an attempt to erase their cultural heritage and assimilate them into the colonial system.
- Universal Theme: While rooted in a specific historical and cultural context, the story explores a universal theme of identity and the struggle to maintain it in the face of external pressures.
- Symbolism: The headmistress's "precarious bun" can be interpreted as a symbol of the fragility of British colonial power in India. It foreshadows the eventual independence of the nation and the dismantling of the colonial system.
- Enduring Relevance: Despite being written in the 1950s, "By Any Other Name" remains relevant today. It prompts readers to reflect on the complexities of cultural identity, the impact of colonialism, and the importance of resisting assimilation.