Ｉｍｐｌｉｃａｔｉｏｎｓ ｏｆ Ｓｏｍｅ Ｃｈａｒａｃｔｅｒｓ’ Ｎａｍｅｓ Ｉｎ Ｅｎｇｌｉｓｈ Ｌｉｔｅｒａｔｕｒｅ

華中師范大學外國語學院 430079

Feng BeiSchool of Foreign Languages， Central China Normal University

Abstract： With more and more Chinese students having a great liking for English literature than ever before， it is of great importance to fully appreciate the original works in a proper way. Apart from some background information on writers or the works， some hints and clues provided throughout the works are essential to the comprehension of the literature. This paper mainly deals with a widely-used approach which writers prefer to apply while readers tend to ignore， that is， naming of some characters. With a summary of previous literature on the significance of some names， the paper first explores the literal meanings and origins of proper nouns in some English literature， and then discusses the relationships between characters’ names and their personality， the plot as well as the theme of the works. Hence comes the conclusion that name implications can help to reveal characters’ personality， develop the plot and highlight the theme. Awareness of this will surely exert positive effects on the readers’ better understanding of English literature.

Key words: name implications; characters’ personality; plot; theme

【中圖分類號】G0

【文獻標識碼】A【文章編號】1002-2139（2009）-05-0145-4

ⅠIntroduction

The last two decades witnessed a rush of learning English in China. On the one hand， more and more Chinese students took up reading English literature， while on the other hand， most of them couldn’t get a full understanding of those works， due to different ways of thinking and different cultural backgrounds between Chinese and English. In an attempt to make themselves well understood， the writers tried to provide some hints or clues through their works by various means， which we Chinese students always fail to notice. The naming of characters， for example， is a frequently-used strategy for them to give us hints， but we often take this for granted， only resulted in misunderstanding of the works.

This paper， thereby， is aimed to offer an explanation of the implied meanings of some characters’ names. With a general classification of these names according to their respective relationships with the original works， the article attempts to arouse in the readers the attention to the significant influence those names exert in facilitating the apprehension of the English literature.

ⅡRevealing characters’ personality

Both in novels and dramas， writers give their characters some specific names on the purpose of helping to reveal their personality. Most of these names are common nouns in English， which have specific meaning in themselves. In the light of their original meaning， the characters’ personality is well impressed upon the readers with the names.

2.1Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights

Heathcliff is no wonder the true creation of Emily Bront? in her Wuthering Heights due to the vivid description of his personality. As we know， the name “Heathcliff” itself can be divided into two words “heath” and “cliff”， which mean “moorland” and “steep， high face of rock” respectively. Through the whole story， we are brought to the moors to see what is happening on the leading characters. Since his childhood， Heathcliff has already cherished a deep love for moors. He spends his days with Catherine running freely upon the moors， which is quite compatible with the wildness of his nature. As Nelly tells the narrator， “It was one of their chief amusements to run away to the moors in the morning and remain there all day， and the after punishment grew a mere thing to laugh at.”(Bront?， 1994: 44) Heathcliff belongs to the moors and shares the characteristic wildness of moors. The name discloses his personality as well as a strong bond between Heathcliff and the moors.

As associated with the word “cliff” or “rock”， Heathcliff is considered to be sullen， indifferent and cruel. He has been described as “rough as a saw-edged and hard as whinstone”. Conscious of his humble identity as an adopted member of the Earnshaw family， he is always sullen and gloomy， especially when his beloved Catherine is in company with Edgar Linton， the would-be-host of the Grange. He speaks little and even doesn’t mention it if he gets beaten by Hindley. As Nelly recalls， “He seemed hardened to ill-treatment: he would stand Hindley’s blows without winking or shedding a tear， and my pinches moved him only to draw in a breath and open his eyes， as if he had hurt himself by accident and nobody was to blame.” (p.36) From these remarks， we can see Heathcliff’s sullenness as well as indifference. Later when he is degraded to be a servant by Hindley， he shows his contempt and indifference towards the abuse and torture from the latter. It seems as if he delights in seeing his enemy destroy himself. It is with such pride and indifference that he maintains his dignity when facing curses and sufferings. Besides， Heathcliff is a man of cruelty. This is most obvious in the course of his revenging himself. After countless humiliation and torture from Hindley， Heathcliff once says to Nelly， “I’m trying to settle how I shall pay Hindley back. I don’t care how long I wait， if I can only do that. I hope he will not die before I do!”(p.60) Although he appears indifferent towards Hindley’s torment， his hatred towards the latter has been deeply rooted in his heart. When he returns to the Heights， rich and decent， Heathcliff begins to provide cash for Hindley to indulge in gaming and in turn， Hindley mortgages every yard of land he owns to him. As a result， Heathcliff becomes the master of Wuthering Heights after Hindley’s death. Then he maltreats Hareton， Hindley’s son， in the way he has been done by Hindley. Hareton lives in his own house as a servant deprived of the advantage of wages and education. He has no friends and is incapable of righting himself because of his ignorance that he has been wronged. Heathcliff corrupts Hareton’s spirit by telling him that things except brutality are ridiculous and worthless， and should be looked down upon. He trains Hareton to be a rude and impolite guy uttering vulgar words， leaving the latter in the state of fatuity and darkness. He also takes revenge on his own son Linton and Catherine’s daughter， Cathy. Regardless of his son’s illness and death， Heathcliff seduces and forces Cathy to marry Linton in order to inherit the property of the Grange. At the same time， his human nature becomes more and more degenerate.

2.2 Shylock in The Merchant of Venice

Shakespeare， one of the most famous dramatists in English literature， depicted an image of cruelty and greed， universally known as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. The name itself may have some allegoric meanings and represent the character’s personality. According to鐘翔， the Hebrew word “Shylock ”shares the meaning of cormorant (greedy)， and “greed” is often associated with “cruelty”(1991:41). In this drama， Shakespeare establishes Antonio as a kind-hearted and devoted friend， with contrast to the cunning and mean Shylock. As an intelligent businessman， Shylock charges high interest in his money lending business. He hates Antonio because the latter is a Christian and more important because Antonio lends money to people without charging interest. He agrees to lend money to Bassanio on the grounds that he may cut off one pound of flesh from Antonio’s body if the money is not returned within the specified time. He is over concerned with his possessions， for instance， his obsession with locking and guarding the house， which he entrusts to Jessica when he is invited to a party. He gives her his keys， and then almost takes them back again， “I am loath to go，” he says. He is worried about the safety and this worry appears again when he says， “Hear you me， Jessica. Lock up my doors.” And it occurs again in “stop my house’s ears-I mean my casements”; even the idea of music entering his house is hard for him to bear. His last words-“shut doors after you. Fast bind， fast find”-illustrate his inability to leave his possessions. (Mcneir， 1981:31) His daughter seems to be another possession like his money. When he finds her running away with his money， he thunders， “I would my daughter were dead at my foot， and the jewels in her ears! Would she were hearsed at my foot， and the ducats in her coffin!”(p.42) He makes a pledge to revenge himself. His selfishness and cruelty towards his daughter can be inferred from this aside. And indeed， he asks for a pound of flesh instead of the afforded money tripling the original loan. He is more brutal than mean in this case.

From the analysis of these two works， there is actually a close relationship between characters’ names and their personality in some cases. With the help of their concepts or the definitions， the names contribute to the understanding of the characters’ personality. Sometimes， the naming is helpful to the subject of the works as well.

Ⅲ. Helping to develop the plot

3.1From the perspective of literal meaning: Twist in Oliver Twist

In some English literature， the name of the characters can also help to develop the plot. In Dickens’s novel Oliver Twist， for example， the protagonist’s name “Twist” literally means turning and curving in different directions， which is exactly appropriate to be used to describe the life of Oliver Twist. His mother dies after the birth of Oliver in a workhouse. Thought to be an illegitimate child， the boy is placed in a private juvenile home. After nine years of maltreatment， he is returned to the workhouse， where children always suffer from starvation. In an attempt to ask for more food， Oliver is condemned and apprenticed to Sowerberry， an undertaker. At Sowerberry’s， Oliver again receives baiting and torments from another boy working for Sowerberry; consequently， he runs away and heads for London. Unfortunately， he later falls in the hands of Fagin， the leader of a notorious gang of criminals. He has no liberty and is drilled in the art of picking pockets. On his first errand to perform his theft， Oliver is rescued by a gentleman， who treats him kindly. While readers all believe that he can lead a happy life ever after， he is tracked and recaptured by the gang， to our great disappointment. Then he is arranged to be used in a major burglary， for which he is injured， taken good care of， and thus gets rid of those criminals. The remaining part centers on the revelation of the true nature and identity of Oliver. To some extent， Oliver has been leading a wandering life from the time he is born till his being wounded in the course of the burglary. He experiences many a perilous twists and turns before he at last turns out to be the son of a wealthy gentleman with the help of others. Throughout the novel， Dickens unfolds and develops the plot by the description of Oliver’s twisted life as well as hardships along the way to find his true identity.

3.2From the perspective of figurative meaning: Jones in Thank You， M’am1

Some names， which contain nothing significant in their literal meaning， can play the role of developing the plot in their figurative meaning. In the short story Thank you， M’am， the boy (I) is caught by a woman when trying to take her purse. Instead of sending him directly to the police station， the woman takes him home and gets him washed and something to eat. We may get confused at the woman’s unusual treatment of this little thief， and as the woman identifies herself as Jones， our suspense is aroused. “Jones” is familiar to us because of the idiom “keep up with the Joneses”. According to A Dictionary of English Word and Phrase Origin， this phrase came from comic strips created by Arthur R. Momand， an American artist. Momand was smart and intelligent when he was young. At the age of 22， he had already earned an income of 100 dollars a week， which was a large sum at that time. Proud of himself， he later moved to the rich suburb of New York. He was engaged in competing with his neighbors socially there. Whatever they did， from joining the club to employing servants， he would follow the suit， regardless of what a luxurious life he was leading. Consequently， he was greatly in debt and had to move to a small flat. Momand began to repent and was overcome with regrets. He found it ridiculous to compete with others in the material life but such phenomenon existed in the whole society， therefore， he created the comic named “Keep up with the Joneses”， to put satire on the society. As one of the commonest family names in the USA， Jones refers to neighbors or friends， and “keeping up with the Joneses” means “competing with one’s neighbors or friends socially”. Back to the short story， Mrs. Jones teaches the boy a lesson by talking about her own past. By saying， “I was young once and I wanted things I couldn’t get…I’ve done things too， which I would not tell you…” she admits that she used to be a person with the inclination to pursue the fashion; that is to say， she used to keep up with the Joneses. The boy has something in common with the woman: he means to steal some money to buy a pair of blue suede shoes while the woman “did something”-maybe she once stole something to meet her physical needs. That’s why she takes the boy home other than to jail and saves him from committing crimes. Hence， the plot of the story has been

developed and the suspense disappears.

ⅣHighlighting the theme

In some literature， both American and British， the characters’ names can help to highlight the theme of the works. Generally speaking， there are two kinds: some of these names originate from legendary personages， while others embody symbolic meanings.

4.1Legendary personages

4.1.1Ahab in Moby Dick

Ahab is the protagonist in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. But before we read Moby Dick， we have already heard of another Ahab from the Old Testament， King Ahab of Israel. As a ruler， King Ahab had a brain of strategy and talent. He married Jezebel， daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians， as a part of a political alliance. He reached out olive branch to Judah， a strong nation of the South so that peace was finally arranged between Israel and Judah. He set free king of Aram on the basis of a treaty by which he could set up his own market areas and get profits. However， he was too self-willed and even blasphemed God so that he was regarded as the most wicked king of Israel. His queen Jezebel installed 950 prophets of Baal and ordered the wholesale slaughter of any prophets of God who opposed her. He stole Naboth’s vineyard by murder. When the prophet sent him words from God to kill king of Aram or he himself would die， he just didn’t listen and was sullen and angry. King Ahab’s abuse of power and disrespect for God ultimately led to his own death in the battlefield. By comparison， Ahab， the captain in Moby Dick used to be a man of nothing but wisdom and bravery. He has spent 40 years of his life hunting whales on sea and is intelligent in making money out of the whale-oil business. Nevertheless， on his last voyage on the Pequod to hunt Moby Dick， he becomes a vengeful evil man. His stubbornness and monomaniacal attention of destroying the creature， as well as his flagrant defiance of the gods finally cause his downfall. From the outset， we are informed that Moby Dick has severed Ahab’s leg and that Ahab is determined to take revenge on that creature. When the crew pledges to hunt until the end for the Great White Whale under his leadership， Ahab says “Death to Moby Dick! God hunt us all， if we do not hunt Moby Dick to his death! ” (Roberts， 1966:92) His deep desire to strike back at the creature is overwhelming and it seems that the sole purpose of the Pequod’s voyage is to hunt down Moby Dick. He is headstrong and controls the entire ship by threat and fears. He can never establish a friendship with any person of the crew; rather， he regards them as his tools. In spite of warnings against killing Moby Dick from captains of other ships， he stubbornly adheres to his decision. When the typhoon hits the Pequod in the Pacific， the crew begs Ahab to turn the ship about and sail homeward. But Ahab cries， “You are pledged with me to hunt down Moby Dick and this evil storm surely is carrying the Pequod to the white fiend!” Nothing can move him， and his inhumanity reaches its height when the captain of the Rachel beseeches him to help search for the lost boat bearing a crew including the captain’s son: he just ignores the captain’s plea and orders the Pequod， “with all sails set， plunges forward after Moby Dick.”(p.83) Apart from his obstinacy and egoism， his disloyalty to God， just like that of King Ahab， leads him to his destruction. In defiance of Christianity， Ahab believes in light and the sun， which are associated with fire. When his harpoon catches fire， he “brandishes” it about to overcome any rebellion from the crew， which “emphasizes his primitive appeal to fire as the most destructive force.”(p.80) He madly offends the gods when he sees in Pip an unlucky creature like himself， “oh， ye frozen heavens! Look down here. Ye did beget this luckless child and have abandoned him， ye creative libertines.”(p.82) Ahab’s ominous presence has told us the fate of all the men on board the Pequod. According to Roberts， “From almost the very beginnings of the book to the very last page we are reminded again and again that the ship and its crew are predestined to catastrophe.”(p.89) Thus is the theme of this novel highlighted after such a comparison: characters of tragedy always turn a deaf ear to auspicious signs or suggestions， and they are so engrossed in their goal that they take offence against God and become headstrong and despotic， only resulted in self-destruction. In this sense， the fate of Ahab the king has foreshadowed that Ahab the captain will ultimately die in the battlefield of the ocean.

4.1.2 Homer in You Go Your Way， I’ll Go Mine2

Another example as such is the major character in You Go Your Way， I’ll Go Mine， a text written by William Saroyan. From the very beginning， we are told that the character is a messenger and his name is Homer. On the one hand， we are curious about the content of the telegram Homer is to bring to the woman; on the other hand， we tend to relate the messenger to the famous writer Homer in world literature， who was well-known for his possible authorship of the two books， The Iliad and The Odyssey， dealing respectively with the ten-year Trojan War and Odysseus’s ten-year struggles against all kinds of monsters and natural disasters on his way home. Homer was remembered as a messenger of war because of his talented description of long-time war in his works. In the text， Homer， the messenger， is to send a telegram about the death of the woman’s son during the war. He tries to soften the blow of the tragic news， but in vain. By using the name Homer， the writer aims to condemn the disaster wars have brought to us. In the Trojan War， thousands of people were killed and during the ten years of Odysseus’s wandering， all his men have been lost and only he of the whole brave army that sailed to Troy survived， while in the short story， the woman has been expecting his son’s returning home， but he dies in the war. William Saroyan thinks， “It wasn’t Homer’s fault. His work was to deliver telegrams.” Either was it the fault of Homer， the writer， as his work was to record history. Then who should be responsible for this tragedy? William explores the theme by asking Homer to spread the message that wars should be blamed as they can bring us nothing but catastrophes and sorrows.

4.2 Symbolic meaning

4.2.1 Pearl in The Scarlet Letter

Symbolism， too， is another way for writers to express their own opinions and highlight the theme. In Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter， the naming of Hester’s daughter， an unearthly child， is a good example. Despite Hester’s conviction of guilt of adultery， Hawthorne gives her daughter a beautiful name-pearl. Stewart says in Cliffs Notes on The Scarlet Letter that Pearl， as a symbol， “is one of Hawthorne’s most remarkable creations.”(1960:63) For one thing， pearl means being of great price. Hester sacrifices her dignity and happiness in giving birth to the child; Dimmesdale， her true father， has lost his spirit and honor and led a life of repenting and self-condemning ever since her birth. From time to time， Pearl reminds them of their own sin and shamefulness. She is Hester’s happiness as well as her agony. Dimmesdale even dares not to look at her. Both her parents have lost much for the arrival of Pearl. For another thing， pearl， as a natural resource， belongs to a part of nature. While seeming so wild in the village， she is in her proper element in the forest. Despite the fact that she never creates friends but enemies， Pearl is welcomed by nature. She can run and play freely in the forest; even the sun shines on her there and she seems to be able to absorb it; animals and flowers accept her as an old friend- “the animals do not run from her， and the wild flowers seem pleased when she gathers them to decorate her hair and dress” (p.35). It is because she is born of a natural union and her birth breaks only the laws of man rather than nature’s principles that nature accepts her. Hawthorne obviously does not think Hester’s sin unforgivable in the eyes of Mother Nature. Here is Hawthorne’s attitude revealed-sins should be pardoned as long as they are not against Nature’s laws and the so-called Puritan morality is unreasonable and goes against Nature’s laws. Pearl always behaves so unusual that she is often referred to as “elf-child”， “airy sprite”， or “demon offspring” by people around her; however， Hawthorne likes her defiance. In an answer to the question， “Who made thee?” Pearl deliberately pretends to be ignorant although her mother has taught her much about religion. She replies that “she was not made， but was plucked by her mother off the bush of wild roses that grew by the prison door.” This shows not Pearl’s but Hawthorne’s disrespect for authority and contempt for Puritan belief. Pearl， then， is not so much a symbol of guilt and sin as a measure for Hawthorne to express his idea and highlight the theme of the novel.

4.2.2 Moll in Moll Flanders

It has been acknowledged that vanity and greed are the main themes in Defoe’s Moll Flanders， a novel which deals with the transformation of a beautiful innocent girl named Moll into a hardened middle-aged thief. According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary， the word “moll” means “woman companion of a gangster”， which often associates with greed and vanity. Quite early in her life， Moll， a lower-class woman， has cherished the desire to become a gentle woman， although this is almost impossible because of rigid class lines in England at that time. She is a person of excessive vanity. Hearing herself referred to as pretty， she is so vain about her appearance that she is easily convinced that men are in love with her. Just as Arnez comments， “Moll’s initial seduction is as much the result of her vanity as the fine word and devious ways of the elder brother.” (1969:66) Her fear of poverty drives her into prostitution and thievery. She never changes her goal to marry a rich man and continues her pursuit of money. Rather than live by the honest labor of needle， she decides to steal. At the same time， greed is bred in her. She chooses husbands according to their social status and financial condition. She even steals from children without repenting. One time when she steals a necklace from a child， she feels she is actually doing the child a favor， “…I had given the parents a reproof for their negligence in leaving the poor little lamb to come home by itself， and it would teach them to take more care of it another time.”(p.71) When her governess feels they should stop stealing and be satisfied with what they have， Moll refuses the suggestion and continues thievery till her arrest. Her greed has become so strong that her need of money cannot be met. By relating the definition of the word “moll” to all the conduct of Moll Flanders throughout the novel， the major themes of vanity and greed are highlighted.

Ⅴ Conclusion

From dramas to novels， from the English Renaissance to the twentieth century literature， from British literature to American literature， there exists such a phenomenon that writers sometimes deliberately embody their protagonists’ names with implied meanings. Some implications lie in the literal meanings of the names while others should be inferred from their figurative meanings. By finding out the origins of these names and making a specific research on characters and even the whole works， it is not difficult to notice the relationships between special names and characters’ personality as well as the plot and theme of the works. With different types of examples， we are convinced that implied meanings of characters’ names can help to express their personality， to unfold and develop the plot， and to highlight the theme， which altogether can contribute to a better understanding of original works. Since not all the literatures include characters’ names with implied meanings and not all the writers apply this approach in their works， this paper just attempts to arouse the awareness of readers of this phenomenon， with the hope that it may be helpful in their future literature appreciation.

References：

［1］Arnez， Nancy Levi. Cliffs Notes on Defoe’s Moll Flanders ［Z］. Lincoln: Cliffs， 1969.

［2］Bnnelt， Mildred R. Cliffs Notes on Thackeray’s Vanity Fair ［Z］. Lincoln: Cliffs， 1964.

［3］Bront?， Emily. Wuthering Heights ［M］. 北京：外語教學與研究出版社，1994.

［4］Levith， Murray J. What’s in Shakespeare’s Names ［M］. London: George Allen and Unwin， 1978.

［5］McNeir， Waldo F. Cliffs Notes on Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice［Z］.Lincoln: Cliffs， 1981.

［6］Roberts， James L. Cliffs Notes on Melville’s Moby Dick ［Z］. Lincoln: Cliffs， 1966.

［7］Stewart， Paul R. Cliffs Notes on Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter ［Z］. Lincoln: Cliffs， 1960.

［8］鐘翔. 《威尼斯商人》與《看錢奴》：夏洛克與賈仁［J］. 外國文學研究. 1991(2).41. 

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作者簡介：馮蓓，華中師范大學外國語學院

Feng Bei，School of Foreign Languages， Central China Normal University

1 Hughes，Langston.ThankYou，M’am.《大學英語》第二冊［Z］.Ed.李蔭華.上海：上海外語教育出版社，1997.12：147-148.

2 Saroyan，William.You Go Your Way，I’ll Go Mine.《大學英語》第二冊［Z］.Ed.李蔭華.上海：上海外語教育出版社，1997.12：133-135.