How Effective is “The F Word”?
When having a baby one of the most difficult parts of the process is deciding on a name for the little one. Parents want to be careful in choosing, no one wants there child picked on or treated unfairly because of a name they have chosen. In the article “The F Word” the author, Firoozeh Dumas expresses her thoughts and feelings about coming from Abadan, Iran to America with her native name. She explains how her name that has much meaning in her country was nothing but a hindrance for her trying to get established in this country.
In the “F Word” the author uses contrast between names in America and names in her home land to show the effectiveness of this article. “How could our parents have ever imagined that someday we would end up in a country were monosyllabic names reign supreme, a land where “William” is shorten to “Bill”, where “Susan” becomes “Sue”, and “Richard” somehow evolves into “Dick” ( Dumas751). Here the author uses logos to make the reader think, why is it that we call “William” by the short name of “Bill”? It’s a logical question, the audience may want to know the answer to.
It makes one wonder, do the names in this country have any meaning or are we just trying to make things as simple as possible. If simple is what we, as Americans are after, is that why we don’t like to pick acentric names for our children? In terms of ethos, the author effectively tells how she researched her idea by adopting a new simpler name “Julie”. “People actually remembered my name, which was an entirely refreshing new sensation. All was well until the Iranian Revolution, when I found myself with a new set of problems.
Because I spoke English without an accent and was known as Julie, people assumed I was American . This meant that was often privy to those real feelings about those, damn Iranians” (Dumas 753). The authors says later she went back to using her native name because she felt like a fake. Eventually, Firoozeh went back to the name Julie after college when she could not obtain a job. This is where the author begins to use emotional appeal to her argument. Dumas says, “Once I changed my name on my resume call it coincidence, but the job offers started coming in.
Perhaps it’s the same kind of coincidence that stops an African American from getting a cab in New York” (Dumas 753). That’s very strong statement on the authors part because most people associate African Americans not being able to hale a cab as a racial issue. That is an issue that would make a lot of people upset and generates plenty of emotion, thus this is a very effective use of pathos. This article was written for an audience of Americans. In the author’s argument it was her name that really caused her a problem when she came to America.
She did a good job of adding the pathos, ethos, and logos in her article to draw the audience in to how life was for her in a new country with such a unique name. The article also tells the audience how something as simple as a name could be viewed as a form of racism. Americans’ should show enough respect and courtesy to try and understand ones heritage. Everyone knows at least one person who has been discriminated against. The author now uses her native name and is comfortable in doing so.
