Gorilla, My Love

by

Toni Cade Bambara

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Names and Identity Theme Analysis

Themes and Colors
Trust, Solidarity, and Betrayal Theme Icon
Family Theme Icon
Childhood and Adulthood Theme Icon
Names and Identity Theme Icon
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Gorilla, My Love, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Names and Identity Theme Icon

In “Gorilla, My Love,” Bambara investigates the link between one’s name and their identity. Hazel is referred to by five alternate names throughout the story. Each time this occurs, she bristles and makes a point of noting that her “real” name isn’t actually “Scout” or “Peaches” or whatever name an adult has chosen for her, implying that she prefers to be called Hazel, and that her name is a key part of her identity. Her uncle Hunca Bubba also decides to use his “real” name, Jefferson Winston Vale, to prepare for his upcoming marriage. Ultimately, characters’ desires to choose names for themselves—and nicknames for others—represent their desires to exert control over their identities.

Hazel’s irritation at her various nicknames stems from a need to maintain control of her sense of self in the face of other people’s attempts to influence her. At the beginning of the story, Hazel’s Granddaddy calls her “Scout” as he asks her for directions, using the nickname to remind her that she is supposed to help him navigate. Hazel’s Mama calls her “Badbird” in order to calm her daughter down when “she tired arguin and know I’m right.” Her Aunt Jo says “You absolutely right, Miss Muffin,” in similar situations. Each of these names stems from an adult trying to influence her behavior in some way, and Hazel’s insistence on using her “real” name thus reads like an act of asserting her agency and individuality. When Hunca Bubba is confused about why she is so upset that he is getting married, he asks, “Watcha mean, Peaches?” and uses the nickname as an attempt to make her calm down. The condescending nickname has the opposite impact—it emphasizes Hazel’s inferior status as a child, which infuriates her.

Hunca Bubba also uses his name as a method of asserting his identity. He decides he is going to use his given name, Jefferson Winston Vale, now that he is going to be getting married soon. According to Hazel, this is not “a change up, but a change back, since Jefferson Winston Vale was the name in the first place.” He started going by Hunca Bubba when Hazel was young and she couldn’t pronounce the word “uncle.” Hazel dislikes her uncle’s given name and believes it sounds “very geographical weatherlike to me.” The use of the more formal-sounding name points to the way that Hunca Bubba is preparing to move forward into a new stage of life, one that demands maturity and responsibility. He is ready to be a husband and possibly a father, rather than just Hazel’s fun uncle. Granddaddy tries to justify this to Hazel, pointing out that it was Hunca Bubba who promised to marry her, and now he is a new person. “This here,” he says, referring to the uncle, “Jefferson Winston Vale.” This statement greatly upsets Hazel, because the name change signifies that her uncle is shifting his focus away from their relationship and setting his sights on starting his own family. The new old name has transformed the identity of her loved one into someone she doesn’t recognize.

Bambara’s characters also use nicknames to assert racial and class identities, which further highlights how names reflect one’s broader identity. “Gorilla, My Love” is narrated using conversational speech, which informs names like “Big Brood,” “Thunderbuns,” and “Granddaddy.” The audience can assume that none of these are “real” or given names, but they act as shorthand for working-class black identity. Bambara was very active in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and saw that this perspective was lacking in literature. The use of these nicknames expresses affiliation with the black working class and presents an opportunity for these individuals and their community to assert their cultural backgrounds. For example, Hazel expresses begrudging respect for Thunderbuns, the “colored matron” who is dispatched to diffuse the chaos in the movie theater because “she do not play.” Thunderbuns earns her fearsome nickname by being an example of working-class black female power, which inspires both the admiration and fear of Hazel and her friends. The children’s use of the nickname not only establishes race and class, it is also an expression of pride in these identities.

Bambara’s use of names in “Gorilla, My Love” suggests that identity is highly mutable and subject to interpretation. Names can be an opportunity for self-expression or an opportunity for the community to project onto the individual. Names are both a tool for character development and a crucial part of the conversational tone of the story, enabling the reader to be fully immersed in Hazel’s world.

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Names and Identity ThemeTracker

The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Names and Identity appears in each chapter of Gorilla, My Love. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
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Names and Identity Quotes in Gorilla, My Love

Below you will find the important quotes in Gorilla, My Love related to the theme of Names and Identity.
Gorilla, My Love Quotes

Not that Scout’s my name. Just the name Granddaddy call whoever sittin in the navigator seat.

Related Characters: Hazel (speaker), Granddaddy
Related Symbols: Pecans
Page Number: 13
Explanation and Analysis:

So Daddy put his belt back on. Cause that’s the way I was raised. Like my Mama say in one of them situations when I won’t back down, Okay Badbird, you right. Your point is well-taken. Not that Badbird my name, just what she say when she tired arguin and know I’m right.

Related Characters: Hazel (speaker), Mama, Daddy
Page Number: 18
Explanation and Analysis:

“My name is Hazel. And what I mean is you said you were going to marry me when I grew up. You were going to wait. That’s what I mean, my dear Uncle Jefferson.”

Related Characters: Hazel (speaker), Hunca Bubba / Jefferson Winston Vale
Page Number: 19
Explanation and Analysis:

“Look here, Precious, it was Hunca Bubba what told you them things. This here, Jefferson Winston Vale.”

Related Characters: Granddaddy (speaker), Hazel, Hunca Bubba / Jefferson Winston Vale
Page Number: 20
Explanation and Analysis: