Names are a huge part of our identity. The 'battle' he is preparing his daughter for is to keep tradition and culture alive as reflected in teaching Arabic, history, and ancestors. Her job in regards to fighting is more of a metaphor of sorts. It is her own personal battle as she goes and faces the world every day, a world where many will look down upon those with a different background. They will try and tell her that her way of life, her history is wrong. It acts as a way of homogenization, many westerners want people to live their life in a westernized manner. This made me think of how Canada used to treat Aboriginals, especially with residential schools. They had their name changed, language stripped away from them, and were not allowed to perform their culture and traditions. As a result, their identity died. Amnas father does not want her identity to die in a hate filled world.

When I first read this I found it a little harsh. Why would a father want their child to go through a daily battle of having a complex name? Upon further inspection and closer reading, I do feel like it is because as later stated, the daily struggle does serve as a reminder of what it took to bear that name. The people who suffered and struggled before, although one can't meet them, one can bear the name. For tradition, respect, or paying homage, it can been seen as an honour to have a complex surname. When the father said 'God knows having this name has been a battle for me', what does he mean? Did he suffer during his time in Sudan? Or was he given a hard time because of his name?

This goes back to the idea that surnames serve as a reminder of where ones roots originated from. When we are given a last name, it also comes with the history of generations before us. The weight of all the struggles, fights, and bloodshed lace the last name in a hidden bow. When he says 'It should be heavy' I feel like he is saying that if a surname does not contain some weight or substance, it is no good. Since everyone has a surname, we all do indeed have an unshakeable chain and are are tied to a lineage until the day of our death. When I read that expert I was immediately reminded of the song 'Cost of the Crown' by Mercedes Lackey. The one part that has the strongest relations to the annotation is 'But once I took the crown to which I had been schooled and bred, I found it heavy on the heart, though light upon the head.'. This goes back to being given something innocent enough but chained to it is the burden and weight of history tied to the gift.

Unlike Amna, he was able to experience more of Sudan and was able to bring back memories and culture when he arrived in Canada. Amna on the other hand, was born in Canada. She is not given the same opportunity to live life as a Sudanese person despite having Sudanese blood. Thus, by having the complex last name, it does act as a reminder of where her roots originated from even though Sudan is out of reach for her. Every surname does this one way or another but very rarely do people give it any thought.

The father is taking into consideration how difficult and monotonous it will be to constantly answer why Amna is such an exotic name. The middle name 'Eliot' sounds more western and common, thus giving another name to be referred by to avoid answering the same question. But could it also be in case the child doesn't like the name Amna? Some people prefer to be called by their middle name so it isn't that far fetched. I think it is nice to have a common sounding name as a backup name and it was considerate to give the child such a middle name as 'Eliot'. It can get very annoying and even exhausting to answer the same question of 'Where is your name from'?

A blessing or a curse. This surname does add to the flow of he daughters name and carries a long line of history, it is also complex, and hard to pronounce. For a child growing up, she may hate it because it is so complex. But why a complex name? Was it for the aesthetic? Or perhaps something more deeper in regards to traditional and/or historical significance?