Identity In Santha Rama Rau's By Any Other Name

Throughout short story “By Any Other Name,” Santha Rama Rau suggests that identity plays a big role on the way people are treated, and the impact on others. Premila and Santha have just arrived at their new school. They have just been introduced to the the head mistress. She’s just decided to change their names because she hasn’t bothered to learn India’s language. The head mistress states, “Oh, my dears, those are much too hard for me. Suppose we give you pretty English names”(p.1). This reveals that the head mistress is treating Premila and Santha differently. The head mistress says “suppose we give you pretty English names”. She is slyly implying that their given Indian name aren’t “pretty” enough, and thinks that if they had English names