Maddy PlattEng 121Professor Rosette-Garcia20-03-2014Essay n.2Jasmine by Bharti Mukherjee is a novel about what it means to become American. Jasmine was born in a small village in Hasnapur, India. However, he didn't stay there long. After her husband's assassination, she moved to the United States, where she transformed into a thoroughly American woman. Although she grew accustomed to American life and traditions, she never forgot her experiences in India and through every step of her journey to America. Jasmine had five different names over the course of her life, and each represented a different version of herself, as she gradually moved towards more American values. Although she had different names and identities, she always remained true to her core beliefs and remained true to herself. Each of the different names represents a distinctly different time in Jasmine's life, and while she may outwardly appear to be an alternate version of herself, she remains a strong-willed and adventurous girl despite her situation and surroundings. Jasmine's birth name was Jyoti, which means "light" in Hindi. The name Jyoti represents Jasmine's roots and origins. This name was given to her by her grandmother. Jyoti was a village girl who would get married soon and whose only aim in life was to be a wife and have children. Although these were the values ​​of the society she lived in, Jasmine was different. She was adventurous and independent and, unlike her sisters, did not worry about finding a much older husband and settling down. The name Jyoti describes who she was supposed to be in that specific society, but it did not describe who she was or what her life path would be. Jasmine thinks of herself as Jyoti when... middle of paper... where she lived. Although she has grown and developed into a modern American woman, she has remained true to her early values ​​and strong personality throughout her journey. These different identities were constructed by her and the people she was with, and usually the name was given to her by someone else. This shows how his identity was influenced based on who he was at the time. Her name becomes more Americanized as she becomes more ingrained in American culture. These names keep the different phases of her life separate, however she can go back and forth between them, such as when she went back to being Jase after being Jane. Plus, she always remembers her past, and even though she transforms from Jyoti to Jasmine to Jazzy to Jase to Jane, each of these identities is all Jasmine at the same time. They are all part of her and will remain part of her forever.