Power and Mystery of Naming Things Essay Example

defined how important for a woman to name something like “vagina” which is important because she believes by “naming my shame, exorcising my secrets, revealing my longings, was how I came back into myself, into my body” (Ensler 267). Vagina is the part that women are gifted from God to reproduction the human beings, but prohibited even to think about it. The paradox is “saying of it become both political and mystical and gave birth to a worldwide movement to end violence against women” (Ensler 267).

Besides she mentioned the paradox of “public utterance of banished word, which represented a buried, neglected, dishonored part of the body” (Ensler 268), and added “was a door opening, an energy exploding, a story unraveling” (Ensler 268). Ensler mentioned a story of when she was young and obviously can understand what happened between Ensler and her family had effected on her belief. She didn’t say what age range exact she was but it was an age which she could talk to her mother about women’s issues. Her enthusiasm suppressed by her father.

She blamed him as a cause of what she believes “was the naming, the saying of what had actually happened in her presence that lifted my 20-years depression. By remaining silent, I had muted my experience, denied it, pushed it down” (Ensler 268). That was a terrible effect for a long time on her. But additionally that naming had an effect on both her mother and herself. “Face our deepest demons and deceptions and become free,” Ensler said. Her pathos excited readers’ emotions to keep the readers with her idea of naming things and make

them feel that there is no way to start naming.

But she did not mentioned by what means readers and specifically women can do naming, so her ethos of this part is questionable. On the next paragraph she showed her worry about “women naming the atrocities committed against them” (Ensler 268) In different countries. She had visited many women living under the control of Taliban in Afghanistan, raped systematically during Bosnian war, in Sri Lanka after the tsunami or lining up in refugee camps to name their nightmares and losses and needs.

Furthermore, she wrote about her direct experience when she “had travelled through this world and listened as woman after woman tells of being date rape or acid burn” (Ensler 268). Those are logos and sad facts of our world which has effect on readers’ emotions and she used pathos well at this part. But readers need official reports, statistics, date, places and detail of any specific event to give her more credit.

On the next two paragraphs she mostly encouraged every woman around the world to protect each other and if “she breaks the silence” eventually “breaks her isolation, begins to melt her shame and guilt, make her experience real, lifting her pain” (Ensler 268). Any woman can prevent unfair behaviors about her. Consequently, by keeping speaking up “one person’s declaration sparks another and then another” (Ensler 268). This is a most important logical cause and effect message in her essay and she completed by very good examples.

She mentioned Helen Caldicott that “naming the consequences of an escalating nuclear arms race gave rise to an anti- nuclear movement”

(Ensler 268) Or “the brave soldier who came forward and named the abuses at Abu Gharib prison was responsible for a sweeping investigation” (Ensler 268). In her conclusion she said: “freedom begins with naming things. Humanity is preserved by it. ” Finally, Eve Ensler’s faced to all people and tried to encourage people to naming things even if it “is the most dangerous, terrifying and crucial work” (Ensler 268).

It would be better to point all genders as her audiences from the beginning, because her essay is good for all gender, race, sex, age and nation. Everybody needs to cover and be covered by others against wrong traditional acts. Many people, organization, and newspapers accepted and praised her essay. It was a great short essay to encourage people stand up against what they are not deserve, listen to each other problems, stay next together for helping or even fighting. Ensler/ Eve. “The power and Mystery of naming Things”. Discovering Arguments. Ed. William Palmer. New York. Pearson. 2012. 267-268. Print