Myriam Gubra’s mean is an autobiographical account of Gubra’s life growing up as a Mexican-Polish woman in the western U.S.A. Gubra tells stories that range from funny recollections of quirky neighbors to harrowing memories of sexual assault. Throughout the text, Gubra retains the same lighthearted, humorous tone. Gubra is personable, and while I became more invested in her life through reading the text, I began to get the feeling that I knew her personally at some point in my own life. This strange familiarity I found in Gubra made me pity her, especially when she talks about a classmate, Macaulay repeatedly molesting her in class. These feelings of pity are heightened as the attacks become more frequent and more severe. Every time it happens, I am left wondering why she didn’t take her father’s sagacious advice. Why didn’t she chose to be mean? The advice is given when a young Gubra asks why bad things happen. Her father wisely responds: “Myriam, think of how boring life would be if nothing bad ever happened” (Gubra 16). This was great advice, the kind that lingers in the minds of children and stays with them, even when they have their own families. Although this advice was great, it wasn’t proactive. Sure, Myriam’s story about being groped in class is interesting and scary, but she would have been better off if she didn’t have that story to tell. Sometimes, bad things just happen, whether they be interesting or not, but I think the world can agree that we would all settle for a less interesting life of serenity.
Gubra has a fascinating interest in names and their meanings. This is evident throughout the text, she will name a peer or another significant individual, and then explain the meaning of their name. I only noticed it a few times, no more than two or three, but, nonetheless I thought it was interesting and it stuck with me. The first time is in the very beginning. After she tells the story of a young woman’s brutal rape and mutilation, she gives the meaning of her name, the name that sticks with her and haunts her. Gubra explains: “It appears many times in the Bible: Sophia. In Greek, sophia means wisdom” (Gubra 3). Another instance of this attention to designation occurs when when she mentions a male classmate. Gubra writes: “One climber, Reymundo, in English, king of the world” (Gubra 14). This example isn’t as grim as the first, as Reymundo was just a daring classmate of hers. His name doesn’t seem to haunt her as Sophia’s does, but, despite this, she thought it was important enough to elaborate on, and this fact alone is intriguing. It left me wondering where she acquired this interest and why is it such a significant aspect of the text.
As Gubra tells stories of her life growing up in the western United States, we learn of the struggles she faced because of her racial identity. Some things were small, imitating the microaggressions we saw in Claudia Rankine”s Citizen. An example of this occurs when she visits her white neighbors while her mother gives birth, she asks what they’re making for dinner, and the mother responds, cheerfully: “Since you’re visiting, Mexican” (Gubra 6) Although it wasn’t malicious or overtly racist, her decision to prepare her strange rendition of “Mexican food” was without a doubt racially motivated. Although this was a cringe inducing moment of the text, this moment pales in comparison to the blatant racism that Gubra faces at school. She is battered with racial slurs, she notices that white adults treat her differently than they do her white peers, and she is often made out to be the bad guy in race related situations. Gubra tells the story of an altercation between the white and hispanic students. Despite the fact that it was the white students who are berating the hispanic students with racial slurs and other terrible things, when the teachers gather all of the girls together to come to a solution, the outcome is ironic to say the least. Gubra calls the girls out on their racist antics, and they begin to cry. This action prompts the teacher to tell Gubra to apologize. Even after all of the harassment and the name calling, Gubra is the one being blamed. Just because a teacher emphasized with the faces that were more similar to their own, Gubra is told to apologize for defending herself. Although this is disappointing, it isn’t a surprise, these kinds of situations are just another aspect of day to day life for people of color.
Mean is an interesting and somewhat thrilling read, it makes me feel as if i was thumbing through the pages of a comic book, just without the illustrations. Gubra is like some kind of feminist superhero, and I look forward to continuing with her through the text on her coming of age journey.
Questions:
What is the significance of your own name?
Have you ever been in a situation where you were completely right and you still had to apologize? How did this make you feel?
Diavian,
I found when you talked about the part,“Since you’re visiting, Mexican” (Gubra 6) really interesting. This is something we were actually just talking about in one of my other sociology classes. Someone making someone Mexican food because they are Mexican is a racial stereotype. Although they weren’t making the Mexican food to be mean or hurtful, it was still racially stereotyping because of her race and ethnicity. It is something that many people in our culture often do not think about.
Diavian,
I think names can be humanizing regardless of whether or not a name itself has meaning. I’ve been referred to as “she”, “that girl”, and “the short one with glasses” before being referred to by my own name in situations where I believed my name was important. I felt completely disregarded, looked over, and even objectified. I’m more than my gender and my height. I’m a person with thoughts and feelings, so I felt erased without my name even being a part of the conversation. I think a name, besides it’s significance and meaning, makes us a real person. Gurba says about Sophia, “This description is cruel. It reduces her to transience, as if she personified it.” Transience is defined as “the state or fact of lasting only for a short time.” Sophia was brutally raped and murdered, and all they could say about her was that she was young. They completely erased her as a person, and therefore dehumanized her.
Diavian,
The significance of my name is the meaning. It means ‘thinking of the sea’ and it’s origin is Greek. I never used to like my name before but now I embrace it. And seeing the meaning and origin makes me see the true beauty it contains. Names are significant in general because it was a name chosen for us by our parents and it is what we use on a daily basis for part of our identity. Yes, I have been in a situation when I knew I was right but still apologized to the other person. It made me feel irritated and baffled. That was the person I used to be. Now I stand up for what I believe is right, always. But one thing to remember is that everybody has their own opinion, therefore, it is inevitable for conflicting views to occur between two or more people. It is more effective to agree to disagree in most cases.
Diavian,
I thought it was interesting that you touched upon the significance of names. I believe that a persons name is linked to their identity and that it says a lot about said person. There are some names that I will never be able to name my children, because of the memories and actions associated with certain names for people. But some names hold such value and meaning to me, not only because of the meaning of the name but because of the significance of the person. I think that is why Gubra mentioned the significance of names, because has a specific and individualized meaning to a person. When I looked up the meaning of my name, all it said was rich or dark. However, I am named after my dads middle name, and it is something I am extremely proud of.
Diavian,
I found Gubra’s interest in the meaning of names intriguing as well. When I looked up my name I found out that it is an English name, the feminine version of Michael, and means “gift from God.” I think the part where you connected visiting the neighbors to the theme of micro aggressions and Citizen. Another part that reminded me of micro aggressions was when she tries the Mexican casserole and says, “There was nothing Mexican about it. Its spices told unfamiliar stories” (Gubra, 10). This was also just a small part but even though it wasn’t racist or negative, I think it relates to the racial context of the story which is important in understanding the differences in hispanic and white cultures.
I fully agree about the book being a thrilling and interesting read. There were points that were difficult to get through, such as in the beginning while describing the rape. The paragraph that mentions “He kicks her. She flips onto her back. He slides a knife out of his pocket, takes a step, and stands so that he straddles her waist” (3) was particularly difficult for me to read due to the graphic nature of the section. In regards to my name having any significance, it’s and interesting story actually. My mother named me Lauren because she was running out of time to pick a name so she decided on whatever came to mind first. So in a way. my name has no significance, but my mom still loves the name and doesn’t regret her decision.
Diavian,
I also found her stress of importance of names in the first section very interesting. While I was reading the end, I asked why was she feeling so guilty? Why does Sophia’s name haunt her so? Then I realized a disturbing fact, we often hear about tragedies including sexual assault and other crimes, and we feel “bad” for a while but then we move on with our lives. We listen to music. She illustrated the idea of people who have died, listen to music through us. Gurba writes, “They use us to conduct pain, pleasure, music, and meaning” (3).
Diavian,
I really enjoyed reading your breakdown of the text. It drew my attention to aspects of the reading that I didn’t pay attention to while reading it the first time. One of these aspects was the details that she hid behind some of the names. The example of Sophia caught my eye, and when I read a little farther into it, I made a few interesting discoveries. In the text Gubra writes, “It appears many times in the Bible: Sophia. In Greek, Sophia means wisdom,” (Gubra 3). The intriguing thing about this quote is that, upon a little further research, I found out that the name “Sophia” was never actually referenced in the Bible. Although it does in fact mean “wisdom,” the actual term used in the Bible is the Hebrew term “Chokham,” which also means wisdom. Although it’s unclear why Gubra might have included this inaccuracy, one might theorize that it was to further underline the disparity between the atrocious acts that happened to Sophia, and her supposed connection with Godliness.
Diavian,
I really enjoyed your blog post and the significance of names after reading about the name of Sophia as Gubra explains: “It appears many times in the Bible: Sophia. In Greek, sophia means wisdom” (Gubra 3). Like many of our classmates have stated above, our names give us our own personal identity. After researching the origin of my name, I found that my name is a feminine form of Michael and means gift from God. My mom never knew the meaning of my name as she named me after the main character of the show, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. The only reason why she used the name was because she really liked it.
I believe that middle names have more of a significant meaning because I know a lot of people, including myself, that have middle names that are used in the family. For example, my middle name is the same as my mom’s and three other girls in my family. Although last names of women can be changed after they get married, first and middle names are not which gives you your own personal identity and gives you something to be proud of.
Diavian,
I agree with your statement about Gurba and her caring about the meanings behind specific names. Its a little odd but interesting at the same time because its different. Although I see what she is trying to do and get a deeper look into things, sometimes she might be searching for something that isn’t there. I don’t believe there is a meaning behind everything and if you continuously look for one, you might just come up with nothing. The significance behind my name is really just that it is my fathers name. Theres no deeper meaning behind the name Michael and the fact that the name was just passed down from my father to me. Also, I have been in plenty of situations where I have been right and I have to apologize. Sometimes when your wrong, your wrong and when your right, your still wrong. Thats just what some people will make you do. Apologizing even when your right because you just don’t want to deal with that person anymore. People can not admit when they are wrong and you just have to be the bigger person and let them be. It honestly doesn’t make you feel good but it is just something you have to deal with in everyday life with people.
Diavian,
You made a lot of really great points in your post! When you wrote, “She is battered with racial slurs, she notices that white adults treat her differently than they do her white peers, and she is often made out to be the bad guy in race related situations.”I completely agreed and thought how awful it is that this still happens today.
As for your question:
Have you ever been in a situation where you were completely right and you still had to apologize? How did this make you feel?
I have been in many situations where I was right and still had to apologize. In school you’re taught to express your opinions and beliefs, to be confident in what you’re saying. It is unfortunate that in some cases what you believe is right is totally different from someone else’s subjective beliefs and apologizing for what you’re standing up for makes you feel dehumanized.
Diavian,
I really enjoyed your blog posts because of how many different points in the book it touches on. I particularly liked the relation of Mean to our other assigned book, Citizen. Your analysis of how her neighbors comment about making Mexican food cause Myriam was visiting describes the theme of microaggressions that is seen in Citizen. I also am really glad that you decided to talk about the incident that occurred at school. Myriam was called racial slurs and told the teacher, yet was forced to apologize even though they were the victims simply because the girls started to cry. This made me think of a bigger picture, about how even though the other girls were in the wrong the teacher backed them up. The school is mostly white children, the majority. The teacher is a part of the majority so he sides with the white girls. This makes me think of society today and how minorities are stepped on but the majority ignores it, playing it off as if it is the victims fault. I love that your second discussion question touches on this situation, making it a more relatable personal experience where we can put ourselves in Myriam’s shoes. When I was little, my younger sister and I would often fight as siblings do. Even though these situations left us both equally at fault, because I was older my mom blamed me saying that I was older and should know better. I usually was punished and forced to apologize even if it was not my fault. For example, when fighting once my sister began to try to throw something at me and ended up knocking over a lamp. My mother blamed me and said I must have instigated it, and that I should have known better. I was forced to apologize and was punished even though it was not my fault. This feeling of anger and frustration for being blamed helps me relate to Myriam, and put myself in her shoes.
What is the significance of your own name?
Have you ever been in a situation where you were completely right and you still had to apologize? How did this make you feel?
I really liked your questions you brought up. My name is Celtic for honorable, and perhaps knowing what your name means puts a duty for us to act. Our name is a representation of who we are in a way, and so perhaps the meaning of our name is a step off point for us to shape what our name is and as a result, who we are.
As far as your second question goes, everyone was right at one point I am sure. However, allowing themselves to fall silent or to apologize for being right is something that often happens. It could be to stop an argument, or to make someone else who the truth hurt feel a little better. The question I suppose you are asking is how far will our value of truth and right go. I believe how far it will go depends on who suffers because of it.
Diavian,
I really like your comparison to reading the book is like “as if I was thumbing through the pages of a comic book, just without the illustrations.” As for the meaning behind my name, my name translates to “God is gracious” in Gaelic. But my name to me means so much more. Growing up with a name that is so different from all of the kids I grew up with, was hard. Students and even teachers would look at me like I had five heads when I told them the actual pronunciation of my name. It was almost like they didn’t believe me or that my parents just made up my name. The first day of school was always a nightmare for me because it was a new teacher I had who was going to attempt to pronounce my name and possibly butcher it. I have accepted my name and have learne to love the uniqueness about it.
Diavian, I loved your blog post! This book is definitely taking a more comedic approach to many of the issues that we have covered in this class. When the author in the book write, “Myriam, think of how boring life would be if nothing bad ever happened” (Gubra 16) It takes into account the author’s tone about how life is full of ups and downs, and it is unpredictable and NEVER boring ig you think of it that way. Living in the U.S as an immigrant is never easy but at least we have some comedic relief in this book.
Diavian,
Thank you for your interesting take on this book. I hadn’t noticed the way that the meaning of the names stands out and I was really interested to go back and look at those again. I’m curious to find out, as we continue to read, which other names stand out to her. As you pointed out, it’s clear why the name sophia stood out to her but the other names are less clear. It would be interesting to know why she emphasized these names and not others. Thank you for your well written and interesting blog post.
I’ve often thought about how weird the concept of names are, they’re made up sounds that we use to identify each other. I guess if you really think about it thats what every word is but nonetheless. My name is Hebrew for “who is like god” which if you ask me is a pretty cool origin and might help explain why this world has millions of Michaels. A little background info, my father’s name is Michael Thomas George, so I got named Michael and my twin got named Thomas. Pretty neat. I think just about everybody has been in a relationship and had to apologize for something they didn’t do just to avoid an argument or to make their significant other feel better. This can be frustrating but its for the greater good so im willing to take one for the team every now and again as long as its not a reoccurring thing.
Thanks! Terrific information!
https://essaywritingserviceahrefs.com/ need someone to write my essay