Critical Essay on Allusion and Allegory in "She Unnames Them"

Introduction

Ursula Le Guin's story, "She Unnames Them", is set in the time period of Adam and Eve. Adam was given the task by God to name all animals on earth. However, Eve feels disconnected from these animals in Le Guin's story. She feels that the names given to animals don't fit them, and that they are trying to identify the essences of animals by giving them names. She starts to unname the animals and feels the walls of separation between herself and them begin to fall.

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Because Eve and all of the animals felt the same fear and desire to interact with each other, prey and prey cannot be separated anymore. Eve realizes she can give up her name and become equals with the animals. Adam does not notice and she gives hers back to Eve. She then goes out to be with animals.

Allusion is a part of "She Unnames Them". Although it's not immediately obvious that this story is about Adam and Eve of Genesis at first glance, Le Guin makes it clear that there are important details that Le Guin has included. Eve tells Adam her name and he gives it back. This refers to God, the father who gave Eve her name when He created her.

Later, when Adam is trying to leave, Le Guin tells Adam that she hopes that "the garden key turns over." Le Guin is referring to the Garden of Eden and suggesting that Adam and Eve lost the key, rather than being thrown out of it. Le Guin refers to Adam and Eve in addition to two other famous writers and one scientist. She also mentions Jonathan Swift's attempt at naming horses in Gulliver’s Travels, as well as T.S. Eliot asserts that cats have "inffably personal names", which they share with no one but themselves.

Carolus Linnaeus is also mentioned. He was an eighteenth century scientist who created the scientific classification system for plants and animals. These examples help the reader understand that the subject of naming things has been studied and pondered by intelligent people throughout history.

The allegory is another prominent literary element of "She Unnames Them". Le Guin's story centers on Eve unnaming animals and herself. But the story goes beyond that. Eve is a symbol for anyone who feels restricted or hampered by labels imposed by the rest. She is especially representative of women. Adam is the stereotypical male that doesn't pay attention to his female counterpart, which makes this story a little feministic.

Eve also rejects the man's label and puts herself on the same authority level as him. She claims the power of language and makes herself equal to the man. Le Guin wrote this story while women were still striving to have equal rights with men in many areas. It is possible that this non-equality frustrated Le Guin since Eve, her character was so opposed to the idea of a male/female hierarchy. Women wanted to be treated as individuals and not as a group of acquiescent chickens. Many wanted to be seen as individuals, not as a group of acquiescent hens, like Eve in the story. Adam once asked Eve when dinner would be. She replied that she wasn't sure.

"She Unnames them" is not just a feministic tale. It also applies to anyone who has felt labeled in their lives. It reminds Eve of Shakespeare's famous quote, "What's the point in a name?" Eve believes that Eve and the animals are not worthy of their names. It is impossible for a name to accurately describe what or who someone is. A pigeon, however, is more than a pigeon. Each one is unique and different from the others. Hence, why are they all called the same?

Even if it were given a unique name as humans do, how could one word cover all of its aspects? Names are just labels and labels can be restrictive. You can tint them with bias. My memories of someone's names help me to identify them. However, my perceptions of them are incomplete and biased. This is also true for other groups that are stereotyped or judged based upon their skin color or accent.

Eve and the animals felt closer to each other when they let go of their names. Eve tells us that they seemed closer than their names had. "My fear of them and my fear of them became one fear. She describes the "desire to touch, rub, or feel one another’s skin, feathers, or scales, and [to] keep each other warm."

They all suddenly become vulnerable and in tune with one another. Eve realizes that her choice of this path means that her words must be carefully chosen. The "tall dancers", she says, are trees. The "winter shining," is the sun. But her words paint a much bigger picture than the words "trees” and "sun".

She chooses words that capture more of the sun and trees' effects on her. Her carefully selected vocabulary is more effective than Adam’s labels. It creates a sense of calm stillness and resolution, as Eve leaves Adam behind, ready to become her own person.

Conclusion

The story of Le Guin is a wonderful example of how to find your individuality. The reader is forced to question the utility of a name for descriptive purposes. A name, while practical, is not a description of the essence of anything or anyone. Le Guin employs literary devices such as allegory, allusion and metaphor to get her readers thinking about the labels they receive and those they give to others.