The Theme Behind the Name By: Nazia Chowdhury Names of characters often stick to our minds and we make a permanent connection between the story and the name. Therefore, characters are given distinctive names which reflect their personality and have some sort of correlations with the story. Both Irving and Poe use specifically chosen names in their stories in order to illustrate a significant theme; however, Irving uses the names in his story to show …showed first 75 words of 552 total…

…showed last 75 words of 552 total…person." (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, copyright 1997) Puritanism had the same characteristics as Usher, Puritans were very sensitive to change and they did everything in their power to prevent change, this led to their downfall, as it did Usher. "The name we give to something shapes our attitude toward it," (Katherine Paterson, http://koti.mbnet.fi/neptunia/essays/namep1.htm) and for this reason, authors often exhibit the themes of their story within the names of their characters.