Nomi e costruzioni identitarie in Her First American di Lore Segal

This article deals with the names of the main characters in Lore Segal’s novel Her First American. The analysis tackles in particular onomastic issues in passages where the names themselves are mentioned in accordance with the central themes of the novel, i.e. the disorientation caused by experiences of exile and migration, acculturation, racism and the exploitation of black Americans. The analysis, which highlights the evanescence of names and their function as ‘identity markers’, also addresses the concept of inadequacy (or, conversely, adequacy) of the literary name.