The Namesake: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

A namesake is the thing within a story that the story itself is named after. It could be [[The Eponymous Show|a character]], [[The Place|a place]], an object, or indeed a metaphor. Often, the namesake is [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|rather obvious]] (''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' is obviously named that way because there's a character called "Romeo" and another called "Juliet"; ''[[The Time Machine]]'' obviously includes a machine to [[Time Travel|travel through time]]) but sometimes, authors (or film studios) want to use titles that draw attention, and that's when the namesake may not appear until the end of the story, or might indeed only be a metaphor for a certain situation in the story which doesn't become clear until the end. In short, this becomes a trope when the reason why the book/movie/chapter/episode/etc. is called the way it is, isn't revealed to the audience until [[Now You Tell Me|near the end]]; regardless of whether the characters [[The Not-Secret|knew about it all along]] or not. If book/movie/chapter/episode is named after a pivotal plot point rather than an actual person/place/thing, then it's a [[Spoiler Title]].

Sometimes this is turned on its head when titles that the audience expects to refer to a metaphorical namesake [[Faux Symbolism|become literal]]. As an example, if you haven't read Asimov's short story "Nightfall", you'll probably think the title is a metaphor for the situation the characters find themselves in, similar to Stephenie Meyer's use of the title ''Twilight''. Asimov's story, in fact, revolves literally around an iminent sunset, which is an event the characters have never experienced.

 

 

Not to be confused with [[Namesake Gag]] nor the book and film entitled [[The Namesake (film)|The Namesake]]. In literary circles this is called an [[Eponym]], a term also used to refer to a [[Character Title]].

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

 

== [[Comic Books]] ==

 

== Film ==

* ''[[The Phantom Menace]]'' has an interesting title, especially compared to the self-evident titles of the other ''[[Star Wars]]'' movies. Namely, it raises the question, who is the "phantom menace"? Darth Maul, as the [[Never Trust a Trailer|advertising campaign would suggest]]? Senator Palpatine, the [[The Chessmaster|mastermind behind it all]] who [[Devil in Plain Sight|hides behind a respectable front]]? The Sith in general, who are supposed to be extinct? Or perhaps [[Start of Darkness|Anakin]], who at this point is only a "phantom" of the "menace" he will one day become?

* In the original version of ''[[The Wicker Man]]'', the titular man of wicker isn't shown or otherwise mentioned until the very end of the movie.

 

== Literature ==

* ''[[Bridge to Terabithia]]'': The title "bridge" finally appears {{spoiler|in the final chapter, when Jesse builds it to replace the rope that he and Leslie used, whose breaking resulted in Leslie's [[Death by Newbery Medal]]}}.

** ''Azkaban'' has a chapter titled "The Servant of Lord Voldemort". {{spoiler|When you start the chapter, you think the title simply refers to Sirius Black. By the time you've finished the chapter, it's become apparent that the eponymous servant is Peter Pettigrew.}}

* ''[[The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy (novel)|The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy]]'''s ''So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish'' doesn't reveal its namesake until chapter 23.

** Although those who read the first book know that {{spoiler|it's the dolphins' last message to humankind, making the title itself a [[Foreshadowing]] of their hand in Earth's restoration}}.

* The [[Brandon Sanderson]] novel ''[[Warbreaker]]'''s namesake is revealed on the last page.

** [[Trailers Always Spoil|Or the inside blurb of the hardcover...]]

 

== Live Action TV ==

* Several ''[[Lost]]'' episodes do this, such as "The Substitute," "Some Like it Hoth," and "Jughead." The flashbacks in "Not in Portland" depict Juliet being recruited for a job in Portland. At the very end, we learn this is actually how she was recruited by the Others. Richard tells her, "Well, actually we're not quite in Portland."

* The titular event in ''[[The Event]]'' is not revealed until the final episode. Because the series is [[Cut Short]], it only really gets mentioned in passing and we never see it transpire.

== [[Web Comics]] ==

* [http://www.pantheracomic.com Panthera]: The reason for the title isn't revealed until the 19th strip, which, [[Webcomic Time|due to the comic being weekly]] and having [[Schedule Slip|missed an update]], meant that it was revealed after 6 months! Once it was, the author was quite verbal in pointing it out.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Text Tropes]]

[[Category:Title Tropes]]