Written Memoir Not Even My Name by Thea Halo tells the story of a girl whose life was torn apart by war and conflict. The story illustrates the struggles and experiences of Sano Halo (her real name is Themia), who was robbed of a childhood as a result of the genocide of Greeks, Assyrians, and Armenians living in Turkey. This genocide, which was not well known and even denied, occurred during or after World War I. The story is littered with parallels to the Holocaust, most notably—the concentration camps mentioned, the Turkish officers that invaded their homes, and the destruction of a group of people based on a single identifying factor—religion. Thea even comments that this event inspired Hitler, and he was quoted as saying “Who remembers
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She remembers the two small scars on her mother’s thigh—snake bites—which were “All that’s left” (Halo 3). Those two scars were all that remained of her old life, her family, her village, and even her own name. Thus, the title of this book is born. “Not even my name,” the war stole everything from Themia including her name. They would not let her hold onto even that, so she became Sano Halo instead. Themia and Abraham—Thea’s parents—both come from Turkey, although they are not Turkish. Themia is a Pontic Greek and Abraham is Assyrian. Thea cites her parents are coming from “two lost civilizations” (Halo 5). No one had ever heard of either of those nationalities, even Thea’s teachers, who thought she was Syrian. This, including the loss of her mother’s real name, impacted her identity. She was not sure what culture to identify with and clearly did not have much experience or information on either. Thea’s mother lost her native language, so Thea was at a disadvantage there as well. There was nothing concrete to connect her with her …show more content…
The family who took her in introduced her to Abraham and arranged their marriage. He was thrice her age and had been living in America for a while. He paid the family “twenty pieces of gold—$100.00. That was quite a lot in 1925” (Halo 42) for her, and she was shipped off to America with him, where she lived out the rest of her days. This was the only way they could protect her. Thea’s journey with her mother to Turkey is littered with beautiful descriptions of Turkish towns and the “warm, receptive people” (Halo 28). Themia explains to Thea that it was the government, and not the people, who were at fault. Even though they obeyed the ruling of the government, what else were they to do? She has taught her daughter not to withhold bitterness and hatred in her heart, and to not judge an entire people by the actions of their
She remembers the two small scars on her mother’s thigh—snake bites—which were “All that’s left” (Halo 3). Those two scars were all that remained of her old life, her family, her village, and even her own name. Thus, the title of this book is born. “Not even my name,” the war stole everything from Themia including her name. They would not let her hold onto even that, so she became Sano Halo instead. Themia and Abraham—Thea’s parents—both come from Turkey, although they are not Turkish. Themia is a Pontic Greek and Abraham is Assyrian. Thea cites her parents are coming from “two lost civilizations” (Halo 5). No one had ever heard of either of those nationalities, even Thea’s teachers, who thought she was Syrian. This, including the loss of her mother’s real name, impacted her identity. She was not sure what culture to identify with and clearly did not have much experience or information on either. Thea’s mother lost her native language, so Thea was at a disadvantage there as well. There was nothing concrete to connect her with her …show more content…
The family who took her in introduced her to Abraham and arranged their marriage. He was thrice her age and had been living in America for a while. He paid the family “twenty pieces of gold—$100.00. That was quite a lot in 1925” (Halo 42) for her, and she was shipped off to America with him, where she lived out the rest of her days. This was the only way they could protect her. Thea’s journey with her mother to Turkey is littered with beautiful descriptions of Turkish towns and the “warm, receptive people” (Halo 28). Themia explains to Thea that it was the government, and not the people, who were at fault. Even though they obeyed the ruling of the government, what else were they to do? She has taught her daughter not to withhold bitterness and hatred in her heart, and to not judge an entire people by the actions of their