Nameless – There is a song by Florence and the Machine called ‘Remain Nameless’, which feels particularly relevant to this comic. The first few stanzas are recreated below:
“I was born in a big gray cloud
Screaming out a love song
All the broken chords and unnamed cries
What a place to come from
I wish to remain nameless
And live without shame
‘Cause what’s in a name, Oh
I still remain the same
You can call it what you want
You can call me anything you want
You can call us what you want
You can call me anything you want”
The song itself, though somewhat ambiguous, appears to be about an affair or the desire to remain nameless during trysts. So maybe not so relevant. The comic itself is about a homeless turtle, who also happens to be nameless. As another song wisely observes, ‘some will win, some will lose, some were born to sing the blues’. And Stoke is really reticent about speaking unless provoked, Stoke doesn’t even ask back, as polite etiquette requires, the turtle for its name. Maybe Stoke prefers to say as little as possible to the homeless (am I projecting again?). And as Florence Welch wisely asks, ‘what’s in a name’? What do our names do to our psyche? Why do others perceive us differently based on our names? Are we our names? Do our names define us? Who are we without a name? And what does it mean to not have a name? Why can’t we name ourselves? Why can’t our names be as fluid as our homes, having them for a few years before changing them? And what do our homes say about ourselves? ‘What’s my age again?’ Tune in each week for new episodes of Nihileafs, where these and more philosophical questions, remain unanswered. – Zachary