What’s in a name? by Mahtab Narsimhan
ACT ONE
(Beginning)
Beginning: Mahtab arrived in Canada from India, in April 1997 with her husband and
son.
Obstacles: The trip was very long, they lost the sence of time. When they arrived, they
found a cold place, and gray sky. They felt that didn’t belong to that place.
Climax: Her sister and parents had immigrated to Canada, and they receive them.
ACT THREE
(End)
Climax: She started work in Mayo, 1997, sixteen days of landing in Canada.
Obstacles: She was force to change her name to something more Canadian. She worked
many years feeling like another person.
Wrap-Up: Matty becomes a really good at sales, grew very fast and she enjoy it. Then,
in 2003 her father died. It was a devastating moment, but it was also a time when she
found out what she was really passionate about-writing.
End: After four years, she published her first book under her real name.
ACT TWO
(Middle)
Obstacles: Cost of living, their savings wouldn’t last long, and they would probably
have to go back home and face the taunts of relatives.
Twist: Mahtab was looking for a job but people tripped over her name.
Obstacles/Crisis: She went out around Toronto for attending some interviews, but she
couldn’t find a good job.
Climax: In the last interview, she met an Indian manager. They had studied at the same
place, so she decided to help and hired her a full-time job.
• main characters & a brief description
• setting
• plot
• conflict or problem and resolution (if applicable)
In your reflection paragraph, you should say:
• what you can relate to in this story
• how your own story is similar or different
• whether or not you can relate to one or more of the main character(s)
In “What’s in a name?” Mahtab Narsimhan relates about her story when she immigrated from India to
Canada in April 1997. She arrived in Toronto with her husband and her son, and they met with her
parents and her sister who receive them. At first they felt that didn’t belong to that place, but in short
time Mahtab was lucky to be hired by an IT company. She was force to change her name to something more
Canadian. She worked many years feeling like another person.
