My character's birth name is ironic to his personality.He changes it later.What do I, as the writer call him?

Question

My character is a mean, cold-hearted person that does not believe in mercy or helping the poor people inhabiting his land.

His birth name is Cleman Reynard, meaning merciful, pure, love, honest, incorrupt.

Cleman comes from a family that believes everything that he does not. He despises his family and the family's sympathy for the poor and later kills his father and changes his name.

He will later on in my story change his name into Dralco (from Draco, a star constellation that LOOKS like a dragon but is really a snake-he betrays a couple friends) Dralco is a sadist and later becomes known as a notorious masked killer.


So throughout the story which should I refer to him as. I get confused in the beginning, because the readers do not know that you will change his name or anything. But when he does, I don't want to call Dralco as Cleman either.

This is for my english class. It is a series of short stories (which have to be independent from each other) that don't necessarily go in order. I have already written the story in which Dralco betrays his friend. So basically I am writing this story as Dralco's backround and why he acts the way he does.
So my english teacher knows him as Dralco.

Reynard means pure, love, honest, incorrupt

Answer 1

I'd calm him Darlco through. Somewhere, in the beginning, you may want to refer to his former name. Darlco, who was once known as Cleman...
At the murder scene, you might want to indicate the change of name: That's when he knew he would never use the name Cleman again... From now on, his true nature would be the only one he'd ever need, the nature of Dralco...
his former name might come back once or twice in the story, at appropriate moments, but make sure you inform the reader this is what's happening. He might snap back a someone from his past in one passage: "I am not to be called by that name ever again! Clemen is dead! Dead and forgotten!" or something.

Not those exact sentences, of course, you'll have to adapt it to your story and style, but you get the idea.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

It would probably work if you started the story be calling him Cleman, and then switched. This might seems confusing, but if you have a definite shift that's really clear and obvious the reader will understand. For example, lets say that he's been called Cleman up until a certain point, and now he's changing his name. You could put something like (totally making something up here to try an show you what I mean):
"Cleman, please, don't" begged his father. Cleman stared impassively... *stabs father after other random dialogue* ..."My name," he whispered, "Is Dralco."

Then, in the next scene, make the first word Dralco. (Dralco left the house shortly after.) By reinforcing the name so quickly after, it will stick in the readers mind and it will show them that it's a cool metaphor for his transformation into evil. lol, sorry for forcing my random writing on you, but hopefully that shows what I mean.

Since they are short stories, make sure that shift is there, but in the stories about him as Cleman, put in a line about how he would one day be the notorious Dralco. Like, when you write about him being born, put in a line about how his family hoped to shape his character with his name, but that he instead would change his name to fit his character.

Answer 3

In stories where he is only known as Cleman, don't call him "Dralco," but in stories where he is Dralco, mention somewhere that he changed his name from "Cleman" and why, because it is important. Since your teacher knows him as "Dralco," make his character very consistent, even when he is going by "Cleman," so your teacher will realize it is the same person.

If you ever put them all together to form one long story, call him Cleman in the beginning, then make a clear point when he changes his name to call him Dralco, but emphasize that he has changed his name, not that you've forgotten it :-)

Answer 4

Forget about who knows him as what. Create your story line, call him Cleman (interesting that you chose the surname Reynard, as that means fox) until he decides to change his name. Follow him through that process and let him explain, either to himself or to someone else, why it is necessary to do this. Then again, when he changes his name to Dralco, let the readers in on his reasoning.

Answer 5

Think of it like Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader, you don't change the name until he becomes the other person.