Hidden within “No Name Woman” are many underlying symbols and motifs, or recurring patterns, that contribute to shaping the story into what it is. is and to help shape not only the characters' personalities, but also the overall plot of the story. A motif that seems to predominate throughout history is the reappearance of the idea of ​​waste: waste of livestock, waste of human lives, and even waste of births. This symbol of waste seems to exaggerate the theme of shame which influences every decision made in the story and shapes not only No Name Woman but also the narrator's personal life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Throughout “No Name Woman,” the idea of ​​something being “wasted” surfaces repeatedly. “The night the baby was due to be born, the villagers broke into our house,” says Kingston’s mother. “The villagers broke the front door and the back door… their knives were dripping with the blood of our animals. » (Kingston 569). Not only did the villagers slaughter livestock, but they also destroyed many perishable foods and household items, such as bowls, pots, rice, fruits and vegetables. “They tore his clothes and his shoes and broke his combs…” as well as “large earthenware jugs that reached up to his waist; duck eggs, pickled fruits and vegetables” (Kingston 569). The villagers ransacked the house and everything it contained. They did not enter the house with the intention of looting or stealing property, but simply to destroy everything No Name Woman and her family owned. They spared no property in destroying anything and everything in the house, only to shame the unnamed woman because she was pregnant with a baby whose father was not the woman's husband unnamed. How the unnamed woman became pregnant remains a mystery. At that time, in 1924, her husband was in America; she became pregnant by a man other than her husband, whose identity is not revealed. Either she was raped or she had an affair, neither of which are directly confirmed in the story, but one of which can be interpreted through certain contextual clues hidden in the text. Kingston's mother tells him this story as a warning; a story intended to persuade Kingston to conform to his parents' values. The aim is to discourage Kingston youth from having sex before marriage and, in the future, sex outside marriage. Kingston's mother tells him this story because, hopefully, the fear of humiliation, ostracism, and death will serve as a warning against the consequences of sexual promiscuity. Because Kingston's mother tells her this story to persuade her to act in a manner consistent with her parents' principles, it can be concluded that the Nameless Woman became pregnant while committing adultery. The main aspect of this pervasive motif of waste concerns the waste of No Name Woman and her daughter's life when she commits suicide in response to feeling ashamed of the actions and choices she made. The unnamed woman commits suicide and takes her child with her when she jumps into the well. “She had taken her child with her into the deserts” (Kingston 576). Her life and that of her child were completely ruined because of the decisions made by No Name Woman. This is the main manifestation of waste in this short story. Two lives were wasted because of shame, one of them without the ability to choose for herself..