Chris Middleton Dr. Fred H.

White Eng 105: Films of the Coen Brothers 20 October 2010 Who the F**k Are You?: A Study of the Interpretive Nature of Names in Fargo When Wade Gustafson approaches Carl Showalter on a rooftop to exchange money for his daughter, Carl shouts Who the f**k are you?, which turns out to be an appropriate question for every character, as the secret lies in their names. In their Academy Award-winning film Fargo, the Coen Brothers do a brilliant job of naming the characters so that their personalities and actions proceed almost directly from the etymology and history of their names. They also give the characters names common to North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota, where the film is set. With these two ideas in mind, it is easy to piece together the story of the film from the story of their names. Jerry Lundegaard, the Coens pathetic central character, is a good place to start, as his name is easily dissected. Jerry, from the Hebrew Jeremiah, literally translates to Yahweh has uplifted, but in this case, its the history of the name that is key. Jeremiah witnessed the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in the 6th century B.C., and wrote the Book of Lamentations, both of which demonstrate the way that Jerry watches his entire world crumble before his eyes. Lundegaard is Norwegian in origin and signifies grove farm, and gaard sounds like the word guard. This last name is ironic because it would suggest that Jerry guards his homestead and his family, but of course, this is exactly the opposite of what he does. His wife Jean (a variant of Jane), whose name means Gods grace is an innocent angel in this story, which is appropriate since there were multiple women named Joanna (another variant of Jane), who were disciples of Christ. Their son Scotty is not very important to the story or his father,

evident in the fact that his father gave little thought to how much hed miss his mother, and so fittingly his name simply means Scottish. Marge Gunderson, the films pregnant protagonist, has a name befitting her courageous role in solving the crime and preventing more murders. Marge, a nickname for Margaret, is of Greek origin and signifies pearl; it is also a saints name. Both of these fit Marge well, as she is beloved by her co-workers, her husband and virtually everyone she meets, even eliciting a tearful plea of love from her mentally ill former classmate Mike Yanagita, when she meets with him at a resteraunt. Gunderson, on the other hand, is an Americanized form of Gundersen, which in turn descends from Gunnarr. Gunnarr, meaning battle warrior was the name of a famous Old Norse hero named Gunnarr Hmundarson, who was said to be polite but firm and was described as an agile warrior. Marge is certainly polite but firm, as shown in her confrontational scene with Jerry in his office at the car dealership, when she makes him recount the cars on his lot to make sure none were stolen, and later, despite her pregnancy, she proves herself to be extremely agile when confronting Gaear out at Moose Lake. Her husband Norm (short for Norman) is a rather boring but amiable character, hence his names similarity to normal. The name Norman only means Northerner, but its possible that the Coen Brothers are alluding to Norman Rockwell, since he and Norm share a love of painting. Carl Showalter and Gaear Grimsrud each have names very relevant to their characters. The name Carl (from Charles) comes from at least two different languages. In Irish Gaelic, it signifies a small champion - hes certainly small - and in Old German it signifies a free man or one who is strong. At first these names seem inappropriate for our squirrely character, but Carl is also related to the English churl, which means serf. This is perfect since Carl in the end is really just a servant to Gaear, even though he tries to assert his dominance verbally throughout the film. His last name Showalter derives from Schulter and means carrying arms. It was also the surname of many of the early German colonists to the United States, who

were Hanoverian; the Hanoverian kings of England encouraged Germans to perform military service in exchange for a land grant, much like Carl is asked to perform the kidnapping in exchange for money. Also, the name is plentiful in Pennsylvania, not in the Upper Midwest, which contributes to the theme that Carl is not from around here. The meaning of Gaear is on the other hand is unclear; however, it sounds quite a bit like gear, which conjures up images of the woodchipper and gearing oneself for fighting. One of its original meanings was also stylish and Gaear is a pretty smooth dresser. His surname Grimsrud, from the Old Norse Grimr and ru has two main meanings: man with mask or helmet and cleared field. The first part is relevant because his silence masks his violent nature, whereas the second part makes one think of clearing the field of the opposition and the way that he chops down everything in his way. You would also use a woodchipper to do away with felled trees when clearing a field. Also, man withhelmet and cleared field are both representative of his seemingly empty heart, and his lack of emotions. It is like he has armor around his heart and soul, and like a cleared field, there is nothing left but a barren desolate strip of land. However, its not only in the names of the main characters that one finds meaning. Early on, the film introduces Shep Proudfoot, a Native American mechanic. When Jerry asks him if he knows any dependable kidnappers, Shep vouches for Gaear. In this way, he is like a shepherd guiding his flock, except that he is leading all the innocent sheep (such as Jean Lundegaard) to their doom. For this reason, he is also like a German Shepherd, which is extremely loyal but extremely dangerous as well, demonstrated in his fight with Carl in the hotel room, in which he pummels Carl and even roughs up the hotel clerk waiting outside the door as he leaves. Jeans father Wade Gustafson is another important ancillary character. His first name Wade is of Old English and Scandinavian origin and means a place (or ford) to cross a river. In one sense, Jerry is using Wades money to get to the other side of the river. Wades surname Gustafson comes from the Old Swedish name Gtstaf, which meant staff of the gods, signifying his

role as patriarch and his huge monetary wealth. He wields all the cards until he is shot and killed by Carl. His associate Stan Grossman is less important, and his surname simply means large, which is befitting his husky stature. Finally, there is also meaning in the names of the movies settings - Fargo and Brainerd and in Brainerds watchful guardian Paul Bunyan. Fargo is named for William George Fargo, founder of Wells, Fargo & Co., whose name conjures up images of conquerors (William), farmers (from George), and shoemakers (from Varga), appropriate for this violence-stricken wasteland where outsiders (Carl and Gaear) come and wreak havoc upon the common folk (Jean, the police officer and the two witnesses), like the Normans did in Britain. Brainerd on the other hand means courageous raven, which is an odd enough image by itself because it juxtaposes bravery, a positive quality, and the image of death. Given this fact, Paul Bunyan, whose name means literally Small Good Man is an eerie figure, whose axe hints at the darker side of Brainerd. Furthermore, Stillwater, MN is where they actually filmed the scenes at Moose Lake, where both Carl and Jean were murdered, and Stillwater conjures up images of stagnation, stillness and death. In their darkly comedic masterpiece, Fargo, the Coen Brothers weave an intricate web of meaning into the names of their characters. For many names, the meanings are not subtle, and the viewer is presented with symbols of warriors, death, and destruction, alongside the many fewer images of goodness (mainly Marge and Jean). It is appropriate that there should be such a heavy influence of Scandinavian names in the movie, because Norse mythology contains so many images of warriors and battles and the northern midwest has many Scandinavian immigrants. When these dark themes are contrasted with the sleepy, quiet quality of Brainerd, Minnesota, the Coen Brothers produce a dichotomy of the violent and the subdued, which is what makes Fargo such a scary depiction of emotionless violence in the modern era.

Sources Used

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(All sites were accessed on 20 October 2010).