The Bastard Of Istanbul is, at heart, a story about accepting one's identity. Almost every character in this book faces some sort of identity crisis. This can be specifically followed by exploring the connection between the idea of ​​the character's identity and their real, concrete name. Some characters hide behind pseudonyms, while others have multiple names. The theme of names as a reflection of a character's identity is prevalent throughout the book. The characters in the internet café and physical café are only known by their pseudonyms. In both examples, the names give clues to the character's personality, but by no means tell the whole story. In the internet café, we learn that Armanoush is called “Madame my-exiled-soul”. She had chosen this name in homage to Zabel Yessaian... Zabel was a fascinating personality... She had known a tumultuous life..." (Shafak, 113). This certainly gives an idea of ​​what Armanoush considers herself to be: a rebel, an intellectual, but also looking to have fun. But that's not all, it's simply the image it gives of the world of the Internet café. We see the same thing in the character of the dipsomaniac cartoonist. The initial impression is only reinforced by the name; he is an alcoholic who draws cartoons for a living. Later, however, we discover that there is much more to the character than what we see here. He really cares about Asya and is ready to change himself for her. “You are my one and only motivation in this life to become a better person” (Shafak, 322). Many characters in the story have multiple names. Armanoush's internal conflict over her cultural identity is reflected in the names she has, Armanoush for her father's family, Amy for her moth... middle of paper ...... uh sisters. The characters' attempts to resolve their identity issues is a key theme of The Bastard of Istanbul and can be followed by the multiple names that the characters give themselves to represent different aspects of their personalities. This is a process used by the author to highlight the different aspects of a character's personality: by naming them, they become more real to the reader. In a sense, we see them as distinctly different characters in conflict with each other, a very effective way of communicating internal conflicts in a way that the reader can easily understand. A complete analysis of the characters in this story must treat each aspect of the different characters' personalities as a character in its own right. Only by understanding each motivation behind actions can we get a complete picture of why characters act the way they do..