Names, Memory, and Identity

Names and records repeatedly fail to capture the people Dan knows, and the novel uses those mismatches to show how identity can survive, disappear, or be recovered across time.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Name Behind the Man

The Name Behind the Man A chosen inheritance Dan's father names him Daniel Boone Davis to express a belief in independence and self-reliance. Dan carries that name as a personal ideal even though he often doubts whether he can live up to it. A life shaped by independence His wish to be his own boss governs his decision to avoid a commission, build a small business, and resist corporate control. The name becomes a thread connecting his father's values to Dan's later choices.

The Lost Name Gentry

The Lost Name Gentry Searching for a childhood identity Dan looks for Ricky under the name Frederica Virginia Gentry. Telephone directories, voter lists, and school records provide only fragments, and the bank has no record of his intended trust. A record proves little The name does not lead him to the adult woman he seeks. The failure shows that public records preserve isolated facts more easily than relationships or the changes people undergo.

The Heinicke Clue

The Heinicke Clue A surname recognized Dan sees F. V. Heinicke among newly awakened Sleepers and recalls the name of Ricky's grandmother. A compressed newspaper entry reconnects a forgotten family name to the girl who has disappeared from his life. Full names restored A sanctuary worker confirms Frederica Virginia. Dan can now approach her not as a vague memory but as an identified person with a present location.

The Correct Assignment

The Correct Assignment Ricky names herself When Dan prepares the stock transfer, he asks for Ricky's full legal name. She explains that Gentry is the name she has used, but Heinicke is her birth name and her grandmother's. Identity secured in writing Dan records Frederica Virginia Heinicke on the certificate and obtains a notarized signature. The legal name that later helps Dan find her also protects her financial claim in the present he does not yet know.

A Name in the Patent

A Name in the Patent Initials create doubt Dan sees D. B. Davis on two patents and wonders whether another person shares his initials. The records initially make identity uncertain, despite the apparent match with his own work. A full name settles authorship After his return to 1970, Dan signs his full name, Daniel Boone Davis, to make his authorship unmistakable. Records that once concealed his identity become part of a history he knowingly creates.

Before the Six Weeks War and Dan's Army service

December 2000 through early 2001

Early May 2001

December 1970, at Girl Scout camp

Spring 2001 and after Dan's return