Personal Response (chapter 4)

( Pag 93)

Gogol didn’t have a date in the school, but his parents didn’t feel worry about that because at the same ager of their son they didn’t have a date. Ashoke’s was worried that his son joined at the math team and maintained his A average. However, Ashoke and Ashima didn’t suspect that Gogol smoked pot, and when he went to spend time in his friends’ home, they drove to other places to see bands, so he did everything that an American teenager did. Gogol has two personalities because in his house he does everything that his parents wanted from him, and he respects his parent’s culture. However, when he is with friends his friends, he does all things that he likes. I think that it is difficult for a teenager to live under two cultures especially if their parents are strict and don’t accept that their children grow up in a different culture. In many cases that difference creates arguments between parents and children; consequently, most children choose to avoid problems with their parents by embracing the two cultures.

Summary Chapter 4

In chapter fourth of The Namesake, Gogol celebrated his fourteenth birthday with a party, and he had nearly forty guests. In the night, his father gave him a present, which was a book written by Nikolai Gogol, but Gogol didn’t have interest in that book because he preferred another kind of lecture; also, he was pensioned for the Beatle’s music. The next year, the Ganguli family traveled to Calcutta and expended eight months there where they visited the Taj  Mahal, and Gogol was impressed with the architecture of this Temple.  When they was returning to Calcutta in the train one of the passenger was stabbed and robbed, and Sonia has an allergic reaction. In that moment, Ashoke remembered his accident that happened many years ago. The Ganduli family came back to Massachusetts, and Gogol began high school, where his English teacher gave as homework to read the book “The Overcoat”; however, Gogol was not happy with this homework. One weekend, Gogol’s staid alone at home, and he was invited a party in a dorm at the university. In the party, Gogol met a girl, who is named Kim, and he introduced as Nikhil. It was the first time that Gogol used that name, which made him felt more courageous, and he kiss Kim. It is his first kiss.

 

 

Personal Response

“for reasons he cannot explain or necessarily understand, these ancient Puritan spirits, these very first immigrants to America, these bearers of unthinkable, obsolete names, have spoken to him, so much so that in spite of his mother’s disgust he refuses to throw the rubbings away”

 

When Gogol was in sixth grade, he went to a trip to visit the house of a famous dead writer, and he and his class went to the cemetery where they had to rub the surface of the gravestone. Some of the children found graves with their names, but Gogol knew that was impossible for him found his name. While he was rubbing the names of the tombs, his classmates were playing between the grave.  Gogol felt connection with those names or spirits because he had an unusual name as them.  For that he wanted to keep the rubs with him because he Know that he never would meet people with those names although his mother was disagreeing with that.

Summary Chapter 3

In the chapter 3 from The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri the author argue that The Ganduli family moved to outside Boston because Ashoke found a new job as an assistant professor of electrical engineering at the university. After, two years to live in an apartment, they had enough money to buy a house in the suburbs. When Gogol started the nursery school, his father give him a new name, which was Nikhi , but Gogol didn’t want  to use that name. Also,  Ashima discovered that she was pregnant again, and she suffered of morning sickness  and expend most of the time in bed. The Ganduli family had their second baby, who is a girl, named Sonali, who in her rise ceremony grabbed the money and the ground unlike Gogol. When he was in the sixth grade wet on a field trip to visit the home of famous dead writer, visited the cemetery, and he brought rubbings to his home. His mother was shocked for that trip.

Personal response

Chapter #2 
pag(26-28)

 

Ashima and Ashoke couldn’t leave the hospital because it was required the baby’s name for the birth certificate, and they didn’t have a name for the baby. They tried to explain to the doctor that they couldn’t name their baby by themselves because the tradition in their country is that the eldest of the family gives the name. The doctor explained that the policy of the hospital said that the baby could leave it if he had a birth certificate with his name; also, he said to them that it was possible that they might name their baby after left the hospital, but they would have to appear before a judge and pay a fee. After this episode, they learned that in America the tradition about named a baby was very different to their country, here a baby should have a name the same day that he or her born because it was necessary for a birth certificate. Many people have problems when they are in a different culture especially if the new country has very different costumes. However, people should try to learn about these new costumes because this way they can avoid troubles. When I lived in Italy in a city named Bologna, I started to use my bicycle as transportation, but I didn’t get information about the rules of using bicycle on the street. In my country the pedestrians and bicycles transit in the same place, so I did the same in Bologna. However, one day a police officer stopped me and gave me an infraction ticket because it was prohibited to use the bicycle in the pedestrian zone, the bicycle was only permitted in the ciclovias. This experience helped me to pay more attention in the costumes of this city.

The Namesake summary

Chapter #2

 

The Ganduli’s baby was born at 5:05 in the morning; he is welcome for his parents, and visited for three Bengali friends. After three days of staying at the hospital is time to go home, but the Ganduli couple have a problem because they didn’t name their baby yet; since they are waiting for Ashima’s grandmother letter, which has the baby’s name which is a Bengali tradition where the elder of the family choose the child name . The hospital required the baby’s name for the birth certification, so Ashoke decided to call his son Gogol in honor a Nikolai Gogol who is the author of the story which he was reading when he had the train accident. In February, when Gogol is six months old, Ashoke and Ashima celebrated his annaprasan or rice ceremony where Gogol should choose between three plates, one with a clump of soil to predict if he will be a landowner, other with ballpoint pen to predict if he will get a scholarship and the last with money to predict if he will a businessman, but Gogol doesn’t choose anything. In August, the Ganduli are preparing to visit their families, so Ashima spends time buying gifts, which she lost in the train. Fortunately, in the following days she could recover everything, and this miracle causes Ashima to feel connected to Cambridge. One night, they received a call from Calcutta with bad news; Ashima’s father suffered a heart attack and died; consequently, they decided to travel to Calcutta six weeks before what they planned.

Summary (22-29)

Chapter two (22-29)

The United States and India are very different when they choose the name of a baby. In U.S.A the name of a baby is choose for parents when he or she is born. They can give the name of another member of the family. Therefore, in India the baby’s name is giving by grandparents, and they cannot use the name of another family member because they consider the name sacred and inviolable. Also, they don’t have specific each to get a child name, and they have two names a good name is use in public places and the pet name which is used by family. The Bengali couple, who are from India and living in America, couldn’t name their son because they were waiting for Ashima’s grandmother letter which has the baby’s name. For these reason, they had problems with the hospital when they wanted to leave the hospital because it needed the baby’s name to give the birth certification. Consequently, the couple were agree to give their baby the name of Gogol.

In my country Perú is similar to America, parents and family choose the baby’s name which can be of another family member. Also, the baby gets a name when the parents know the sex of the baby before their born, and it is confirmed in the moment of the baptism which is celebrate in the first six months of the baby born.

personal response

“PACK A PILLOW AND BLANKET AND SEE AS MUCH OF THE WORLD AS YOU CAN “

When Ashoke was in the train met Gosh who was returning to India after living in England for two years. Based in his own experience Grosh advised Ashoke traveled to England or America where he could know better things than in India, and he should do that because he was young and single. Also, he said “pack a pillow and blanket and see as much of the world as you can.”  In this phrase Gosh said to Ashoke that he should travel for meeting new countries and cultures because it can give him other way to see his life. Only in this way he may have the possibility to compare his country with others, also he could choose where he has more opportunities to have a better life. I like this quotation because it invited people to see new countries, and cultures which can change their mind. In my case, when I was 23 years old  I had the opportunity to travel to Italy  and decided to stay there to live because I liked its culture and lifestyle. Also, living in Italy helped me to change my mind and see the way of thinking of different cultures. For example, in my family my siblings and cousins got married at around the age of 24 because it was like a rule in my society.  People said that the best age to married was that because if you passed that age maybe you never got married, so I grew up with this thinking too. I was afraid about my future because I was 23 years and didn’t have boyfriend, so it was possible that I passed the perfect age to get married and stay alone without husband and children. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to travel to Italy, and my fear of not getting married vanished because in Italy people didn’t think in specific age to marry. They had other things in their mind before marring as working in a good company, spending time with their friends, buying a house or car, traveling to other countries

summary (pag. 15-18)

 

Ashoke was traveling from Calcutta to Jamshedpur to visit his grandfather who was blind and wanted that Ashoke read to him some books. Ashoke was happy because he would receive some books from his grandfather as heritage. When Ashoke was in the train started to read a story called The Overcoat writing by Nikolai Gogol.  In the coach where he was there are other three people one of them that his name was Gosh started to talk with him.  Gosh was came to England, and he said that in England the live is like a dream  because in this country  the streets and trains less crowed and more cleans; furthermore, he advised Ashoke to change his mind and travel to other countries because he was young, and it was the perfect time. Ashoke answered that his grandfather said that he could traveled and knew other countries though of the books because they described everything.   After all people were slept, Ashoke was continuing reading his book when suddenly he heard a sound like a bomb. The train where he was traveling had an accident some coaches were destructed, and the people of these coaches died. Fortunately, he was alive but suffered many injuries in his body especially in his legs.