Brianrod

The reading was about a man named J.D Vance who talks about the events of his life and how they affected him. He goes into depth about many events and shares his thoughts of what he was thinking during these past events. He first starts off by introducing himself and who he is today. He lives happily married and has a job, graduating from yale. He says the purpose of the reading is so that people understand “what it feels like to nearly give up on yourself and why you might do it.” He then goes through his past and the poverty that he lived in. Poverty impacted his life in many ways, such as the relationship between his parents and the home where he lives. It sounds like the reader accepts poverty into his childhood and is hopeless to fight against it. I believe this can relate to Dave in “Green”, although Dave might not be as poor as J.D Vance, he is poor and helpless about it. Dave tries to make some money and seems to always fail making him turn to college as the only means of being successful in life. In J.D Vance’s reading, he states “To move up was to move on. That required going to college.” Although I don’t think that applies to the society that I live in, I do believe that in a society of low-class people education is the only way to move up. Many jobs are low paid which is why a professional career can lead to financial success. J.D Vance then talks about an event where he got sick for working too many hours and not giving his body enough sleep. I thought this was not right for him to do, although we should be working hard, we should not be taking sleep that we need for our bodies to rest. This reading has shown me the many hardships of trying to rise in a society of low-class people and how important education can be.

In chapter 8, Dave and Marlon are back to being friends but their relationship has changed between them. They are not as close as they used to be and chat less. I believe that both boys do want to talk to each other and feel the same way, but events that have happned keep them apart. In the chapter Dave and Marlon attend a audition for a play. Dave and Marlon meet Meghan, who Marlon falls in love with. Meghan is jewish like Dave is, and she says the Dave is not a real Jew. I thought this was the most intresting part of the chapter as it revealed alot about Dave. Although Dave does not like being a Jew, he is offended when someone calls him out for not being someone that he is supposed to be. This brings Dave to think about who he is, and about him converting to christianity.

In chapter 9, things start off with Marlon coming late and absent at school. The book has been building this weird suspision around Marlon but yet reveals anything about what happens in Marlon’s personal life. Chapter 9 goes more in depth between the relationship of Dave and his dad. They go on a trip to a holocaust mesuem during Dave’s one week off. I believe that Dave’s dad is trying to show him more about Jewish heritage hoping that Dave will be more understanding of his own heritage. Then back at the school a fight brakes out, in which one kid stabs the other using a knife. This is an eye opener for Dave realising the power of the switch knife that he wanted the get and the postion that the knife would have led him to. Outside the school a news channel is able to get some words out of Dave. Dave’s parents watch him on t.v and are hurt by the things that he said on t.v, which was him saying that he too has also been threatened by someone with a knife. The chapter then moves back to Dave and his dad. They are at a baseball stadium in where his dad starts doing the wave. I believe this part had alot of meaning to Dave, showing him how great his dad is and maybe changing his perspective of what is possible in the world around him.

There is a lot that happens between the span of these chapters, but through it all we truly see Dave grow. Although he is only 14, I feel like he does many things that older kids would be doing or maybe just compared to me we have very different lives. Dave starts off as a lonely teenager at the beginning, even saying that Kevin is his only friend because their parents force them to be. Dave does not have someone he can truly rely on or even call a friend. Most people around him just bully him and don’t see much in him. This is most likely due to the fact that he is white and goes to a school that is mostly populated by blacks. But then Dave meets Marlon and their relationship quickly grows. At first, what connects these two is the fact that they are both Celtics fans, but after that, they see each other a lot more often and seem as if they are best friends. We can tell that Dave truly likes being around Marlon and has respect for him. Marlon does not really show how he is feeling but because he always seems to stand up for Dave, he may also feel the same way. I believe that chapter 6 was the most interesting of all chapters, as we begin to see Dave’s and Marlon’s friendship break apart. Dave drags Marlon to dig snow and the boys end up seeing a group of guys. Because Marlon stands up for himself he ends up getting beat up, Marlon just watches feeling helpless. This causes Marlon to believe that Dave does not care and is just a selfish person who wouldn’t stand with him against the guys. Dave feels guilty and wants to make up for his mistakes but doesn’t know-how. Could it be the force that keeps their friendship apart? I believe that Dave and Marlon make great friends and they have a lot to learn from one another.

Green is a novel that focuses on a white boy names David and grows up in Boston. He faces many hardships with his race and how people view him. David does not want to deal with any racism and go to a private school instead, but he is forced to go to Martin Luther King Jr high school, which is a high school with the majority of students being black. The only white students are David and Kevin but Kevin is half Armenian, leaving David to be the only truly white student at his school. There are many students at his school that pick on him solely because of his skin color. In today’s world, it is often seen how blacks are mistreated but this book flips the situation. That was one thing I really enjoyed so far through reading this book. Throughout my personal years of high school, I felt like there was a big emphasis on racism towards African Americans, but reading a book where the situation is in reverse is interesting. Not only are blacks being oppresses by racism but this book shows how white people could be as well. The book continues by introducing characters like Benno, who is Davis’s quite brother and Marlon who David becomes a bit closer to through chapter 2. David tries his best to make friends and fit in but he truly does not because of his skin color. He makes his mom buy him and basketball suit from an NBA team, but the students at school quickly show him that it was a bad idea. Although there is an obvious difference if the student’s race, I notice that there are subtle things that connect the students such as basketball. Maybe David is not so different from the rest of the students, but they might not be able to understand that.

The film “Moonlight” was about a boy named Chiron who has to deal with his sexuality while growing up in Miami. He goes through many other hardships in his life on-top of the many people who are viewing him for being different. I thought that the film was very intense as Chiron faced many obstacles trying to set him back. This film brought me to the realization how how gay people are living their lives in the real world. I believe it is true that they do face many hardships because of who they choose to be. But Chiron was not set back from the obstacles he faced as he grew up building up his own identity and not letting others decide who he is. Despite being able to build his own identity, it is confusing if that is who Chiron truly is. During the first two acts of the film I believe that Chiron was mostly the same character, but after moving to Atlanta he became a new person. I though that the movie was great and I did enjoyed it. The film opened my mind up to the many hardships that someone trying to figure out their identity must face.

In chapter 10, Gogol and Moushumi begin to grow apart further, as it is very noticiable in this chapter. This chapter focuses more on Moushumi as she creates an affair. We already know how Gogol is feeling about the relationship, but Moushumi appears to be feeling the same way. I believe the reasson for all this is because it was all aranged. Although they both may have been able to connect in someway, it was all arranged meaning they never truly wanted this marriage. Moushumi reunites with an old friend of hers, Dimitri, and then the two of them begin an affair. Moushumi feels true love between the two, something she does not feel with Gogol.

In chapter 11, the focus shifts back to Gogol and explores more about how he is feeling about the relationship. Gogol is very invested in his architecture work but we see he does care about Moushumi. He missed how their was more love in the relationship before but has grown weaker overtime. Gogol wants to show his appreciation and love for his wife and remind her that he does love her. Moushumi leaves for a conference in palm beach but does not take her bathing suit and Gogol notices, but does not suspect anything. For lunch at work, Gogol decided to go out to find a christmas gift for Moushumi, still wanting to prove that he loves her. He does not really know what she desires and ends up buying tickets to travel to Italy. He returns back to his apartment at the end of the chapter and is informed that his wife has returned. I believe that Moushumi has made a big mistake but at the same time she wants Dimitri and not Gogol. The right thing that Moushumi should have done was told the truth to Gogol. I dont believe she will stop with Dimitri, the reasson being is that she is not in love with Gogol.

Chapter 12 takes place during christmas eve. Ashima makes dinner for her family a final time before leaving to Calcutta to spend more time with her family. She is happy about Sonia and her husband Ben and says that Gogol and Moushumi are better off being apart if they do not love each other. Gogol and Moushumi divorce as Gogol finds out about Dimitri, I believe this was the best for Gogol to be able to move on and focus more on his personal life and finding someone that he truly wants to be with. At the dinner, Gogol finds the book that was once given to him by his father and saw it as an oppourtunity to finally connect to his father. I thought this was a great ending as Gogol found himself back at his given name and not Nikhil. Gogol’s name had alot of meaning to him and the people around him and this was proven from beginning to the end of the novel.

Chapter 7 begins with Ashima and her life. She now lives alone in Pemberton road as Gogol lives with Maxine, Ashoke is working as a professor in Cleaveland and Sonia who has moved to California. Ashoke then calls his wife Ashima to inform her that he is in the hospital and that it is just an upset stomach. Ashima then begins to worry and starts thinking of possible worse things that could happen to him. She then calls back the hospital and is informed about her husbands death. Gogol then learns of his fathers death and travel to Cleaveland, where Ashoke was working, to pick up his belongings. This part of the book reminded me of a prevoius chapter earlier in the book where both Ashoke and Ashimas parents past away. Their deaths were both very unexpected and sort of came out of nowhere in the book. I was suprised to read about Ashokes death as I too was not expecting it and left me stunned. There is then a family gathering that is held for Ashoke and Maxine joins as well. I saw this as Maxine being their for Gogol and supporting him at his time of need.

In chapter 8, Gogol ends things with Maxine. This makes me confused about Gogol and how he feels about women, does he truly see himself settling with a women? Gogol’s mother wants him to have a girlfriend and arranges him to meet Moushumi. They go on three dates together and fall in love with each other, Gogol then propeses to her and she accepts. Moushumi used to be with an American banker, which proves to be trouble later for Gogol.

Chapter 9 fast fowards an year, and Moushumi and Gogol’s parents begin to prepare a ceremony for their marriage. They then move in together as husband and wife living a happy life. But Gogol then sees an old wedding dress in Moushumi’s closet and worries if they should have married, if the American banker was Moushumi’s true love. Gogol and Moushimi then are at an apartment, a dinner party by Donald and Astrid. In a conversation, Moushumi reveals what her name means then reveals that Gogol is Nihkil’s first name. I found this to be rude as that might have been sensitive information to Gogol but was randomly said in public. I believe it is at this point at which Gogol and Moushumi begin to grow apart.

 

In chapter 5, Gogol goes through an identity crisis trying to find out if he is actually Gogol or Nikhil. At the beginning of the chapter, Gogol is annoyed with his name and after his father approves his decision, Gogol goes to a court to have his name changed to Nikhil. I personally thought it was a bad decision to have his name changed, as I find that to be disrespectful to the name given by his parents but his name is very distinct so he may have a reason. He must change his name through many documents, but he is glad to start college with a new name to be called by, a name he likes. But he then seems to feel some form of guilt. He feels like he is someone he isn’t, acting like another person and that the name Nikhil does not truly identify who he is. This shows Gogols’ identity crisis as he can’t seem to know for sure who he is. He believes that his new name has created a whole new person without realizing he is the same person. Midway through the chapter, I had realized something interesting, although Gogol has changed his name officially, the narrator continues to refer to the character as Gogol. This gave me a sense that Gogol is his true name and who he is, as Nikhil is a cover-up. Gogol seems to slowly become Nikhil when he refers to his university as home, the place where he thinks he belongs. This upsets his mother Ashima as he is slowly becoming someone he isn’t. The chapter moves on as Gogol boards a train and meets a girl named Ruth. They fall in love but soon depart from each other once she leaves for Oxford. Gogol then travels back home by train but it is then delayed because of a suicide. His father is worriedly waiting for him at the station when he arrives, the reason being is because of his personal experience. Ashoke then tells Gogol the story of his traumatic event and completely surprises Gogol. I thought it was a great time for Ashoke to bring up this story as it helps Gogol through his identity crisis and understand what his name means and who he truly is.

The story of Ashima and Ashoke continues as their lives in Boston move on. Their son Gogol is also growing up, becoming a teenager, as in chapter 4 he is fourteen years old. Gogol begins realizing things about the world around him and questions what and why things are happening. One of his biggest questions throughout the chapter is why is his name Gogol. He wonders why he is named after someone who is Russian as his name becomes a bigger part of his life in school. It is Gogol’s birthday and is celebrated at his house along with his friends and neighbors. Unexpectedly at night Gogol and his father Ashoke share a moment together. Ashoke surprises him by bringing him a Russian book by the author Gogol. Confused, Gogol accepts the book, but it still does not answer the question of what is the meaning of his name. He decided to put the book on his shelf instead of reading it out of confusion and anger. During the moment, Ashoke considers telling Gogol about the event in which he almost lost his life and the whole meaning behind Gogol’s name but decides that it would not be the right time just yet. The day comes to an end leaving Gogol in confusion, and soon the parents make an announcement to both Gogol and his sister. The family then decides to travel to India to visit family in which they don’t have any in Boston. They plan to travel for 8 months, which does not excite Gogol knowing he won’t have any friends or his stereo system with him as he looses out in half a year of school as he is in India with his family. The 8 months go on as Gogol must live through the heat as he studies in his geometry and U.S history textbooks. After the 8 months, they return to Boston and Gogol begins his classes in honors in the eleventh grade. He then attends a party in which he meets a girl named Kim. Afraid to share his name Gogol he decides to tell her his name is Nikhil. The chapter ends with him finally using the name Nikhil, giving this one character two names.

The Namesake is a novel about an indian couple moving to America to start a new life along with a new family.  The women is named Ashima and the man is Ashoke. Ashoke is an electrical engineer student at MIT while his wife stays home. His wife becomes pregnant as the couple wait for the babies arrival. Then they arrive at the hospital to deliver the baby, but Ashoke waits outside in the hall when his wife wanted and needed him there. He could not handle the preassure showing much about him and how he is as a person. Ashoke through the reading seems to be a kind but confused person as he does not know what choices to make in his life that will set him on the right path. While in the hall, Ashoke begins to think of past event of his life. He begins to think about his grandfather at first, and then about a tragic event in his life. This event takes place on a train ride to meet his grandfather which is where is grandfather lived. On the trip Ashoke spent his time reading a book by an author named Gogol, both the book and the authors name prove to be very important later in the book. On the train ride Ashoke meets a man named Ghosh, they begin to talk to one another and learn more about eachother. Ghosh advises that Ashoke should go out and travel on his own intead of being at home with his many siblings. After the two exchange information, Ghosh falls asleep as Ashoke return to his book, but soon after an accident occurs. The train derails killing many passangers, but Ashoke miraculously lives. When resucuers arrive, Ashoke drops a page of his book which is seen by a rescuer making the page save his life. This life event impacted Ashoke as a charcter and other characters in the story. Going back to the hospital, he decides to name his child Gogol, named after the author of the book who saved his life. Now that we understand the meaning of the childs name the book continues on with the life of a family with a newborn child in America.