Month: September 2019

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.

This piece was about black people becoming popular through their actions. It talks about how black people are watched and viewed and how their actions impact their lives. This is shown by a story of Serena Williams, she is a black professional tennis player. Some might say that Serena’s skin color has nothing to do with the sport, but the story that is shared shows how a player/competitor’s skin color can lead them to an advantage or disadvantage. During a match of tennis, Serena was being targeted by the umpire, as in the reading it says that the umpire made at least 5 bad calls. There is no way to prove that the umpire did this because of Serena’s skin color, but due to the fact that the opposing player was white, this is most likely true. What I found very interesting was the injustice that was occurring and how there was no resolution. Serena went on the loose the match, one commentator saying “Capriati wins it with the help of the umpires and the line judges.” (Rankine, pg 134) This is unfair and it is unfortunate to know that this injustice occurs in many sports as some players are targeted because of their skin color. I believe this is a major issue that occurs more often than just in Serena’s case, which is why there should be more action against this injustice so that there is fairness in these major sports. The skin color that someone is born with should not determine how you will be viewed and what others should assume of you. In modern-day, there are more people fighting back violently which is not the right thing to do but is understandable why they are doing it. Serena’s reaction after the match was also surprising to me. She knew she lost because of the bad calls but did not take any violent actions against these umpires who were against her.  She instead cursed at the umpire and was then punished for her actions. People should not be enraged and then punished for making a reasonable action, this is simply injustice. I hope in the future there will be more rules in place to protect these players and bring justice to these competitions.

Rankine, Claudia “Excerpt from Citizen”, Join The Conversation

The reading called “Nu Pagodi: Propaganda for Children of the USSR” is about a boy talking about communism in Russia. After moving to America he realizes and shares many things that have and are happening behind the iron curtain. He talks about a show that he relates to “Tom and Jerry” and shares the significance of the show. He explains that the show is about a wolf trying to catch a bunny, but in the show, there are meanings and references too many real-life things. The wolf portrays the working class and the bunny represents the educated people who carry power and wealth and are succeeding in life. The wolf’s portrayal is very important as it shows the life and hardships that people are facing in Russia due to communism. The reason that the author’s parents moved to America was because they were against communism and the author goes on to say the people are living depressing lives due to communism. This is proved when the story of his grandpa is shared. His grandpa had a very hard life as a teen in Russia and faced many hardships. There are many things that I can distinguish from my life as a teen to the grandpa’s life as a teen. There are many things such as living conditions and education received that are completely different in America. In my opinion, I believe that teens are able to live much easier lives in America as they have more freedom and more free time to do things they want to do in life. Although the author says the show depicts “achievements to be proud of and reasons to believe in the system.”(Yablonovskiy, Pg. 153) he also says that there is a lot of sadness within the country. I am grateful to grow up and live in America and am grateful for the many freedoms that I am given. There are many countries around the world that do not allow these same freedoms such as the USSR as they have their own beliefs to follow.

Yablonovskiy, Leon. “Nu Pagodi: Propaganda for Children of the USSR”. Join the Conversation