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David, the protagonist of this book is at a special point in his life. He’s starting off in 6th grade at MLK middle school. The school’s attending students are mostly black, and David is white. He has a “friend” who is also white but the difference between them would be their wealth. David is more on the unfortunate side, he can’t get the clothes he wants, and wears a pair of filas that he’s tired of wearing over and over again. Relative to Kevin who can pretty much afford what he want. From the beginning we learn that David is young, unfortunate, and in a racially different atmosphere. In school it’s a hard adjustment for David to get through and he can’t seem to find where he fits socially one hundred percent. That’s because he’s treated so differently from a variety of people. David is chill with Kevin but that’s mostly because they were cool as kids. Consistently Kevin shows that he isn’t truly David’s friend and is cool with the kid that picks on him and even entertains it. In Chapter 1 near the ending David was playing basketball with some random kid at the park along with Kev and Simon, Kev  and Simon go out the park real quick and come back to see David in the middle of getting robbed. Instead of helping or doing anything, Kevin is left to fend for himself. This sort of shows the negative side of the relationship between Kev and David. Something that can be found very interesting is in the beginning of Chapter 2 when David compares his old school to him in MLK. . Kevin talks about how in his school was diverse and encouraged racial diversity. A little before that he speaks of something called “the force” and he says he doesn’t blame the kid for doing what he did to him, he uses the force to justify this action. The force can be best described as a sense of the barrier between one another, an example that would fit this would be two kids who are of different race. Overall in both the chapter’s the protagonist David constantly finds himself facing diversity in positive and negative aspects.

Moonlight was an interesting movie and enjoyable as far as I can say. From childhood to early adulthood Chiron has yet to find where he truly fits. Something I believe that the movie does well is get the viewer to really see from Chiron’s point of view, his feelings, and the problems that impact him. We were able to get insight and see how it feels from one’s perspective to get bullied, have a parent that is addicted to drugs, be unsure of sexuality and, live in poverty. These struggles are something brought to light in the film and can really give people an understanding. We also can analyze from other points of view in the film. One other point of view being Kevin’s, the person who was supposed to be cool with Chiron but also can’t really find where he fits in his life until the end of the movie. Kevin essentially played a two faced role when him and Chiron were at the teen stage of their lives, him being Chiron’s only “reliable” friend, then him switching up was also a serious impact on Chiron’s life.

What goes around comes around, Moushumi is cheating on Gogol. Gogol and Moushumi’s relationship has been steadily having problems occur and it’s all from feeling uneasy, unsure, and not respected enough. The man Moushumi cheats with is a man she met in the past when she was in high school but he was attending Princeton. No special feelings developed in the past but now, yes she sees something romantic in him and haves an affair. Gogol can never seem to have a break in his love life. Something just always seem to go south whether it’s his fault or not it almost seems as if he’s cursed. A lot of hardships have gone about through Gogol’s life as he aged somehow though he has manage to stay on a career path and not fall behind. One thing about Gogol that stands out is he’s a strong minded person and always manages to get through things, he discovered that he was being cheated on so him and Moushumi split and he continues with his life, eventually to find that he would take the path his father did which was learning and reading about Gogol the writer. What possibly could’ve been the influence for Gogol to make such a change from hating on Gogol the writer could be all the tough things he had to go through in life. Gogol has made many sacrifices, but the hardship that impacted him the most was the death of his father, and his father was a man who was heavily involved in his life and had a strong vision of him following the path he wanted. I believe that if Gogol would’ve kept his name and not changed it, then at the very point he started reading about Gogol he would’ve embraced it dearly. Is it okay to believe that Gogol is so interested about Gogol the writer because it gives him closure?

Once again another tragedy happens to the Ganguli family. Ashoke’s death left a severe impact on Gogol and his mother. Gogol breaks away from the intense attachment that he developed with Maxine and her family and stays at home with his widowed mother in NY. Despite his dislike of family tradition Gogol is able to set his dissatisfaction aside and stay with his mother. This event has got to be one of the biggest changes in Google life because his father had a connection to him. Though he was distant from his family at the time being we all know the time and value Google father had invested upon him. One good thing that can be believed to be favored by Ashoke if he was alive was Gogol’s decision to date and eventually marry Moushumi. The reason why is because they both share the same tradition and with Gogol’s parents being religious it would’ve made Ashoke very proud most likely especially since they went through with a traditional wedding. This would be Gogol’s fourth intimate partner so you would expect things to go smoothly and more uplifting than the rest. Yes, Gogol and Moushumi have enjoyed each other but certain things can’t help but to trigger Gogol from being outside his character. One of the events which is Gogol going with Moushumi to a party in Brooklyn. Gogol feels uncomfortable as for Moushumi enjoys herself a lot more than Gogol is and this gives him susceptible thoughts of how their relationship can further play out. Gogol’s love life has always been twists and turns and it wouldn’t be a surprise for him to question his relationship especially when he doesn’t feel the correct vibe, even if it’s a momentary feeling. One of the major things that ticked Gogol off was Moushumi telling her friends at the party about Gogol’s name change without his permission. Gogol’s name has always been an insecurity and for her to announce his personal decision to them leaves him feeling a little violated.

 Gogol finally get to do what he was wanting to do for a while now which was to change his name. He believes that this would make his life better as for he can be called a name that isn’t a pet name and doesn’t have any ties to the writer Gogol in whom he dislikes. After a process that doesn’t take long, his name is now Nikhil. He also moves into New Haven where he attends Yale and dorms. With many big events or changes happening to Gogol, a strong sense of desire for independence can be seen. Compared to Gogol growing up he was always advised by his parents to do something and they constantly tried to mold him into their liking. Gogol who never liked his family force tradition on him can now be more independent and think for himself, which is something that he should really enjoy. A new name, and a new place to live is almost the perfect reset for Gogol. With Gogol proceeding through with college he meets Ruth who happens to attend the same college as him. Her becoming Gogol’s intimate partner has set the tone of happiness for the rest of his journey until he breaks up with her due to long distance, and meets Maxine which is a young lady that he’s fascinated about. Maxine doesn’t know it but Gogol really feels that her style of living is better than his back at his old home with his parents. The vast difference between Maxine and Gogol’s lifestyle is viewed as a dreary. With comparison between Maxine and Gogol’s lifestyle, along with the fact that Gogol stays around so often and picks up on the habits, it can be said Maxine has lived the life Gogol had always wanted. This can be justified for why his attraction to Maxine is so strong.

Ashima and Ashoke both have good things going and appear to be a well functioning family. To be such a good family already then getting the addition of a child, it honestly hurts to have a series of bad events come. With Ashima’s grandmother being ill, then later her father dying, a big impact is felt. I know it because Ashima and Ashoke care dearly about their family and friends in Calcutta. Ashima wanted to leave it to her grandmother to name the baby, but could not because it was taking to long for her grandmother to get the message and respond back. Leaving the duty to let someone else besides the husband and wife give the child a name is a big deal in my eyes and represents the connection to her family. The name Gogol has a special meaning to Ashoke because that is his “literary idol” from when he read books in the past. So he named his son Gogol in which Ashima agrees would be a good name. Something interesting said in the book in which I did not know about, and was interesting was the “pet name” and “good name” meaning a pet name would be what you are called at home by family and friends, and the good name in which you are to put your official name for papers and documents of sort. Ashima’s pet name is Monu and Ashoke’s is Mithu they’re most likely only called this in Calcutta or whenever family and friends come around. The main thing that stood out to me during the chapters was the negative impact on Ashima and Ashoke’s family together, at the beginning, everything was going so well with Ashima performing her routine concoction, and her husband studying for electrical engineering, then the baby being born. Eventually though things are better because of the job opportunity that Ashoke has as an assistant professor and the family moving to the suburbs. With all the troubles coming toward the family they are able to still progress forward in life overcoming each obstacle.

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I seriously can say that I have struggled with procrastination and still at times do. On Page 28 of JTC it says that people associate procrastination with moral failure making it a taboo topic. I on the other hand don’t really associate it with moral failure for some reason. I see it as something that’s bad to do and also as an obstacle that’s needs to be overcome. Procrastination for me usually happens because of lack of interest in the task and I’ve always thought of the most appropriate word to describe why I procrastinate and, that word in aversion. So much written in this section of JTC is relatable with much precision on how I often think about task. The part on page 31 where it’s discussed about being assigned a paper at the end of class whilst being tired and hungry, also mentioning it being due next month. How much more can one describe how it feels? Honestly, this section is really able to relate to a lot of people’s experience on procrastination. I often used to keep the thought ” it’s due next month, don’t worry too much about it” then end up with a load of work. Fortunately I have a high stress level but now being in college I don’t want that threshold to be reached, which is why I’m thankful for the tips on how to go against procrastination. What I’ve already been doing that was mentioned and I also find really effective is reading the assignment and going over it for the first five minutes or so when receiving it. This helps me know how much energy and time I will need to put into the assignment allowing me to not worry much about it or to worry about it. That’s all depending on how much work there is if I worry or not. The final helpful tip was just focusing on the content of the assignment and not overthinking it too much.