The Namesake Analysis/Discussion Chp. 1 & 2; How It Feels To Be Colored Me

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Let's go back to examining The Namesake, Chapter 1 this morning to continue examining the writing style going on here. Take a closer look at these passages:
  • Pg. 3 (1st full paragraph) to 4 (end of 1st full paragraph): How is Ashima's character compared/contrasted with the American women in the hospital? What do you notice about the sentence structure of this paragraph? What does the use of dialogue in this paragraph provide for the reader? What literary devices do you notice? Can you find figurative language/metaphor/alliteration or other elements of imagery? How are the sentences similar to a contraction (the action in the scene)?
  • Pg. 10-12: how is Ashoke's character presented? How does his story parallel or contrast with his wife's? How is Ashoke different from the other American men in the waiting room? What details do we learn about him? 
  • Pg. 13-14: Nickolai Gogol and the short story "The Overcoat" is alluded to here. Just notice it for now. This allusion is important.
  • Pg. 15-16: Review the dialogue between Ashoke and Ghosh. How might this dialogue become important? What wisdom or message does it give us as readers? How might the last line of dialogue be symbolic? [particularly in light of what is about to happen...?]
  • Pg. 17-18: Let's re-read the train wreck. Notice the sentence structure of these paragraphs. Also, notice the use of imagery. Imagery includes more than just visual imagery, it is also sound, movement, taste, smell, and touch; it may include temperature or the sense of pain.
  • Examine the structure of the chapter. The first 10 pages deal with one character (Ashima). The last 11-12 pages deal with a second character (Ashoke). 
WRITING PROMPT IDEA: Write a story where you compare/contrast two separate characters. In the first part of your story, write a 3rd person objective POV over the shoulder of that character. Then, use white space to create a transition after the first "scene" or conflict. Write the second part of your story about the second character in contrast/comparison to your first. You might choose to tell this character's story in parallel with the timed events of your narrative in the first section (or the story can be a flashback or flash-forward).

Chapter 2: Blog Comment

In the comment section of this blog, for credit (see the homework rubric), please post a comment answering one of the following questions about chapter two:
  1. the second chapter continues to develop the two main characters Ashoke and Ashima. What conflicts arise as a result of Gogol's birth? How do the conflicts presented in chapter 2, have their roots or beginnings in what we learn about the characters in chapter 1? How does Lahiri connect the two? 
  2. Examine the dichotomies--a division or contrast between two things--in this book and how they help develop characters/conflict/theme/setting/plot. Write about the significance of one and where it appears in either chapter 1 or 2: (a few sample dichotomies might include):
  • Ashima/Ashoke
  • American culture/Indian culture
  • Father/Mother; Man/Woman; Parent/Child 
  • Freedom/Responsibility
  • Tradition/Individuality
3. What seems to be the two most important events or actions or passages in this chapter? Record the page #('s) of each passage, summarize the event and explain why you think it's important to the development of the plot or characters in this novel.

[Please make sure you state your name if it is not obvious so I can give you credit for your work!]

Period 2 (ish)

Image result for zora neale hurstonImage result for zora neale hurstonImage result for zora neale hurstonImage result for zora neale hurstonImage result for zora neale hurstonImage result for zora neale hurston


"How it Feels to Be Colored Me" is an essay by Zora Neale Hurston. Take a moment to read a bit of information about Zora Neale Hurston, then we'll read the essay in class. Look closely at how the article opens (the hook, lead-in, thesis), and how it develops (the body, topic sentences, argument), and notice the sentence structure (length, diction, syntax). After studying some of these elements respond to the article in writing.
  • ESSAY PROMPT: What defines you? What single physical, mental, emotional trait defines you? Why? What is the significance of this trait? 
  • ESSAY PROMPT: Think about your own educational experience. How multicultural has your experience been? 
  • ESSAY PROMPT: Is there value in having a common culture (for example stressing the idea that we are all 'Americans' over fragmenting our culture)? Why or why not?
  • ESSAY PROMPT: Does this idea of multiculturalism need updating? Is this issue still important--and, if so, why?
  • ESSAY, PLAY, or MEDIA PROMPT: Choose a side (a dichotomy) and argue for or against it. Who (in our culture) is right in your opinion?  
  • MEDIA PROMPT: Interview 3 different people and ask them about their identity or cultural heritage. Is their culture a burden to bear, or are they, like Hurston, more optimistic? Record and edit your folklore to create a piece for your portfolio.
  • POEM PROMPT: Hurston writes her optimistic essay in the bold, poetic style of the Modernists. She speaks of Jazz as some wild African predator. Choose a style of music or performance you like and compare it as a metaphor with some object or animal of your own choosing. Explain how the art form is also an animal or object and its effect on you.
  • POEM PROMPT: Hurston uses the simile "I feel like a brown bag of miscellany propped against a wall" and continues to describe what is in her "bag" of self. If you were a bag or container or piece of luggage, what would we find inside you? How has the "Great Stuffer of Bags" (God) filled you?
  • YOUR CHOICE: Don't like any of these? Use the article in some way to inspire a creative work of your own choosing.
WRITING TASK: Choose one (or more) of the prompts on this page and develop it into a draft. Your draft may be shared with your workshop group next class (or later) and should appear in your quarter portfolio. 

HOMEWORK: Please read Chapter 3 of The Namesake. Write a draft of one of the prompts from today's blog post.

EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY: The Rochester Fringe Festival opened yesterday. Take a catalog and go see a performance this week (the festival runs through next Saturday, Sept. 21--take a friend or family member with you because it's more fun to see a show with someone!) My own original play "The Fighting Girl's Guide to Politics" is opening this weekend on Saturday and Sunday at the School of the Arts during the Fringe, and also runs through next week. Ms. Gamzon is directing an original play written by one of her friends and colleagues called "Colma". Ms. Accorso also has a play that she wrote in the Fringe. Go see our work, or go see any other show. 

 HOW TO GET EXTRA CREDIT: Write up a short summary of the show you saw. Then, comment on the performance. What did you learn about PERFORMING (acting, directing, singing, dancing, viewing, etc.) from watching the show or about writing (the content of the show or its story). What did you (or your friends) think of the show? Turn in your "review" and gain extra participation credit for this marking period. You may repeat this option as many times as you like. Go see 30 plays, get 30 points of extra credit! Etc.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Ashima/Ashoke

Husband and wife but different people individually. The catalyst for Ashoke wanting to leave India is a conversation with a man named Ghosh and a proceeding train wreck that he barely survives. He realizes that his world is too small and wants to see more of it, he doesn't want to be confined to one culture, one world for his whole life. Ashima is pregnant with their child and the author makes it very apparent that she does not fit in with the American women or even American culture. She has been "ripped" away from her home and culture and been flung into a whole new world that she is not 100% understanding of. The two are different in that they have different ideas of home and identity, one wanting to expand and explore; while the other is obviously an outlier in their new environment. This dichotomy helps enforce the theme of different cultures affecting people differently.
September 11, 2019 at 9:02 AM
Anonymous said…
In response to question 3: One of the two most significant parts of the second chapter is the unproper naming of Gogol due to complications with Ashima's grandmother. "They've given up on her grandmother remembering the name, for Ashima's grandmother, they are told, cannot even remember Ashima" (Lahiri 41), and therefore, Gogol is known as his nickname. The second event being the death of Ashima's father, "that her father died yesterday evening, of a heart attack, playing patience on his bed" (Lahiri 46).
September 11, 2019 at 10:27 AM
Anonymous said…
Ashima and Ashoke obviously both come from an Indian background, but their culture is not entirely the same. Ashoke has had years to become accustomed to the American life, and he understands it much more than Ashima, and even does things like go to college in the United States and bring flowers to the birth of his child. However, Ashima has been away from India for a few years, and still cannot comprehend why Americans are the way that they are, nor can she do the same. When Ashima is in the hospital, her character mentions how Americans speak what they think, and are more open to aspects of life. They call their husbands by their name, partake in public displays of affection, and leave the house unkempt. Ashima keeps to herself about her views of the difference in cultures, but she also does not try to “fit in” with the Americans, Ashima’s grandmother even saying, “She was the only one to predict, rightly, that Asima would never change.” On the other hand, Ashoke tries to live his life that includes both a few American traditions, and primarily Indian. There’s also a difference between different roles as Ashima is a woman, and Ashoke is a man, but that has less to do with their personality. It seems as if Ashoke tries to grow into American culture, whereas Ashima silently refuses.
September 11, 2019 at 10:48 AM
Anonymous said…
One of the main conflicts that arises after Gogol's birth is that he doesn't have a name. Ashoke and Ashima sent a letter to Ashima’s grandmother regarding his name but they have not received word back. The compiler of hospital birth certificates is telling them that they must decide on a name or they would have to pay and appear before a judge. This causes them to abandon their traditions and quickly choose a name. Another conflict that arises is Ashima's desire to return home. Ashima has already been struggling with assimilating into American culture and the birth of Gogol further reassured her longing for home. Gogol’s name and Ashima desire to return to her hometown are closely connected. A name is something extremely important because it represents identity and background. Not being able to name Gogol after the name her grandmother was supposed to send is a reminder to Ashima that each day she spends away from home results in her getting further away from her identity and background.

September 11, 2019 at 9:23 PM
Anonymous said…
The two most important events of chapter 2 are when Gogol cries when confronted with his destiny on page 40, and when Ashima finds out about her father's death on page 46. The first formal ceremony of an Indian baby's life revolves around their consumption of solid food. Once Gogol is 6 months old, it is his turn to do so. Not only is the event important because it gives insight into Bengali traditions and Ashimas longing for her family, but it likely foreshadows Gogol's life to come and reveals a bit about his character. When Gogol is offered a plate holding a clump of soil, a pen, and a dollar bill, each symbolizing different career paths, but instead of making a choice, Gogol shows no interest and begins to cry. This is likely an ominous foreshadowing of failure to come, likely in contrast to his parents expectations, but it also shows that Gogol is different from the rest. The second event, when Ashoke tells Ashima about the sudden death of her father, comes after a phone call from Ashima's brother, Rana. He calls them one night and, after telling Ashoke the news, asks to speak to Ashima. However, Rana can't bring himself to bear the news to Ashima so he acts like nothing is wrong. It is only until after he hangs up that Ashoke tells Ashima that her father died of a heart attack. This is very important because, not only does it come as a massive shock to the reader, but it also comes as devastating news to Ashima. This news causes Ashima and Ashoke to go to India six weeks earlier and causes Ashima to purposely leave the gifts she had bought on the train, showing what a cruel joke it was for her to think of herself as lucky when she got the gifts after losing them the first time.
September 11, 2019 at 11:31 PM
Anonymous said…
One important event is that Ashima's grandmother is unable to name the baby. In the beginning of the book we learn how Ashima feels about tradition and the ways of life during child birth from her perspective and how she feels giving birth without her family by her side. Now her grandmother is ill and she has to pick a name for the baby because it is required causing her to stray from tradition. This book so far has shown us a lot about Ashima's culture and how she has to become accustomed to a different type of culture and we see her struggle with that. Another important event is the death of Ashima's father.(Page 46) The death of her father is hard for her obviously, especially after having his grandson without him being able to get a chance to know him. This also causes problems for Ashima. Just being away from home for so long and having all of this news hit her at once. This book is based off of her and the cultural differences surrounding her. Seeing how things effect her and her life develops the characters themselves.
September 12, 2019 at 2:55 PM
Jenna Le said…
There are many conflicts that arise out of Gogol's birth that strains the relationship between Ashima and Ashoke. When Ashoke returns to MIT, he leaves Ashima alone in their home to take care of the baby as a new mother. This comes with its own set of challenges, especially since she is responsible for handling new life without the support of peers and her husband. Ashima admits that the life she is living was "not at all what she had expected" (Lahiri 30) and lists examples of what she means. For example, she believed that American homes were not similar to those that she had seen in the movies, but the reality shock causes her to reconsider the idea of raising Gogol in an unfamiliar environment. Ashima voices her concerns to Ashoke after a while, which is new since she never outright admits her feelings. However, Ashoke cannot promise what she wants because of the trauma that haunts him surrounding Ghosh. He knew Ghosh was coming back to India because his wife was sick of the UK, and deeply regrets doing so. Ashoke is conflicted on the idea of returning because he does not want to share the same feelings of regret as that man had. Another conflict that Ashima and Ashoke are struggling with is the situation involving Gogol's name. Ashima's grandmother was originally the one to name their son but unfortunately, she suffered a stroke and cannot remember this name. While in the hospital, Ashima and Ashoke realize that they had no alternative name for him in the case that her grandmother could not provide it. In fact, they never considered another name. This gives some context to Indian culture and their tradition with names. They could not accept the idea that they can have a say in naming their child. Gogol is a pet name they settled with in order to leave the hospital, but Ashima and Ashoke are bothered by it because a pet name should not be a legal name: it goes against how their culture operates.

From the information that we learned about the character's in chapter one, there are beginnings to these conflicts. For the first one, the interaction with Ghosh would eventually foreshadow Ashima's own feelings about new life away from India and her desire to leave. It presents a dilemma for Ashoke who does not share the same feelings and does not want to regret leaving either. The book's themes is characterized by names (hence the title "The Namesake") and the conflict surrounding Gogol's name is a direct representation of that theme. We also learn about the importance of "Gogol" to Ashoke, an avid reader with an admiration for a character with the same name. That sets up the event where the wed couple has to decide on a name, and they are suggested to name him after someone they deeply admire. The situations and themes presented in chapter one come full circle in the second chapter.

Lahiri connects the two characters through their newborn son. Their vulnerabilities are revealed to the reader and at crucial moments, to each other. Ashima is open about her opinion of America while Ashoke is sensitive to the tragedy, and elements of that trauma are brought onto his son (the name, as an obvious example...). They now find themselves as new, inexperienced parents and have to find a common ground together to raise him in America.
September 12, 2019 at 10:14 PM
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