- The marriage of Ashima and Ashoke is arranged by their families. The closest intimacy they share before their wedding is when Ashima steps briefly, secretly, into Ashoke's shoes.
- What is the symbolism of this gesture?
- How does it play out in the novel?
- Gogol's romantic encounters are very different from what his parents experienced or expected for their son. What draws Gogol to his many lovers, especially to Ruth, Maxine, and eventually Moushumi? What draws them to him?
- What does this contrast mean to the meaning of the novel as a whole?
By stepping into Ashoke’s shoes Ashima is symbolically giving herself over to him. In a culture where women’s opinions are not valued, she is leaving her family and becoming Ashoke’s property in a way. This plays out throughout the novel in the way Ashima is subservient to Ashoke. She leaves the only home she has ever known to follow him to America. She supports his career, maintains the household and bears him children. She is the perfect Bengali wife. It is not until much later when she volunteers and then works for the local library that she develops an identity away from her husband. As Gogol enters into relationships he picks women who are opposite to his life. They are strong independent women with forward-thinking families. His first serious relationship with Ruth evolves because she is opposite to the kind of girl his parents would want him to date. In the case of Maxine, Gogol falls in love with her family and their lifestyle which is so open and so different from his own experience. Ironically, his relationship with Moushumi is exactly what his parents want for him. She is the daughter of family friends and they initially connect by making fun of their families and their Indian culture. This contrast reflects Gogol’s journey to self-acceptance. Early in the novel he tries desperately to ignore his Indian heritage. Through his relationship with Moushumi, though short-lived, he grows to accept who he is and his culture’s influence on his life.
ReplyDeleteAshima and Ashoke have an arranged marriage, and before their wedding, Ashima secretly steps into Ashoke’s shoes. This gesture symbolizes how Ashima will follow and depend on Ashoke. She moves with him to America, where he aims to teach at a university, even though she doesn’t have her own role in America. Like the other Bengali wives, she is “homesick and bewildered” (38). Throughout most of the novel, she relies on Ashoke to support the family financially, while she focuses on maintaining the house and taking care of their children. When Ashoke dies, she begins her own life, not Ashoke’s, and makes her own decisions. At the end, she reflects on the life Ashoke had given her and although she “does not feel fully at home within these walls on Pemberton Road she knows that this is home nevertheless” (280).
ReplyDeleteGogol is drawn to Ruth and Maxine because they are American--different from his parents and different from what they wanted and expected from him. In a way, he is freeing himself from his parents. When he dates Maxine, he not only falls in love with her, but also with her house and her family’s way of living. Her family converses intelligently with their guests at small dinner parties, while his own parents hosted over thirty guests in loud dinners, not eating until the guests were done. Also, Maxine’s parents are “secure in a way his parents will never be” (141). They are openly affectionate, and their vacations to New Hampshire allow them to disconnect from the world and live a free and peaceful life. It was nothing like the disorienting trips to Calcutta with his own parents. When these relationships fail, he allows Ashima to set him up with Moushumi. They are both attracted to each other’s lives because they had been similar, with the expectations and pressures from their parents, but at the same time, they feel a sense of defeat because they married another Bengali, like their parents expected. On the other hand, Ruth and Maxine had been attracted to him because he was different. They expressed interest in Calcutta, asking if it was beautiful and wishing to visit someday. This opinion comes as a surprise to Gogol.
I agree with Ashley that this contrast reflects Gogol’s journey in forming his identity. For a long time, he refused to accept his name and cultural heritage, and avoided being like his parents. He didn’t want to give in to an arranged marriage like the one his parents had, so, he became Nikhil and dated American girls. However, it was impossible to reinvent himself completely.
Before the marriage of Ashima and Ashoke takes place in the novel, we witness the gesture of Ashima briefly stepping into the shoes of her future husband. From and outside perspective, this may seem strange and out of place, but in reality, there is a level of bonding occurring in this scene. Not only does this show true commitment, but it also signifies connection and union of their separate lives. This action of Ashoke’s future wife is an opening of her full self into his body; a bond that would last. This bond stayed strong, for better, or for worse. This is shown throughout the pair’s adjustment to life in America throughout Asima’s pregnancy and when Gogol was growing up under the chaperone of their unified partnership. They each contributed their piece to the relationship through physical needs such as food and clothing, social needs such as marital comfort, and mental needs such as support. However, Gogol did not follow his parents role and ignores their model of a romantic encounter and instead primarily relies on the appearance of the person and factors their personality as well. His lovers are not often welcomed with open hands by Ashima, but they keep a friendly face and an open mind regardless. What draws them the most to him is dependant on his level of maturity in his developing life. Ruth and Maxine, his first serious girlfriends, seem to match the American personality that he loves and strives for. The one thing that stands out with Maxine is how supposedly close they were to each other, but both were weakened by the fact that the bond to each of their respective families was minimal. Moushumi was a representation of Gogol’s acceptance of himself and his family. Although they do not seem very interested with each other at first, they seem to grow very close together, but their independence drew the two couples apart with multiple affairs. This contrast has to do with Gogol’s role of acceptance of himself and his native origins. Instead of confronting it, he hid it with what he felt comfortable with; his American Mask named Nikhil.
ReplyDeleteThe gesture of stepping into Ashoke’s shoes symbolizes how Ashima will now follow Ashoke and become one with him, in a way giving her sense of independence to him. This plays out in the novel as Ashima goes to America with Ashoke and does not have a life other than that within the house as she depends on Ashoke to be the provider of the household. It isn’t until Ashoke dies that Ashima begins her own life working at the library and becoming friends with her co-workers.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anita that Gogol is attracted to Ruth and Maxine because they are American and different than the traditional Bengali girl his parents would have wanted for him. This sense of tradition and familiarity is what attracts Gogol to Moushumi since they have analogous upbringings and by marrying a Bengali woman Gogol is able to make his family happy and be comforted by the thought of following traditions and being with someone who he can relate to. I feel that Moushumi is attracted to Gogol for the same reasons since they discuss their past together and relate to each other through their similar experiences with their families. Maxine and Ruth are attracted to Gogol because he is different and they both seemed to take an interest in Calcutta and the different upbringing Gogol has compared to their own. This contrast shows that as Gogol gets older his small rebellion against his parents and his culture is starting fade away and Gogol is maturing and looking for stability and reliability instead of trying to assimilate to the American culture.
The symbolism of the gesture is important for Ashima, as it means she must become used to Ashoke and life with him. She is now bound to him by marriage and must learn to depend on him and please him with what he likes. Throughout the novel when Askoke is alive, Ashima revolves around him and spends her time like an Indian. When Ashoke passes, Ahima is forced to live her own life and finds American friends. Gogol, at first, is the opposite from his parents because he quickly finds American friends and instead of being in an arranged marriage, he picks his own girls to love. He falls in love fast with Ruth because she accepted him right away. He is able to speak about his experiences with India to an American girl for the first time and she is actually interested in what he is saying about such a different culture. When he falls in love with Maxine, he loves how her family treated him as their own, although he feels like he is different. He always thinks of his own family when he has dinner with Maxine’s family and is surprised at the difference. Moushumi’s story is different from Ruth and Maxine, as Moushumi is actually Indian and has similar experiences with Gogol. The contrast is important because it affects the family bond with Gogol and his parents. His parents expected to be in an arranged marriage like them but Gogol did not want that. This puts distance between the son and the parents. Because of Moushumi, Gogol actually ends up fulfilling his parent’s expectations which Gogol would not have thought he would do in the beginning of the novel.
ReplyDeleteThough arranged marriages are custom in Indian culture, many newlyweds are under the impression that their parents have their best interest at heart, which seems to be the case with Ashima and Ashoke. This is evident in Ashima's actions when she physically steps into Ashoke's shoes. This gesture basically says that though they don't particularly know each other very well, she will do her best to follow in his footsteps in order to become more well-bonded towards him. It is evident that Ashima wishes to retain aspects of her life and culture from India based on her loyalty and desire to be the perfect Bengali bride. Later on, it is revealed to the reader that Gogol wishes to not only abandon his family's culture, but also adopt American culture by dating girls that are primarily independent, instead of the normal mannerisms Bengali wives, such as Ashima are accustomed to.
ReplyDeleteThe first intimacy that Ashima and Ashoke shared before their wedding was when Ashima briefly stepped into Ahoke’s shoes. This gesture symbolize that they will follow each other but also and they will bond and mold together. Ashima not only follows Ashoke to America but she also follows him with wherever his career takes him. She even followed him in trying to adapt to a new culture and America even though it took her longer to accomplish this compared to her husband. The gesture also suggests that Ashima and Ashoke will bond and mold together as one. When a shoe is made the sole of the shoe is bonded together by glue and thread to the rest of the shoe. Likewise, Ashima and Ashoke are bonded together by their love for one another, their children and even their culture. I agree with both Anita and Gianna that Gogol was attracted to both Ruth and Maxine because of the fact that they were American and different from himself. He was able to finally be who he wanted to be and do as he pleased just like when he changed his name because “it’s easier to ignore his parents, to tune out their concerns and pleas” (105) since he is a different person. They are drawn to him because of his culture as well as being from a place either one of them has visited before, Calcutta. With Moushumi, I feel like Gogol was attracted to her because they both had to go through the same pressure of living a life revolving around two different cultures, American culture and Indian culture. They both had parents who strongly followed their culture, they were both expected to have arranged marriages, etc. I agree with both Ashley and Anita that the contrast helps forms his identity. He tried to avoid his Indian culture by changing his name and abandoning his Bengali language, clothing and customs but after his father died and he began his relationship with Moushumi, he began to accept his culture while still living his American life.
ReplyDeleteThe first intimacy that Ashima and Ashoke shared before their wedding was when Ashima briefly stepped into Ahoke’s shoes. This gesture symbolize that they will follow each other but also and they will bond and mold together. Ashima not only follows Ashoke to America but she also follows him with wherever his career takes him. She even followed him in trying to adapt to a new culture and America even though it took her longer to accomplish this compared to her husband. The gesture also suggests that Ashima and Ashoke will bond and mold together as one. When a shoe is made the sole of the shoe is bonded together by glue and thread to the rest of the shoe. Likewise, Ashima and Ashoke are bonded together by their love for one another, their children and even their culture. I agree with both Anita and Gianna that Gogol was attracted to both Ruth and Maxine because of the fact that they were American and different from himself. He was able to finally be who he wanted to be and do as he pleased just like when he changed his name because “it’s easier to ignore his parents, to tune out their concerns and pleas” (105) since he is a different person. They are drawn to him because of his culture as well as being from a place either one of them has visited before, Calcutta. With Moushumi, I feel like Gogol was attracted to her because they both had to go through the same pressure of living a life revolving around two different cultures, American culture and Indian culture. They both had parents who strongly followed their culture, they were both expected to have arranged marriages, etc. I agree with both Ashley and Anita that the contrast helps forms his identity. He tried to avoid his Indian culture by changing his name and abandoning his Bengali language, clothing and customs but after his father died and he began his relationship with Moushumi, he began to accept his culture while still living his American life.
ReplyDeleteWhen Ashima steps into Ashoke’s shoes, this provides a symbolism that will play out throughout the whole novel. This symbolizes Ashima’s devotion to her husband for as long as the marriage lasts even though the marriage was arranged. This is clearly shown throughout the novel, where she follows him to the United States, leaving her family behind and supporting him throughout. Finally, when Ashoke dies, she grieves deeply and often wonders how she would continue on in her life. Ashima then realizes this is the first time she has ever been alone. This clearly shows how close she was to her husband. Gogol was drawn to his lovers in many ways. To Ruth, he found the fact that she was not the kind of girl his parents would want him to be with. This caused a sense of independency from his parents for Gogol, something he enjoyed throughout the novel. As for Maxine, Gogol loved the fact that she and her family were very liberal with their ideas. Gogol was drawn to Moushumi because he finally realized the fact that he is Indian and should embrace it by marrying her. He then realizes who he is and accepts his cultural background. This contrast shows his journey of finding an identity for himself. Should he be like his parents and accept his culture or should he be independent of it all and forge his own life. Although he refused to accept his name in the beginning, he soon realized its impossible to change your identity but to embrace your original just as Anita had said.
ReplyDeleteWhen Ashima steps into Ashoke’s shoes, this provides a symbolism that will play out throughout the whole novel. This symbolizes Ashima’s devotion to her husband for as long as the marriage lasts even though the marriage was arranged. This is clearly shown throughout the novel, where she follows him to the United States, leaving her family behind and supporting him throughout. Finally, when Ashoke dies, she grieves deeply and often wonders how she would continue on in her life. Ashima then realizes this is the first time she has ever been alone. This clearly shows how close she was to her husband. Gogol was drawn to his lovers in many ways. To Ruth, he found the fact that she was not the kind of girl his parents would want him to be with. This caused a sense of independency from his parents for Gogol, something he enjoyed throughout the novel. As for Maxine, Gogol loved the fact that she and her family were very liberal with their ideas. Gogol was drawn to Moushumi because he finally realized the fact that he is Indian and should embrace it by marrying her. He then realizes who he is and accepts his cultural background. This contrast shows his journey of finding an identity for himself. Should he be like his parents and accept his culture or should he be independent of it all and forge his own life. Although he refused to accept his name in the beginning, he soon realized its impossible to change your identity but to embrace your original just as Anita had said.
ReplyDeleteLiterature uses a lot of symbolism to create a theme, and in this case, Ashima stepping into Ashoke's shoes proved how she would become integrated into his life, more so than he would become assimilated into hers. Despite the marriage being one out of arrangement, Ashima never fails to stay loyal to her husband. The reader can see this throughout the novel as Ashima follows Ashoke's dreams to live in America, leaving her family and life behind, becoming totally dependent on Ashoke to support her. She is finally able to live a life of her own once her husband passes, but it is not until then that the reader realizes how close they actually were, and the burdens she faces when making her own decisions. On the other hand, Gogol experiences this 'love' with more than one person throughout the novel. Ruth symbolized Gogol's seperation, or independence, he had from his home life as Ruth would not be the first choice of his parents, therefore making him the only one in charge of this relationship decisions. When Gogol dates Maxine, he is drawn to her personal behavior as well as her family's. He enjoys how intimate and intelligent speaking they were to all guests, and their sense of a firm unit as family. After this relationship fails, he begins dating Moushumi. She stands out of the three because she shares so many similarities with Gogol, which is the main attraction they have for one another. The share similar families, cultures, and practices because they are both Indian. This contrast plays a role within the novel because, the woman Gogol's parents want him to marry is the woman he does end up with, ironically enough. Despite his personal struggles with becoming his own person and accepting his culture, he is able to find the balance between the two by becoming comfortable with who he is, and the type of life he lives.
ReplyDeleteThis gesture shows that you never really know someone and whats going on in their head and life unless you walk in their shoes. Since Ashima and Ashoke’s marriage was arranged, they not only didn’t know each other too well, but they weren’t really “in love” and had feelings for each other. How are they supposed to be in love and grow old together and have a happily ever after if they’re mostly strangers. When Ashima steps in Ashoke’s shoes, it’s partly her trying to get to know him better; to get closer to him. If that’s the closest intimacy between them, they really don’t experience any connectipn at all, and that’s Ashima’s attempt of seeking who Ashoke is and how they can be more than just an arranged marriage.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel, Ashima and Ashoke end up married and parnts of Gogol and Sonia. Ashima marries Ashoke after only meeting him briefly. She not only moves with him to Massachusettes but also raises a family with him as well. Ashoke, on the other hand, earns his doctrite from MIT and works as a professor in the Boston area and Ashima helps raise the kids. The story begins with the birth of their first child, and continues to follow the newborn's life and the experiences of his mother, father, and sister as they are forced to adjust to American culture. At the onset of Lahiri's novel the reader instantly becomes aware of the obstacles facing the Ganguli family. Ultimately, they assimilate and adjust to their new way of life, while still maintaining the Indian customs and traditions that they hold so dear. Ultimately, it played out pretty well for a marriage rranged between two almost strangers. For Gogol, however, his first relationship fails, in which he finds someone he is more in common with in his second one. This contrast plays a role in the novel because Gogol's culture and his parents play a huge factor in who he is going to spend his life with, in which he finds the right person for himself.
Symbolically, Ashima is proclaiming that she is one with Ashoke when she briefly steps into his shoes. Before he dies, Ashima heavily relies on him financially. She is very dependent on him and culturally demonstrates the majority of Bengali women. However, once Ashoke dies, she becomes independent and makes it her goal to balance both her Indian heritage and to adapt to American customs. Unlike the “traditional” Bengali girls that his parents would have chosen for him, Gogol is attracted to two American girls, Maxine and Ruth. However, he ends up with Moushumi, who ultimately brings him to appreciate and embrace his culture. She reminds him of his tradition, and he is attracted to the familiarity of her/her background. The two of them are similar considering the fact that both of their parents strongly embraced their Indian culture, and I believe that this draws them together. Overall, the contrast between Moushumi and the two American girls is crucial since his relationship with Moushumi actually causes him to be embrace his culture. Ashoke and Ashima’s expectations are fulfilled when Gogol chooses her, but more importantly he is proud of his culture, rather than attempting to mask it.
ReplyDeleteThe marriage of Ashoke and Ashima was arranged in the novel, which suggests that their heritage was quite conservative when it came to the ceremony of marriage. It is stated that the closest intimacy was when Ashima stepped in Ashoke’s shoes, as though he was stepping into his life for good. By physically stepping into his shoes, Ashima is also metaphorically stepping into his shoes because she is soon going to be living life as he is. In agreement with Ashley, Ashima is in other words, giving herself over to her soon to be husband. After marriage, Ashima will no longer be an independent women who has to make decisions on her own. Instead, Ashima is going to have rely on her husband and follow the decisions that he makes now, since men’s opinions and decisions were valued over the women’s. One example of having to follow Ashoke’s choices is moving to America. If Ashoke hadn’t decided to move to America, I doubt that Ashima would have made that same decision herself because she was happy with mainting her Indian heritage and planned to live in her home country. Once in America, the couple’s son, Gogol, also has romantic relationships with women who are not Ashima’s “type.” Instead of dating an Indian woman, or at least a woman with some Indian background, Gogol started dating American woman. Ashima was not happy that her son had made this decision to date Americans, especially Ruth and Maxine who are complete opposites of what Ashima had expected his son to date. However, Gogol is then attracted to another girl named Moushumi who is a Bengali woman. Gogol and Moushumi find out that they both carry some of the same Indian heritage and have the same traditions. Knowing this, I think that Gogol has figured out that he is not alone and isn’t the only one who doesn’t feel totally accepted by the Americans. Gogol learns that like Moushumi, there are other people living in America who are struggling just like he is. Also, by dating Moushumi, Gogol is not only making himself happy, but he is also pleasing his mother.
ReplyDeleteWhen Ashima steps into Ashoke's shoes she symbolically says she will walk every step he takes. This plays out throughout the whole novel in the dependence for Ashoke how she relies on him for everything which is how all the women act in India. After the marriage she moves to America to start a life with Ashoke, an idea she would have never made had she never married him. Once in America she starts a family where she tries to raise them the way she was however when letters were lost in the mail they had to adapt and understand that things never go as planned. One difference is their son's Gogols romantic life with women that were not his mothers type. Instead of dating a woman with an Indian background he dates two women who are the exact opposite of the kind of girl his mother wants him to marry. However when he does marry the girl his mother wants she cheats on him ad ends up breaking his heart in which making him feel all alone. It is here when he tries and embrace his culture The embracing of his culture makes both him happy and also his mother.
ReplyDeleteInitially, reading about how Ashima tried of Ashoke’s shoes made me think of cinderella almost but that’s not helpful here. In reality, that gesture probably symbolized how a women is supposed to be under the male head of the family. When a woman gets married, she submits to her husband, he becomes the leader and the head of the household. Ashima always seemed a little bit more uneasy in America than everyone else but she moved there because that is what her husband wanted. When Gogol starts dating, he starts of dating American women who have a sense of identity outside of a marriage. This intrigues him, this is exactly what his parents do not want for him. He spends time with the families of these girls and falls in love with their easygoing nature. The relationships with the two american girls, Ruth and Maxine, fail. He ends up dating Moushumi, she is also of Bengali descent so they have an understanding of each other. They both understand how hard it is to be Indian-American. Even though Moushumi and Gogol do not end up together in the end, it is she who allows Gogol to find a balance in both cultures.
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ReplyDeleteEvery culture has a different tradition for couples. This particular Bengali tradition is the most intimate one and is like an American promise ring, but with a Bengail twist of the man basically owning the woman. It symbolizes that Ashima will follow Ashoke wherever he goes, through the bad days and through the good days, and vice versa. A commitment and like many people said, a dependence on each other is established by this tradition. It is clearly shown in the story when Ashima follows Ashoke to America and is basically housebound until Ashoke dies, which is when she starts looking for a career and a new meaning of life in America. What draws Gogol to Ruth and Maxine is that they're very different from his family in the sense that their actions and personalities can be described as American to him and Gogol's is mixed. Gogol's attraction to Moushumi comes from their mutual Indian-American backgrounds to the point where Gogol gets comfortable in his own skin, his own Indian-American identity. Similar to Gogol, Ruth and Maxine are attracted to Gogol because he comes from a very foreign background to them. However, his bond with Moushumi is over their own Indian background, and Moushumi became attracted to Gogol and vice versa. This contrast shows two sides to every relationship; one where the bond is because someone stands out from the norm, the other is because of the cultures and traditions the people share, the similarity and the comfort of going through the same thing together.
After the majority of my freshman English class hated both reading and writing, I switched myself to honors, in the hopes that my love for both things could take me through the class. What I found, however, was that I was not necessarily cut out for the class just because I loved both reading and writing. Basically, the deeper meanings I found were… wrong, to say the least. My sophomore year, I would try to speak up if I could, but what I found was that my thoughts didn't match up to anyone else’s, and so after a while I just kept these thoughts to myself. I always believed that if you could back up how you felt, your answer would be correct, but I realized that wasn't necessarily true. This year I hope to find the deeper meanings in literature easier, and if not easier, at least have confidence in knowing that I have some type of correct answer. I also hope to understand how to better format essays and support my ideas. Creative writing has definitely always been better for me, but I want to learn more about formal writing.
ReplyDeleteAmerica and India are a real presence in the book because they both play a large role in the characters’ lives. They're not just places they're from or where they live, it's a part of who they are. More so than in another book where it just takes place in a state, this book focuses on how America shapes Ashima and Ashoke, and how it's difficult for them to watch their children grow up in a place so different from their own, and to be accustomed to more American traditions than Indian. India is the place Ashima and Ashoke are always resorting back to, even when Gogol is born Ashima longs for her family surrounding her and her grandmother giving her a good name for her son. India almost takes on the role of a person, as does America. India is older and familiar while America is new and sometimes frightening.
The Namesake definitely made me really think about America and how different it is from many other cultures. For example when Gogol is in college and has a girlfriend, his parents don't approve. And not because they might not like her or anything, but because they think he’s too young for that kind of thing, while kids in America sometimes start dating as early as middle school. The book made me realize how much more freedom we as Americans have, and how privileged we are. Gogol couldn't even take a run in India because the ground was too cracked and ruined, and it would have hurt him.
Ashima mainly struggles with her understanding of America, and what to do with herself when she is alone, which is a majority of the time. She doesn't understand how to function without her family which is sad, she really doesn't feel she has a ‘purpose’, I think, until Gogol is born. Ashoke struggles with his past, and his near-death situation, not telling Gogol why his name holds such value until much later in his life. Gogol and his sister struggle with balancing their home and Indian life with their American one, trying to please both their parents and themselves.
She uses the portrayal to focus on the struggles of Ashima and Ashoke in raising their son and daughter in America with new traditions and customs and education. She points out the differences in both cultures and how much they differ from each other.
This symbolism represents the differences in culture. The act of Ashima stepping into Ashoke's shoes represented a promise for their lives together. Throughout the novel Ashima constantly supports Ashoke and acts as a good Bengali wife. I think Gogol is drawn to his many lovers because of their Anerican culture and backgrounds different from his. I think many of these girls are interested in his background as well and how culturally different his family is. His relationship with Moushimi helps him appreciate and accept his culture. This contrast shows that the difference in culture can really bring people together. It makes the relationship interesting and fun.
ReplyDeleteThe symbolism of this gesture is to show Ashima’s curiosity in intimacy. I feel that in a lot of cultures where intimacy before marriage is frowned upon, young people in the cultures seek other ways to discover intimacy and what closeness feels like.
ReplyDeleteFor the majority of the book, there is never really any affection shown between Ashima and Ashoke.
I think what draws Gogol to his lovers is how different they are from what he's known, and the affection they give him, different than that between his parents.
It is another representation of how different Indian culture is from American.
The gesture of Ashima stepping into Ashoke shoes before their arranged marriage symbolises how she’s willing to basically put herself in his hands and be dependant of him and go wherever he goes, in this case america. While in America Ashima tries to live her own life and teach at the university but her life is always dependant on him. Their lives are dependant on him financially and if it wasn't for him she would not be in America because thought the novel she’s always homesick.
ReplyDeleteGogol is drawn to his American girlfriend because they are different from indian girls,and because they represent some sort of american normalcy that he somewhat desires. He fell in love with Maxine because she represented something he would never have. She had the “normal” american parents, the vacations to New Hampshire, Maxine and her family had something he would never have because of his Indian culture and he fell in love with that. On the other hand Moushumi and him had more in common because of their culture and their desire to adapt to American culture. While they were both not ecstatic about fulfilling their parents wishes and marrying another bengali they had more in common than Gogol and his american girlfriends did and like each other for good reason not just because they were different.
The contrast of the relationships shows how much Gogol was trying to fit in but in the end he was able to adapt and merge but culture together to something that pleased both his wish for american culture and his parents desire to maintain some of their indian culture.
Gogol's romantic encounters are all mostly fueled by a single recurring theme of the fact that his lovers are all unconventional and strongly contrast the life that his parents envisioned for him. For Ruth, his parents expected him to focus on his studies, and to stay away from women altogether, let alone a girl who isn't of Indian descent. Ruth is none of these things, she is everything his parents didn't want for him, and that attracted him. Her interest in Gogol was one that nobody expressed towards him before, making him more attracted to her. His second serious relationship, one with Maxine, was also one that seemed unconventional and proved unpopular with his parents. Maxine's open and uncensored relationship with her parents, is something unfamiliar and strange to Gogol. However, it is not something that he doesn't like, and soon finds himself as a part of this American family. A new and exciting page in the book of his life, this time as Nikhil, he is able to create an identity for himself that he displays proudly to Maxine's parents, and is no longer ashamed of his heritage and lifestyle. However, when he finally does conform to his family's wishes, he finds himself with Moushumi, a family friend turned love interest by a suggestion of his mother. However, Gogol finds himself accepting of this relationship as he believes that the relationship withholds certain Indian ideals that his parents will respect and accept, but also an Americanized relationship, one without rigid Indian relationship ideals, which led Gogol to be more attracted to her than if his parents had forced their beliefs and unfamiliar culture onto him on their own.
ReplyDeleteThe gesture of Ashima stepping into Ashoke shoes symbolizes how Ashoke will follow Ashima no matter where he goes. This plays out in the novel because Ashima follows Ashoke to America after her marriage to start a family with him. Throughout her time in America, she depended on Ashoke to teach her how to live there. In Gogol’s many lovers, he is drawn to each one of them because they are completely different from him. These women lived the opposite type of life compared to Gogol’s life. Gogol also relied on appearance and personality as a factor to his relationships as well. The way Gogol and his partners chose each other was the difference between them. The contrast in this novel is shown when Gogol chose his partners because they were different and his partners chose Gogol because he different than other people. The contrast is also shown when Gogol decides to do the opposite of what his parents wanted him to in his rebellious times as well.
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