The Namesake (Part 9)

Lahiri moves on to when Gogol turns fourteen. He has two birthday parties: one with American food, guest and presents and the other with Indian traditions and all the Bengali people they know. Ashima finds it easier to prepare for the Bengali birthday party, fixing many different Indian dishes and entertaining her Bengali friends. Gogol is the only one his age at his party, all the rest of the kids are much younger. There is a girl who is thirteen that is the closest to Gogol in age, but they have nothing in common. When the guest leave he opens up his presents. He receives educational gifts and clothes except from his family. Ashima and Ashoke gives Gogol a instant camera, a new sketchbook, colored pencils and the mechanical pen he wanted. His sister Sonia makes him a card that has his nickname that she gave him on it, Goggles. His dad has one last gift for him which he gives to him in private. The gift is a book, The Short Stories of Nikolai Gogol, written by the guy who Gogol is named after. Ashoke begans to tell Gogol the significance of his name, but he stops short and doesn't tell Gogol the full reason.

Quote: "...Ashoke decides to keep the explanation of his son's name to himself."

Question: When will Ashoke tell Gogol the real reason for his name?

The Namsake (Part 8)

Gogol is starting to realize that the rudeness towards their culture is mainly meant for his mother and father. He notices the smirks made by cashiers to his parents' accents; some people would rather direct their conversation to Gogol than to his parents. When Gogol is in the sixth grade they go on a field trip where they make three stops. Their third stop is to a graveyard and they are given sheets of paper and crayons to trace the names on headstones. When the other kids start to rub different headstones they discover that some have the same last name as they do. Gogol knows that he will never find a Ganguli and that there will never be a Ganguli headstone because he will be cremated not buried. When Gogol begans to rub headstones on his own paper he finds unique names. He quickly becomes attach to the names because of their oddness; his name is just like theirs and he can imagine how they felt. When he shows his mom his art she is hurt that she has to turn it away because she doesn't agree with having names of dead people in her kitchen. He hides the names in a safe place in his room where he knows that his mom will never find them.

Quote: "He rolls them up, takes them upstairs, and puts them in his room, behind his chest of drawers, where he know his mother will never bother to look, and where they will remain, ignored but protected, gathering dust for years to come."

Question: When Gogol gets older and he discovers the names he hid will he explain the significance of the names to his mom, Ashima?

The Namesake (Part 7)

Ashoke and Ashima allow Gogol and Sonia to celebrate American holidays. They don't want their children to feel left out. They do make sure that they do not disconnect with their Indian heritage. Gogol and Sonia eat American food, they prefer to eat American food. Gogol attends Bengali language school in the third grade. Most of the students including Gogol wish they were at other practices such as ballet and softball. Gogol has to miss every other saturday class of art. He loves attending art class and the materials are bigger and better than the materials for the Bengali language class. In the Bengali language class they read from paper that looks like the toilet paper in the bathroom at his school. Lahiri presents the time that Gogol started to notice the oddness of his name. He starts to notice parts of his name in signs and his dad tells him the reason he was named Gogol. Ashoke doesn't tell Gogol the whole reason for his name. Gogol knows that teachers are not able to pronounce his name so he answers before they can say it. His last name, Ganguli, is common in India than his first name is and recognizes that his name is different from everyone in America and India.

Quote: "For when Ashima and Ashoke close their eyes it never fails to unsettle them, that their children sound just like Americans..."

Question: Will Gogol and Sonia embrace their Indian culture when they get older?

The Namesake (Part 6)

In May Ashima goes into labor with Gogol's little sister. Ashima and Ashoke have prepared Gogol for the experience, but he still feels stranded. He stays with a neighbor, Mrs. Merton, until his Maya Nandi, one of the Ganguli's friends, come to pick him up. The next day Gogol is taken to see his mom, dad, and baby sister. This time Ashima and Ashoke were ready, with name already prepared to name their second child. Gogol drew a picture of his family and he didn't write a name under the baby. Their new babies name is "Sonali, meaning "she who is golden." Gogol likes helping his mom with Sonia which is Sonali's pet name. Everyone of the Ganguli's Bengali friends have now moved to the suburbs also and almost every staurday they are at a friends house. As the Gangulis live in America longer they hear bad news through mail or phone that someone in their family has passed away in Calcutta. Even though Gogol and Sonia don't know these family members that they will never meet they feel their parents' sadness.

Quote: "They've learned their lesson after Gogol. They've learned that schools in America will ignore parent's instructions and register a child under his pet name."

Question: How would you feel if your sibling had a name that meant something in your culture, but you didn't?

The Namesake (Part 5)

Ashima is still pregnant with Gogol's sister or brother when it is time for Gogol to start kindergarten. Ashoke takes Gogol to school on his first day and Gogol is entering school a week late. Ashoke and Gogol are introduced to the principal Mrs. Lapidus. Ashoke and Ashima have come up with a good name for Gogol to use out in public and at school, Nikhil. Gogol does not understand why he has to be called a different name at school and something else at home.When Mrs. Lapidus overhears Ashoke call "Nikhil" Gogol she asks why he doesn't want him to go by Gogol. His dad explains to the principal the difference between a pet name and a good name. She doesn't quite understand the difference because Ashoke did not use nickname to describe pet name. When Ashoke leaves Mrs. Lapidus disregards his and Ashima's request to call Gogol "Nikhil" and has her secretary do his application over using the name Gogol. She tells Gogol that people will call by what he wants them to call him "Gogol" and she writes a letter to Ashima and Ashoke explaining how at school they will honor Gogol's wishes and call him Gogol. Ashima and Ashoke wonder why Americans don't honor the parents wishes before the childs'.

Quote: "...Mrs. Lapidus, folded and stapled to a string around his neck, explaining that due to their son's preference he will be known as Gogol at school. What about the parents' preference? Ashima and Ashoke wonder..."

Question: When you were old enough to understand your culture and it was part of your culture to use a different name at school and out in the world would you use a different name because of your culture and your parents' wishes?

The Namesake (Part 4)

Ashoke and Ashima have moved to the suburbs and Ashima feels like it is more drastic than moving from India to America. Gogol attends nursery at the university his dad works at. When they buy toys or furniture for the house they purchase them from yard sales. Ashima thinks to herself that her family and friends would think this action embarrassing. Gogol is just beginning to have memories and among his first memories will be of other kids playing in the neighborhood. Ashima and Ashoke take Gogol on car rides and they just drive around and they stop at the beach. It is empty by the time they get there, but they stay and spend time together as a family. At the end of summer Ashima is pregnant again and she doesn't feel to well or have enough energy to play or cook for Gogol and Ashoke. Gogol is use to having his mom there to cook and play with him not his dad so he has no appetite and does not act like a normal child.

Quote: "At first Ashima is reluctant to introduce such items into her home, ashamed at the thoght of buying what had originally belonged to strangers..."

Question: How will Gogol adjust to life with a new sibling and not being the center of his parents' attention?

The Namesake (Part 3)

Even though Ashima feels alone she quickly begins to make Bengali friends. She often meets Bengali single men, they go away to Bengali, and come back a married man. With these marriages she gains more Bengali women friends. Six months has past since Gogol was born and it is time for his annaprasan; it is like a baptism in the Christian faith. They feed Gogol little grains of solid food. Ashima's brother is suppose to feed Gogol, but he is not available so they ask their friend, Dilip Nandi, to be their baby's honarary uncle. Gogol get dressed up in traditional infant Begali groom clothes and all of the Ganguli's friends come to witness this special occasion. They have made plans to go to Bengali in December, but when Ashima gets news that her dad has passed away from a heart attack they leave six weeks earlier than their original departure.

Quote: "...her father died yesterday evening, of a heart attack, playing patience on his bed."

Question: How will Ashima's dads' death affect her relationship with America and her American born son, Gogol?