In class, we have been discussing the role Gogol has in the novel, "The Namesake". Also, we examine his relationships with others and how he interacts with them. I think that Gogol is a chameleon: always changing based on his environment. When he's with Maxine, he changes his topics of discussion and every aspect of his life based on her wealthy, carefree family. He pretends to be so free-willed and sophisticated, it kills me. When around Moushumi, however, he seems to be himself. He can accept his culture around her, but he also  still bases his every action around impressing her. We think he's happy with Moushumi, but when he catches her cheating, he is shocked
His battle with his name also comes to end in the final chapters of the book. He learns to accept his life after things go wrong with Moushumi, which is good, but it was kind of a long time. I was so happy once he accepted every aspect of his life; his name, his heritage, and even his future. He finally learns to accept himself for who he is. Once he discovers himself, things seem to go much better than they ever did before.
I was kind of mad at Gogol. It took him two break ups and many years to finally realize who he is. It's kind of ridiculous!
I was also pretty upset at the ending of the novel. To be honest, I was expecting something a little more exciting. With all the drama and mistakes that happened throughout the novel, I thought the ending was kind of meager.

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This time, things regarding love are a little different. Allow me to explain. Gogol engages in many love affairs, as any growing man should. We get to know him as a lover. He enjoys the little things, things that his parents could never provide or enjoy. Especially with Maxine, we see how Gogol is a little rebellious and doesn't like to tell his parents everything. But things change completely when we learn about Moushumi. Things are different at first, and we can't tell if Gogol is completely attracted to her. With Maxine, Gogol loved every second he was around her. He loved the food, the company, the wine, the life that her and her parents enjoyed. Gogol has never dated a Bengali girl before, and we don't know exactly how he feels about arranged marriages.
It seems to me, however, that Gogol is enjoying his time with Moushumi. I mean, he does get lucky on the third date! It's always the third date that things actually happen...weird. But, I digress.
How interesting though, is page 217/218?!?!?! When reading page 217, I kind of stopped for a while, my mouth agape, and thought about the series of unfortunate events that led to Moushimi's breakdown. It made me think of the people in my life who have become overwhelmed by a plethora of complicated facets. But the last sentence of page 218, is perfect. Not every single sentence and word in the book is perfect, as they are in "To Kill a Mockingbird", but the last sentence of page 218 is pure perfection. One must read the whole book to understand, but the last sentence is "And then one day her mother called, asking if she remembered a boy named Gogol." (218). I really look forward to seeing what will happen.
Again, this got me thinking. What if this happens to me? I have no right telling my future, but I have met many people at small family gatherings who really mean nothing to me. What if my mom arranges a marriage? In today's Iranian culture, not many mothers do this. I have no idea if my mother will comply. It all really depends on how desperate I am...hah!

Thoughts About "The Namesake"

     How is it that a mere name can be so deciding of one's life? We all know that Gogol was given that name because of the role the author had in saving Ashoke's life, but how does it affect Gogol himself? When in high school, he is reserved, thoughtful, and not too popular. Upon merely changing his name, Gogol almost makes a whole new transformation. He tells one girl that his name is Nikhil, and it seems to us that he has grown a new sense of confidence and pride. While he uses that name, Nikhil, he is confident and unafraid to talk to people, to "be himself". But he has no idea that it's actually not himself.
     Gogol is insecure at first. He does not like his name, and "is both absurd and obscure" (76). His name gives him a sense that he does not belong to any sort of culture. But when he meets Kim, everything changes. I found it so interesting that right then and there, that night, he changed his name and immediately got his first kiss. He continues to use this alias, and almost everything goes according to planned. When Gogol learns about the source of his original name, he is assured yet still confused. I feel like Gogol is satisfied at the end of Chapter Five. He is glad that he has finally found out the reason behind his seemingly miserable childhood, and now, after twenty some years, he finally understands.

But seriously, what is up with all the train accidents?!

Let it Slide

When reading "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri, I noticed something that I hadn't ever done just by nature. I was reading along, underlining and annotating as usual, when something made me stop annotating and just enjoy the book's text. It was completely natural, and I couldn't annotate. I just read and did not stop. It was truly amazing. I really like this book. It's a lot easier to understand than "Notes from Underground", and a little bit better-written than "Things Fall Apart". I had read this book previously in 6th or 7th grade, but I completely forgot how beautiful and flowing the text really is. I think now I will try to read it with a whole new perspective. Every time I re-read a book, I find new things that I hadn't found the previous time. After reading Macbeth 5 times, there still are little themes and symbols I miss.

I really look forward to the mystery of finding new ideas and conflicts in "The Namesake". After just reading the first chapter, I was amazed at how fast it went by. The one main thing I remember about reading this book is how fast it read. I also believe that I will pay more attention to the cultural aspect of this novel. Last time I didn't really realize the whole point, but now I realize my mistakes and I will correct them.

A Father Son Conversation

Something came up in my mind as I was talking to my dad as we wound down the road from Big Bear. I told him, "There is a way to get to every single electrical tower and pole by car in the entire United States." "Yup" was all I got. He seemed too focused on driving to talk to his curious son. "Its amazing," I exclaimed, "That they place roads based on these towers...Or do they place towers based on the roads?" We reached a smoother, less demanding section of the road.
"Wow look at how low the snow fell!" My father tried to change the subject. I decided he wasn't in the mood to talk right then. I turned on our mutual radio station, and stared out at the snow covered forest.

"What would it be like to live free? To live off the land, make your own decisions and survive off of what God provides?" I said looking out at the majestic valley.
"You know, when I was living in Iran, my friend and I did that for a summer. We built a cabin-like shelter that spring, and when school was out, we set out to the nearby desert hills and mountains. We brought all of our food in my car, and set up by a small creek." He said excitedly.
"How was it?" I asked.
"It was one of the best experiences of my life, and I am still good friends with that man. If you want to do it for a year, I highly recommend it. It was so great to just be free and make my own decisions, which I would either succeed or suffer for." He told me.

I had absolutely no idea that I could have such dreams as my father did when he was a child. I had no idea where to begin, and immediately was excited about going "off the grid". I'll just have to wait and see when I am ready, and make the choice.

Notes From The Underground

I hate the Underground Man. All of his actions and ideas disparage me. Just the idea of pondering every aspect of life makes me uncomfortable. This man ruined all of his chances with love. He lets one girl into his life, one girl who he think understands him, and he ruins it. I find him pathetic. All of his life he's been this insecure, worried man, and when he got his chance to change, he blew it!

Liza was his outlet to the world around him. She actually found some sort of love for him. He let her into his life, yet he refused to change himself. He takes himself to seriously just because he wants others to take him seriously. Now I see how he is like Dwight Schrute. They just put on this facade only because they want others to see them like that.

Wait. No. What I'm saying doesn't make sense. I take back everything that I said. Maybe they are actually both like that. Maybe the underground man actually went through trauma as a kid, or something like that? What if he is suffering and scared, sad and lonely? So maybe there is hope for the underground man. He might be actually like that. And that's sad. Poor guy.

The Most Interesting Man In The World

I find "Notes From Underground" to be one of the most interesting novels I have ever read. The underground man composes an air of mystery, complexity, and wonder. His imagination runs wild, and when he talks of the ideal gentleman having endless free will, I believe he's talking about himself. But his one remark in section IX about how all his talk was a joke interested me. Why would he even say it if it's a joke?

He doesn't want the reader to know that it's all true, and what he said from sections I through IX really are his grounded beliefs. His thoughts really related to what's been on my mind lately. Life is really all about the process and mystery of things. For example, I believe that there is true purpose to never finding out certain things, such as mysterious neighbors. If you knew all about your neighbors, sure you'd be comfortable with them, but things wouldn't be so interesting. It's the mystery that makes them interesting. But things like working for that mystery and finding a final product are what are really fun. Working on a piece of art can be alright, but what is the artist working towards? THE FINAL PIECE. It's that moment that really counts, when you've accomplished something.

The underground man clearly has a lot to say about everything, but I wonder one thing: why aren't we given a description of his appearance or the setting? As of now, I find it's better to not have a description, so we can use our understanding of his character to play that out in our minds. I'll revisit this question in later posts, but for now, here's what I think the man looks like.

Cracked Like an Egg

My prediction that I made last blog post has proven to come together fairly well. I had said that Okonkwo was like a stealth fighter airplane: unseen by the naked eye but always willing to attack. Okonkwo is a prime example of this. He is reserved, lonesome, and discouraged at interaction with others, but he is always willing to prove his braun and manhood.
A quote that intrigued me greatly was when Uchendu said "never kill a man who says nothing" (Achebe 140). This made me think of Okonkwo immediately. Something clicked in my mind, that one day Okonkwo would come to a confrontation in which he would possibly face death. Okonkwo could run into confrontation one day with one of the Christian missionaries.

Everyone around Okonkwo is changing, and Okonkwo is resilient and skeptical. Over the course of his exile, so much has changed, and he wasn't ready for the changes that came. Luckily for Okonkwo, when the Church burns down, things are starting to seem more normal for him. When things start to turn, however, the title of the book really shows. Things really do fall apart, and Okonkwo kills two messengers during the town meeting. This shows that Okonkwo is ready to kill, but the townsmen's reactions show that they are not prepared. Okonkwo sees this, flees, and hangs himself. It shows the reader that he cracked under all the pressure. I always knew that him holding all of his emotions inside of him would make him crack.

I am currently reading "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe. I think that Okonkwo inside is a troubled man. He constantly has inner conflicts, and I really think that the true conflict in this story is man versus himself. Okonkwo is constantly battling with his inner struggles, and he is really a self conscious person. I had trouble understanding, however, why Ekwefi does not get angry at him when he nearly shoots her. It seemed to me that she treated it as if nothing ever happened. I feel like Okonkwo shot at her on purpose, but intentionally missed by a hair so that Ekwefi would get scared. Okonkwo's purpose for that shot was to show one of his wives that he is the leader. He rarely does anything out of the ordinary, and him avoiding flying under the radar shows a unique aspect of his life. I think of him as one who purposely avoids any interaction. There can be consequences to this, however: good or bad.

The dangers of a single story

    After watching the TED talk regarding "the danger of single stories" and stereotypes, I had a nearly cahnged perspective on some of the things that I was told growing up. The single story about Africa that Adichie mentioned had been a part of my understanding of what Africa was like. Growing up, all I saw regarding media, stories, and external input was negativity. People talk about Africa as a land where the climate is undesirable, there is little food or water, crops and animals do not grow, and people live in rough conditions. Many describe the people there as poor and war-stricken.
        But Adichie showed me a new perspective on these generalizations. Her stories told of a prosperous community that she grew up in. I was, in fact, shocked when she said that her life was somewhat enjoyable. She had good food to eat, plentiful amounts of water, and a good home. Who knew that Africans would have such luxuries?! Besides the sarcasm, her story was always in my mind when reading "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe.
        Adichie's story not only taught me about stereotypes and single stories, but also about relationships with others. Can we translate single stories into what we think of our peers? To relate with what she was saying, I have a personal story. My sister is friends with a man from Cameroon. When she came home from college, she was describing him and the insights he made. I pictured a man with a heavy "tribal" accent who has little knowledge of technology and modern methods. I spoke with him on the phone, and he sounded just like any other normal human being. We are all very similar. We all strive towards bettering ourselves and those around us, day by day, without creating single stories or generalizations.
       In "Things Fall Apart", Adichie's insights came to mind when I thought about Unoka and his weakness and Okonkwa and his braun. Okonkwa's fear of judgment from his peers is not unlike that of many people in our society today. Unoka's care fr the arts and his passion for music is also similar to those who choose a liberal and creative lifestyle in our society. Adichie's story has taught us to accept people for who they are, and in turn, causes people to stop being afraid of judgement. This fear of judgement from both Unoka and Okonkwa is a perfect example of the dangers of generalization.

Adichie's Story