So I have just read the first two chapters of Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake, and honestly I think so far it is the best book that I have read this year. The Indian culture, the trials, the people, etc. is so interesting and new to me, I really like reading about it.
First, so the main characters, Ashima and Ashoke, both from Calcutta, India. Having just gotten married, which was arranged by their parents. ""I love you sweetheart,' Words Ashima has neither heard nor expects to hear from her won husband; this is just how they are." (Lahiri 3) I find that arranging marriages is awful, and I would hate to be in that type of situation. But both Ashima and Ashoke accept what their traditions are and don't ask for anything beyond of what they know they will get. As they come to America and begin their lives together, it is difficult for Ashima. She is away from her traditions that she does know so well. She misses her family, and her way of life. "I;m saying I don't want to raise Gogol alone in this country. It's not right. I want to go back." (Lahiri 33) She is alone, no family, no friends, and now she has to learn on her own and raise a baby. I can't even fathom what she is thinking of or what she is feeling. All I would do is cry, cry for someone to understand and help me through this, but she has no one.
The baby, oh the baby boy. There is so much for him America, a small intimate family. But then again he is missing so much according to his mother, his grandparents, uncles, aunts, food, culture, and he doesn't even have a proper name for himself. He is named after the author of the book that "saved" his father in a near death encounter on train. This boy has opportunity, and his parents are hoping they have done the right thing for him. I love that his parents love him, would do anything for him, give up their home for him. I respect them for that, and I would love to do that for my family, in hopes for their brighter future.
Dear Comrade Claire,
ReplyDeleteHello! This is your friend David to comment about your interesting view on the novel The Namesake. When reading your blog post, many of the points you made I found agreeing with at first. However, the more I thought about them, I found myself starting to disagree. The first part that I did not quite agree with was that the fact about how their type of marriage is sad and how you found it to be awful. Of course in our situations, of always being loved and constantly being told so, if there was a marriage like that, I wholeheartedly agree, that it would be awful and should be stopped. After, however, you mention that it's their culture, and that is true. In their culture, being told they are loved by a significant other is not something that happens. Because this is so, how can Ashima know what it feels like to be told that. Also, how would she know how bad it would feel if she was not told that. She never has, and therefor how could it ever be bad for her that she was not told this? In fact, maybe, the reason she would never hear something like that is because they trust their relationship enough that they have no need to say something like "I love you." This is just a thought I had, but I do understand where you're coming from. Thank you for your time.
From,
Friend David
Claire,
ReplyDeleteI find everything that you say here to be incredibly interesting because there is two sides to almost all of it, two different perspectives that are possible to take. First off, I am glad that you too felt like crying with the characters. That was a major part of my experience with the book as well, and I agree with the fact that it is the best book we have read in school all year. In my post I compared it to To Kill A Mockingbird and I would be interested to know if you agree with what I said. First off, you said that they don't ask for anything beyond what they know they will get. That is both true and not, as they make not ask from eachother outwardly more than what is expected but I think internally they expect eachother to be much more then they admit. (They need eachother's emotional strength to verify their identity in this strange country) Also, you say that Ashinma is alone in the country, without tradition and friends. But however, as the story progresses, she doesn't once stop wearing saris, identifying with her old traditions, or lose sight of the Bengali community in the USA. So in some ways she and Gogol and her husband are foreigners, but in some ways they are still at home.
Awesome post!
Claire
Claire I loved reading your post! I really enjoyed and agreed with everything you said. It honestly must be so hard fitting in with the American culture. Also having to raise a child there and having them grow up in a different culture and environment. Ashima and Ashoke obviously take there culture and customs very seriously because like it says in the next chapter they get very mad about the whole touching of the poets grave thing. Ashima thinks its absurd and crazy. I also agree that he was not probably named and as you keep reading the name impacts him in a lot of different ways.
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