Pyromasters
Wacky Wordsearch
Post A
In this section there was a main difference when it came to customs and traditions and that was the conflict over parties and having guests over. There was a specific quote and it was, "His own mother would never have served so few dishes to a guest. She would have kept her eyes trained on Maxine's plate, insisting she have seconds and then thirds. The table would have been lined with a row of serving bowls so that people could help themselves" (133). I thought this quote was interesting because the distinction and conflict of customs is evident. I think this speaks specifically of hospitality and different ways of living between India and America. Also whereas one is relaxed the other is more concentrated and planned way before hand. Then getting back to the hospitality point, we can see that the host is much more concerned with the food and the well being of their guests when it comes to India. Everything is clearly laid out when it comes to the food and everybody is welcome to help themselves. So all in all I thought this difference was interesting.
Post B
For this post I thought I would talk about Gogol who is the main character in this book. First starting out he has a traditional Indian life even though he is living in America. He goes to Indian parties with his parents and even visits India on a regular basis to see his relatives. Then as he is growing older he starts to question things and he especially is concerned with his name. We later find out he legally changes his name to Nikhil which is technically his first name. Anyway the point is he starts drifting further and further away from his parents and their Indian lifestyles which is his past as well. Throughout the changes that occur we see Gogol and the decisions that he makes that directly conflict with Indian tradition. Through each event that he experiences he always remembers his parents and India. But he wants to be more "American" and on numerous occasions he says things like his dorm room is his real home compared to his parents who say that they still know that India is home even though they don't live there. The reason I bring this up is because Gogol started out as a traditional Indian and it was interesting and kind of upsetting to see him going farther and farther from his roots. It makes me question the things he has to deal with and his surroundings. In the end though I still believe he knows what is real and what is an illusion whether it be literal or figurative.
Pyromasters courtesy of addictinggames
Wordsearch courtesy of addictinggames
Monday, April 28, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Q4 Week 2 Posts A/B
Post A
There weren't as many differences this time around but there were still some. I thought I would choose a specific difference I saw. There is a quote about Sonia who is Gogol's sister. "Her formally shoulder-length hair has been chopped asymmetrically by one of her friends. Ashima lives in fear that Sonia will color a streak of it blond, as Sonia has threatened on more than one occasion to do, and that she will have additional holes pierced in her earlobes at the mall" (107). Normally hair really isn't that big of a issue when it comes to changing it whether it be cutting it or streaking it etc... but in Indian society cutting one's hair is like a sin. Then to go a step farther and even color it etc.. is just beyond thought. So Sonia cutting her hair and then threatening to color it along with the earrings is just torture to Ashima who has grown up in India learning these traditions that directly conflict with the culture shes seeing in America.
Post B
For this post I thought I would comment on a quote I found interesting and the quote is, "Gogol makes the mistake of referring to New Haven as home. Sorry, I left it at home, he says when his father asks is he remembered to buy the Yale decal his parents want to paste to the rear window of their car. Ashima is outraged by the remark dwelling on it all day. Only three months, and listen to you, she says, telling him that after twenty years in America, she still cannot bring herself to refer to Pemberton Road as home" (108). I thought it was interesting on how Ashima and Ashoke still refer to India as home compared to Gogol who was born in America and has only been in college for three months. So whereas he refers to college as home, Ashima refers to India as home even though she lives in America. I think that there is a gap that doesn't get bridged because of Gogol not really getting any influential time in India and not seeing his roots and where he comes from. I don't know exactly how to word it but there is definitely a theme hidden in this quote and it shows how growing up in a different place than your real home affects you whether it be in a positive or negative way.
There weren't as many differences this time around but there were still some. I thought I would choose a specific difference I saw. There is a quote about Sonia who is Gogol's sister. "Her formally shoulder-length hair has been chopped asymmetrically by one of her friends. Ashima lives in fear that Sonia will color a streak of it blond, as Sonia has threatened on more than one occasion to do, and that she will have additional holes pierced in her earlobes at the mall" (107). Normally hair really isn't that big of a issue when it comes to changing it whether it be cutting it or streaking it etc... but in Indian society cutting one's hair is like a sin. Then to go a step farther and even color it etc.. is just beyond thought. So Sonia cutting her hair and then threatening to color it along with the earrings is just torture to Ashima who has grown up in India learning these traditions that directly conflict with the culture shes seeing in America.
Post B
For this post I thought I would comment on a quote I found interesting and the quote is, "Gogol makes the mistake of referring to New Haven as home. Sorry, I left it at home, he says when his father asks is he remembered to buy the Yale decal his parents want to paste to the rear window of their car. Ashima is outraged by the remark dwelling on it all day. Only three months, and listen to you, she says, telling him that after twenty years in America, she still cannot bring herself to refer to Pemberton Road as home" (108). I thought it was interesting on how Ashima and Ashoke still refer to India as home compared to Gogol who was born in America and has only been in college for three months. So whereas he refers to college as home, Ashima refers to India as home even though she lives in America. I think that there is a gap that doesn't get bridged because of Gogol not really getting any influential time in India and not seeing his roots and where he comes from. I don't know exactly how to word it but there is definitely a theme hidden in this quote and it shows how growing up in a different place than your real home affects you whether it be in a positive or negative way.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
World Issues Post
I'm going to look at the Kashmir conflict which is going on between India and Pakistan.
Some Articles:
"The Political Economy of the Kashmir Conflict" Sirs
http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SMN0307H-0-3680&artno=0000188029&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=kashmir%20conflict&title=The%20Political%20Economy%20of%20the%20Kashmir%20Conflict&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=N&ic=Y
"Why Peace Won't Come to Kashmir
http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SMN0307H-0-3680&artno=0000133560&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=kashmir%20conflict&title=Why%20Peace%20Won%27t%20Come%20to%20Kashmir&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=N&ic=Y
"Flashpoint Kashmir: Special Report" BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/355280.stm
Some Articles:
"The Political Economy of the Kashmir Conflict" Sirs
http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SMN0307H-0-3680&artno=0000188029&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=kashmir%20conflict&title=The%20Political%20Economy%20of%20the%20Kashmir%20Conflict&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=N&ic=Y
"Why Peace Won't Come to Kashmir
http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SMN0307H-0-3680&artno=0000133560&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=kashmir%20conflict&title=Why%20Peace%20Won%27t%20Come%20to%20Kashmir&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=N&ic=Y
"Flashpoint Kashmir: Special Report" BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/355280.stm
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Q4 Outside Reading Posts A/B
Post A
Because this book is centered on this Bengali family newly arrived from Calcutta India you see these differences that contrast with the people around them. Right away on the first page it talks about how Ashima one of the main characters is in her apartment and she's not wearing any shoes. A lot of different people from Asia have this tradition almost of taking off your shoes and even your socks when your at home and this varies in a sense. Another difference appears when it comes time to name their newly born baby. The man in the hospital asks for a name but they tell him that they are waiting for a letter from their grandmother. He replies and says that they could name the baby after his father or an ancestor or even somebody they admire. But to the Gangulis this seems odd because to them a name is sacred and it can't be shared or be somebody else's.
Lastly one of the most evident differences is the ceremony they preform for Gogol their son. "By February, when Gogol is six months old, Ashima and Ashoke know enough people to entertain on a proper scale. The occasion:Gogol's annaprasan, his rice ceremony. There is no baptism for Bengali babies, no ritualistic naming in the eyes of God. Instead, the first formal ceremony of their lives centers around the consumption of solid food" (38).
Post B
So far in general I'm really liking the book and I think it has to do with the fact that I can relate to it on a personal level. There are a lot of cultural aspects in this book especially that I can connect to my life such as the food they eat and even the way they think in a sense. While I was reading I came upon a quote that I found really interesting; "Unlike her parents, and her other relatives, her grandmother had not admonished Ashima not to eat beef or wear skirts or cut off her hair or forget her family the moment she landed in Boston. Her grandmother had not been fearful of such signs of betrayal; she was the only person to predict, rightly, that Ashima would never change" (37). To me this is a really powerful quote and I was really able to connect with it and also the author in the sense of her background and the way she writes.
Ashoke who is one of the main characters also stood out. He seems really cold and unresponsive when it comes to emotions and this is vastly different to his wife Ashima. Not only that but it seems that he doesn't really even care which isn't true. I think it could have to do with his past because he came to America because he was on a train with a man who told him of traveling but the train crashed and almost killed him. So it could be the shock that he experienced and still does that affects him negatively when it comes to his emotions.
Because this book is centered on this Bengali family newly arrived from Calcutta India you see these differences that contrast with the people around them. Right away on the first page it talks about how Ashima one of the main characters is in her apartment and she's not wearing any shoes. A lot of different people from Asia have this tradition almost of taking off your shoes and even your socks when your at home and this varies in a sense. Another difference appears when it comes time to name their newly born baby. The man in the hospital asks for a name but they tell him that they are waiting for a letter from their grandmother. He replies and says that they could name the baby after his father or an ancestor or even somebody they admire. But to the Gangulis this seems odd because to them a name is sacred and it can't be shared or be somebody else's.
Lastly one of the most evident differences is the ceremony they preform for Gogol their son. "By February, when Gogol is six months old, Ashima and Ashoke know enough people to entertain on a proper scale. The occasion:Gogol's annaprasan, his rice ceremony. There is no baptism for Bengali babies, no ritualistic naming in the eyes of God. Instead, the first formal ceremony of their lives centers around the consumption of solid food" (38).
Post B
So far in general I'm really liking the book and I think it has to do with the fact that I can relate to it on a personal level. There are a lot of cultural aspects in this book especially that I can connect to my life such as the food they eat and even the way they think in a sense. While I was reading I came upon a quote that I found really interesting; "Unlike her parents, and her other relatives, her grandmother had not admonished Ashima not to eat beef or wear skirts or cut off her hair or forget her family the moment she landed in Boston. Her grandmother had not been fearful of such signs of betrayal; she was the only person to predict, rightly, that Ashima would never change" (37). To me this is a really powerful quote and I was really able to connect with it and also the author in the sense of her background and the way she writes.
Ashoke who is one of the main characters also stood out. He seems really cold and unresponsive when it comes to emotions and this is vastly different to his wife Ashima. Not only that but it seems that he doesn't really even care which isn't true. I think it could have to do with his past because he came to America because he was on a train with a man who told him of traveling but the train crashed and almost killed him. So it could be the shock that he experienced and still does that affects him negatively when it comes to his emotions.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Quarter 4 Outside Reading
The book I chose for this quarter is The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. I thought it would be a good book to read because of the background of not only the author but the characters in the book as well. Specifically I think reading their transition from India to America and then their day to day activities will make this book a great read. Also I read the first chapter and that got me instantly hooked so I just knew I had to go out and get it for this quarter's reading.
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