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.