Who is Living the American Dream in Gogols eyes?

This far into the novel we have two distinct families the Gangulis and the Ratliffs. Each family are polar opposites of each other, but i believe they are both living a form of the American Dream. In the 19th and 20th centuries a flood of immigrants came to the U.S seeking a better life, and many of them received this. The Gangulis fall directly into this category, they left everything and India and formed a prosperous life for themselves and their children. While still partially holding on to their culture. While on the other hand the Ratliffs are living another kind of American dream, pure wealth. This is the more appealing of the two american dreams, and why shouldn't it be? I think the more important thing in this is what Gogol see's. I think he is blind to the fact of how much his family is achieving and living the American dream. I think he does not fully understand this because of their continued practice of many Indian customs, and not truly accepting parts of the American culture. I think if Gogol saw how much his family has changed from their roots, and how they have improved so much from the start; he would think that his family was living the American Dream. While on the other hand all Gogol see's is the fact that the Ratliff's are the essence of the American dream. The extravagant dinners, the lake house, and just the luxury of life for the Ratliff's has him immediately turn a blind eye to his families American dream, and focus on the dream of being wealthy.  So in conclusion I believe that Gogol has turned a blind eye to his families American dream, and has become enamored with the lifestyles of the rich.

Was Changing his Name the Right decision?

 When I hear that someone got a name change I really think of two things. First, when immigrants arrive at Ellis Island they will change their name for a more American name. Then the other instance is an attention grab from some celebrity or sports player. Even my grandfather changed his name from Manocher to Micheal so it was easier to understand. In Gogols situation it is not done to be more understood by others; it is just a pure dislike of his name. I think that his actions were a fair thing to do at first the only connection he had to that name was that his father just liked the author Gogol. If i was Gogol i would see this as a selfish move by my father; he only did it because he liked the author. This all changes with the revelation that his father named him this because it represents everything that happened after the train crash. Now this name has an intense emotional value to Ashoke, and I think it was unjust for Gogol to get rid of this name just for a dislike of it. He can easily just be called Nikhil by his friends and introduce himself as that name. This practice is widely used here at Severn; many kids have nicknames they go by that are not their original names. Gogol could just get over the fact that his name is not the best, but it means so much to his father that he should not change his name because his dislike for it. Even if his new name represents his heritage more, Gogol does change his name to be closer to his heritage; he just does it because he doesn't like his name.

Comparing rice ceremonies

Now after reading three chapters into the novel we have experienced two different rice ceremonies Gogol's and Sonali's. These two rice ceremonies are very different and shows the Ganguli's evolution into Americans.  Gogol's rice ceremony is a small event with a small amount of people coming, they serve traditional food and it is a somber event. With Ashima wishing her brother was there. While Sonali's rice ceremony on the other hand was done in the "American" way. A building rented on campus with an industrial kitchen, and so many people are invited that the whole place is needed. I think the more important symbolism in this book is the what the children do at the rice ceremony. Gogol refuses to take anything and eats a little of food, while Sonali takes all three items and eats nothing. I think this symbolizes that Gogol is the more Indian of the baby he went along with the rice ceremony, while Sonali  takes all three things against the rules, and as one person puts it, "this one is a true american."(Lahari pg 63). I think Sonali is a part of the evolution of the Ganguli's into Americans, and they are slowly changing into Americans for their kids sake.

Finding Support in a Foreign Country

 In chapter two and three of The Namesake we start to see Ashima and Ashoke form a small community of other Indians in the same situation. This I find very interesting because I have personal experience with behavior like this. My Grandfather was born in Iran and once he came to America to become a doctor. He made friends with many other Iranians, and these friendships have lasted for decades. On the flip side when he brought my Irish grandmother back to Iran she became friends with a lot of other Americans living in Iran. This behavior of making friends of the same ethnicity as you in foreign countries, stems off the fact of wanting some normality and remembrance of home. This explanation easily fits into Ashima and Ashoke's situation, these Bengali friends become a second family even participating in family events, like Sonali's rice ceremony. This is mirrored in all of my grandfathers friends attending my parents wedding. This group of friends were family to my father, they ate together, vacationed together, and have countless stories to tell me when they all meet up. Even though great friends were made, I actually think this practice is a little counter intuitive. We see Ashima stuck in India even when she's in Cambridge, and these friends help her stay in this paralysis. If they went out and made friends who had different backgrounds and were "American". They would adapt much easier to the country they are living in at the moment not the one they used too live in. Even if making friends of different ethnicities might be a little harder to new immigrants.  I am not saying they shouldn't make these friends, but if you don't expand your horizons you could always stay in the country you used to know.

A Focus on Ashoke

In the end of the first and in the beginning of the second chapters of this novel we start to have a more clear defined Ashoke. He has more depth to his name, but what should we think of all this information? Ashoke seems to be a very contemporary Indian, not staying in his parents house after marriage and moving to America. This contemporary mindset comes from not being forward minded, but from his close to death experience with the train, "He imagined not only walking, but walking away, as far as he could from the place he was born and the place he nearly died."(Lahiri, 20) I think Ashoke came to America for a fresh start and to run away from his fear and memories that come with India. This is interesting because while Ashima compares everything to India, Ashoke left his family voluntarily for  America. This is now two conflicting mindsets. Ashima who wants to be home in India, while Ashoke wants to be far from India. I think this conflict will be addressed in the novel because it is a battle of the old and new India. As we see in the novel Ashoke suffers from some form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Every once in awhile he sees lurid images of being stuck in that train, the interesting thing instead of believing God rescued him he thinks Gogol the russian writer rescued him. I think Ashoke feels in debt to the writer because with out that page in his hand he believes he would of never been rescued. We easily see this with Ashoke naming the baby Gogol trying to fulfill the debt he feels to this writer.  In conclusion Ashoke is an interesting character because his mindset conflicts with his wife's mindset and feels in debt to a writer he has never met.

Making Early Predictions in the Novel

 So far in the Namesake we have seen our main character Ashima start to have contractions and go to the hospital, and while in the hospital we have seen flashbacks to her time in India and meeting her husband. I believe this will go on throughout the novel with a mix of flashbacks and current day events. I think this will be to contrast the culture in India and the culture in America. We have already seen a little of this in Ashima comparing how she would go to her parents to give birth in India. Compared to in America she goes to a hospital which she holds equivalent to a place of tragedy, not a place of life. Also, I think a main point of the novel will be her naming the baby and this is because the baby is American and will probably receive an Indian name, but he might want to have a more normal name. I am just predicting this off the fact that both his parents names aren't the most average American names. So the baby and later the child might not feel in place with a name that sticks out. Also i think another point of the story too go along with the name is the Americanization of the Ganguli's solely because we have seen so many comparisons to American and Indian culture in the book so far. Also we have had the flashbacks to India which show parts of the Indian way of life. In conclusion I believe the main plot points of the story will be the baby's name, and the Ganguli's struggle or resistance with the American culture.

If the Novel was Summed up in Seven Words

In the Time of the Butterflies is a book of unlikely heroes that became something bigger than they ever imagined. The thought of three sisters being the national symbols of freedom is a very unlikely thing in the heavily man led Domincan Republic. Which has had women take a back seat in social and political events since the beginning of the nation. These unlikely sisters defied the Dominican culture and denied the common thought of the time that women were not equal to men. The sisters then became the main symbols of the revolution. This is were I get my novel summary in seven words it is, The Unlikely Heroes Who Became the Revolution.Trujillo at that time was untouchable every rebellion was cruched merciessly with an iron fist, he was thought to be invincible. Then come along these three culture deifying sisters who become the symbols of the revolution. Trujillo tries to silence the sisters at first, but fails and this leads to the legend of the sisters growing to immense proportions. He puts the sisters on house arrest and the sisters names were still coherrent with the revolution. After Trujillo finally kills the sisters the legend grows more and more, and they still are  the images of the revolution. After death the sisters still defy Trujillo, and all that he stands for. In conclusion i believe that the sisters became the revolution against all odds culturally and politically, and their legend fueled the revolution.

How Julia Alvarez Makes Trujillo Such a Despicable Person

In the novel In The Time of The Butterflies by Julia Alvarez we all knew who the villain was, but what Julia Alvarez excelled at in this novel was the introduction and creating the character of Trujillo. In introducing Trujillo as the savior of  the Dominican Republic we are shown what the Dominicans actually believed. Not introducing him as the terrible tyrant he was shown as in the western media.   This puts the reader in the shoes of the Dominicans, and not just a condescending westerner looking at the situation in the Dominican Republic. One of the main glorification's of Trujillo that stuck out to me was the people of the Dominican Republic had a picture of Jesus then a picture of Trujillo, showing the blind support and love they had for their dictator. When Minerva first heard of who Trujillo actually was she was shocked, how could her glorious leader be such an evil person. Sinita took weeks of coaxing to tell Minerva what happened to her family, and the secret she knew about Trujillo. We now see how powerful and extensive Trujillo is, the people who know about who he is are scared almost speechless when thinking about him. This revelation opens up Minerva's eyes, but really didn't do justice to how evil Trujillo truly was.  We just have heard of stories of Trujillo's atrocities and how bad of a person he was. This is completely changed by one of the most tense scenes in the book, the party at one of Trujillo's many mansions. When dancing with Trujillo we see he is a slime ball, trying to come on to Minerva and get closer to her.  Even though  the slap might be the most exciting moment of the chapter, I believe we see the true extent of Trujillo's evil after Minerva slaps him. The fear the family is in for the next few months show the true extent of Trujillo's power, and how the people fear him. In conclusion Julia Alvarez does a great job of introducing Trujillo to us by using stories, and characters having personal experiences with Trujillo.