Friday, October 3, 2014
A Clash of Cultures Concerning Ashima
Near the end of the novel we learn Ashima is going to split up her time with six months in India and six months in America. I think the real question is which six months is she home? We discussed this a little in class, and Ashima even calls America her home. But, I would like to focus on why she is even going to India if America is her home. I think Ashima almost feels obligated by herself to visit India even if most of the family she knew there is dead now. This is because in the beginning of the novel she constantly talked about going to India, but at some point she wanted to stay in america more. I think now that she can go to India for six months straight she feels she must because of all the time she lost in India. But, while in America I think she constantly tried to create a little India with all of these Bengali friends and it worked in a way. I think in the midst of creating this little India she started to represent these Bengali friends as her family, so America becomes her home. She does the American thing in blending her culture with some aspects of the American culture, so even if it is not the America you and I see; it is the America Ashima see's
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Ryan, I love your last statement in this post. Although I understand where your point comes from, I slightly disagree with the argument you are making. In America, people move around a lot; this causes people to create family with friends. Ashima makes American friends at the library she works at. Knowing this, even people like us (readers) can see Ashima as an American.
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