Namesake Post #3

Is there a journey in your novel? Figurative? Physical? What does it mean?

The namesake centers on a two-generation journey that takes the reader all around the world. The journey is both physical and figurative. The meaning of the journey was finding whom you are and accepting who that is. The journey was figurative in the respect that you can’t literally find yourself. Ashima and Ashoke struggle with finding in an identity in a new world. They are not 100% Indian anymore but they are far from 100% American. A sense of exile looms over them as they are awoken by late night phone calls from India to learn of deaths that they can do nothing about, they are powerless and alone. The sense of exile was passed down from one generation to another when they picked a name for their firstborn son. Gogol struggles with his name his entire life it is strange and different and he comes to resent his parents for giving it to him. His name isolates him he is one of a kind and that isn’t always easy to accept. This journey is also physical in certain respects. Gogol changes his name to Nikhil and then as Nikhil he dates 3 different women. Each woman was different and unique, and for each woman Nikhil adjusts his personality, and each time when in love he thinks he has found himself. Every single time he is wrong each relationship ended and Gogol was left to wonder about his identity. Gogol’s failures can sum up the meaning of the journey in the novel; you will not find yourself in another person you may only find yourself from within.

Namesake Post #2

What do you think might have inspired the author to write this particular story?

I think the author of the namesake Jhumpa Lahiri was inspired to write the novel to share her experience. Lahiri was born in London and moved to America when she was two her parents were Indian immigrants. Her story in many ways reflects Gogol’s. Lahiri was called by her pet name starting in Pre School because teachers found it easier to pronounce then her proper name. When asked about her name she said, “I always felt so embarrassed by my name.... You feel like you're causing someone pain just by being who you are." Her struggle to come to grips with her name reflects the struggle Gogol goes through. The name in both cases is very foreign when the individual views himself or herself as completely American. The challenge of finding your own unique identity exists no matter where you were born but it is particularly challenging for immigrants. When someone instantly defines based on your name and skin color it is challenging to communicate who you are. The set of challenges that Jhumpa Lahiri faced when growing gave her the inspiration to share her story so others know they’re not alone.

Namesake Post #1

Does your novel represent a particular non‐American culture? What does it say about that culture?

The novel features multiple non-American cultures but the most prominent is Indian culture. The novel gives perspectives of Indian culture one coming from immigrants who left their homeland. Some views of Indian culture can be drawn from an immigrant’s critique of American culture. When Ashima sits alone in a hospital with curtains on either side she reflects on American culture, “She had gathered that Americans, in spite of their public declarations of affection, in spite of their miniskirts and bikinis, in spite of their hand holding on the street and lying on each other on Cambridge Common, prefer their privacy” (3). Americans while being publicly bolder and more outspoken then Indians they are not as intimate as Indians and prefer privacy and solitude. In India privacy and solitude are hard to come by and are not desired. India is a very closely-knit culture where individuals rarely experience moments good or bad by themselves. India also holds onto age-old traditions and once in America Ashiama and Ashoke along with the other Indians living on their area feel traditions becoming less significant. Their dress becomes Americanized their food becomes less Indian. The children they have consider themselves totally American. Despite trying to ingrain Indian culture in their children the children prefer Christmas to the Indian alternative, they prefer American food, and they feel no sense of nostalgia when watching Indian movies. Immigrants are overwhelmed by Americans lack of tradition their willingness to do things differently then their parents did. India embodies tradition, custom, and heritage. The novel offered both a nostalgic view of Indian culture that hoped America would become more like India, and one that saw it as backward, and hard to understand. The message in the end is that the culture is somewhere between the two polar views.

Awakening Post #3

Ending? Could you have predicted it? Does it make sense? Is it satisfying?

The Awakening ends with Edna returning to Grand Isle for some extended solitary time. Once there she bumps into Victor Lebrun and she is pleasant towards him and asks him to arrange a place for her to sleep and for a meal. She then strolls down to the ocean and, instead of swimming in a bathing suit, she opts to swim naked. As Edna swims out into the ocean she goes as far as she had ever gone, and didn’t stop there. Eventually she became too tired to continue and she gave into her exhaustion. The book never directly states her death but instead references her exhaustion and how she was giving up. Her death can make sense as she had been growing bolder and she simply overestimated her abilities when getting into the water. The ending is far from satisfying as it only leaves more questions and doesn’t answer anything. We never get to know how Robert responded to the news of Edna’s death.  It isn’t known if Leonce was crestfallen or if he simply decided to pick a new wife. It is never made clear if Edna’s awakening had any real impact on anything or anyone at all. All that is learned from the ending of the book is that Edna is not a strong swimmer and that she is dead because of that fact.

Awakening Post #2

Write about the setting of the novel. How does it affect the story? Do changes in setting reflect changes in the tone or narrative?

The events of the novel take place in Grand Isle, a tourist venue where the elite spend their summers, and the city of New Orleans. The setting has a profound impact on the story as it impacts the mood and mindset of the protagonist Edna. Throughout the novel, Edna seems to drift from setting to setting, never really finding her true self. This helpless drifting may be raising the question of  the real place women have in a society. It is on Grand Isle, where the rules are relaxed in the summer heat, that Edna begins to realize a possible place for her in the world. This realization moves the story forward, and when the Pontelliers return to New Orleans the tone of the novel has changed. The tone of the novel after returning to New Orleans is characterized by frustration and desperation. Edna had become a different person on Grand Isle and the person she became doesn’t fit into the Creole lifestyle that is prevalent in New Orleans. Her interest in art and sex, and lack of interest in children and housekeeping, doesn’t fit the mold. Edna becomes less and less capable of fitting into New Orleans and eventually returns to Grand Isle. At Grand Isle her life ends tragically in the very ocean where she gained her sense of freedom.

Awakening Post #1

Discuss the title of the novel. Is it appropriate? In what way? If you could give this novel a different title, what might that be?

The Awakening is a very appropriate title for the novel. It is appropriate because it aptly describes the process the main character, Edna Pontellier, experiences, as she becomes a more aware and conscious human being. The process is similar to waking up from a deep sleep; she is slow and at times foggy. The process is described after Edna refused Mr. Pontellier’s request to come up to bed: “Edna began to feel like one who awakens gradually out of a dream, a delicious, grotesque, impossible dream, to feel again the realities pressing into her soul” (42).  As the novel progresses and Edna becomes more and more aware of her position in the world, the growing awareness of her emotions and societal limitations symbolizes her awakening. If I could give the novel a different I would change it back to its original title. The original title of the novel was A Solitary Soul and it appropriately describes Edna’s behavior and isolation. Throughout the story, Edna evolves into a more and more solitary character. At one point insight into Edna’s lifestyle is offered, “even as a child she had lived her own small life all within herself.” She lived her life independently, alone with her thoughts. Both titles serve the novel well and each offers unique insight into Edna and what the novel is about.