Shortly after beginning The Namesake, I felt sympathy towards Ashima because she feels miserable being away from her family. In this new country, "nothing feels normal to Ashima. For the past eighteen months, ever since she's arrived in Cambridge, nothing has felt normal at all."(Lahiri 5). Even though its been one and a half years since her arrival, Ashima simply cannot grow accustomed to the new place which is now her home. Even when her baby is born, and Ashima should feel overwhelmed by joy, she feels disconsolate because, "the baby's birth, like most everything in America, feels somehow haphazard, only half true."(25) I find it truly upsetting that Ashima can't enjoy motherhood because she feels so distressed. At home,"she cries as she feeds him, and as she pats him to sleep…She cries after the mailman's visit because there are no letters from Calcutta. She cries when she calls Ashoke at his department and he does not answer."(34) Clearly Ashima is going through a rough time, especially when she is left alone to care for her child.
Fortunately, Ashima finds some distractions and begins to feel better about herself. It was a great relief when Ashima decided to go out and run some errands because she finally begins to feel better. After this incident, Ashima begins to develop a more positive attitude and starts going out more along with Gogol, her child. She becomes even more lively after planning to go visit her family over the winter. She decides to buy some presents but unfortunately, she forgets them in the train on her way back home. Ashima is disconsolate and,"For the rest of the afternoon she is furious with herself, humiliated at the prospect of arriving in Calcutta empty-handed."(42) However, Ashima learns that her things are returned to the lost and found and, "this small miracle causes Ashima to feel connected to Cambridge in a way she has not previously thought possible."(43) Finally, Ashima has experienced a sense of happiness directly linked to the place which is now her home, and it makes her realize that not everything is as bad as she makes it out to be.
Fortunately, Ashima finds some distractions and begins to feel better about herself. It was a great relief when Ashima decided to go out and run some errands because she finally begins to feel better. After this incident, Ashima begins to develop a more positive attitude and starts going out more along with Gogol, her child. She becomes even more lively after planning to go visit her family over the winter. She decides to buy some presents but unfortunately, she forgets them in the train on her way back home. Ashima is disconsolate and,"For the rest of the afternoon she is furious with herself, humiliated at the prospect of arriving in Calcutta empty-handed."(42) However, Ashima learns that her things are returned to the lost and found and, "this small miracle causes Ashima to feel connected to Cambridge in a way she has not previously thought possible."(43) Finally, Ashima has experienced a sense of happiness directly linked to the place which is now her home, and it makes her realize that not everything is as bad as she makes it out to be.
Hi Erika!
ReplyDeleteI really liked your post this week, and it's funny how similar our blog posts about The Namesake were! We both talk about how everything is foreign to Ashima in the United States, and I actually used the exact same quote that you used - where Ashima describes her child's birth as haphazard - to prove her discomfort in America. What I really appreciated was that you went on to use the quotes where Ashima recovers her things that she left on the train and where she sees Cambridge in a new, more positive light, and you say, "Ashima has experienced a sense of happiness directly linked to the place which is now her home... It makes her realize that not everything is as bad as she makes it out to be." I think this is a wonderful point because it adds some much needed positivity to the chapter, and it had never occurred to me; the truth in this did not jump out at me while I was reading the chapters, so thank you and great post!