The Namesake - An Old Family Friend

        After distancing himself from his parents, Gogol is really affected when he finds out about his father's unexpected death. He immediately sets out for the hospital to identify his body and to clear out his apartment. Due to his father's death, "he knows now the guilt that his parents carried inside, at being able to do nothing when their parents had died in India, of arriving weeks, sometimes months later, when there was nothing left to do." (Lahiri 179). Gogol is filled with guilt because now that his father is dead, he can't do anything to make up for the lost time. All that he has left are memories.  He is so conflicted with his emotions that even Maxine's presence becomes an annoyance and he ends up pushing her away. When Maxine pays her respects to his family for their loss, Gogol is "aware that his father's death does not affect Maxine in the least."(182) Even though Maxine is just trying to support him during this troubled time, he is bothered because she is incapable of understanding the pain he is going through.
        Fortunately for Gogol, Moushumi, an old family friend comes back into his life. At first, Gogol is not too excited to see her since his mother was the one to encourage him to do so. He doesn't remember much about her except that she always carried a book with her and that they never really talked. During their first encounter, Gogol is intrigued that, "This is the first time he's been out with a woman who'd once known him by that other name."(193) Gogol soon becomes interested in her because he likes the fact that she is not a complete stranger. Since they are both American born with Bengali parents, it is no surprise that they click instantaneously. They understand each other because as kids they were both forced to practice their Indian traditions. Although they each promised themselves that they would never marry a Bengali, it is clear that they are meant for each  other.

The Namesake - Home

        After reading six chapters of The Namesake, I've noticed that both Gogol and his parents have trouble identifying a place where they truly belong. Ashima and Ashoke do not view their house in Pemberton Road as home, and after living in America for so long, India is no longer their home either. Gogol does not regard his parents house as home, and sadly he feels more comfortable wherever he is far away from them.
        At one point, Gogol mentions that he, "makes the mistake of referring to New Haven as home."(Lahiri 108), the city where he goes to college. He understands that saying this upsets his parents, yet he feels the right to call it home because it is perhaps the only place where he has ever felt comfortable.  Ashima is clearly insulted and she tells him that, "after twenty years in America, she still cannot bring herself to refer to Pemberton Road as home."(108) It is understandable that Ashima feels a sense of betrayal since her son is subtly admitting that New Haven, and not where he was raised by his parents, is the place where he belongs. It is also upsetting that she admits that after spending twenty years in America, it is not a place she identifies as home. Yet again, whenever they visit India, "Gogol [is] aware of an obligation being fulfilled; that it [is] above all else, a sense of duty that [draws] his parents back."(141-142). If they really feel a sense of obligation to go back to India, then it simply can't be the place they call home either.
        If Gogol's parents are so conflicted about where their home lies, then it is no surprise that Gogol feels the same way. At one point, Gogol is forced to attend a discussion about Indian novels written in English, and he learns about the term ""American-born confused deshi." In other words, him." (118). This term is used to describe Indians who don't know where they are form or where they belong, and Gogol accepts that he is one of them. Eventually, Gogol realizes that he wishes to be deeply connected to a place. This happens when he joins his girlfriend at her parents summer home, "He realizes that this is a place that will always be here for her." (156). That is exactly the type of place that Gogol needs for himself, a place that he can always go back to no matter what.

The Namesake - A New Home

           In the first two chapters of The Namesake, I have read about the story of an Indian couple who leaves behind their home in Calcutta, and emigrate to the United States. While Ashoke goes to college to get his degree, Ashima stays in their apartment feeling homesick and depressed. She talks about the hardships she endures in a new country, including raising her firstborn child far away from India.

         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.

  

Underground man

The first part of Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky was a bit difficult to read but at the same time, it was interesting to decipher the underground man’s thoughts. At first, I dismissed the underground man as being totally crazy because he simply contradicts himself too much and it takes away his credibility. Further into the book however, I realized that it is important to pay attention to his contradictions without easily dismissing his opposing arguments.
            As I read, I noticed some similarities between the underground man and other characters I have read about. At one point, the underground man talks about the difficulties he would encounter if he ever wanted to take revenge and he says, “I would certainly never have made up my mind to do anything, even if I had been able to.” (Dostoevsky 9). When I read this I immediately thought of Hamlet because throughout the play he keeps telling himself that he will kill Claudius but it takes him a long time to actually go through with it. Neither Hamlet nor the underground man are men of action because they are very indecisive.
           At the end of part one,the underground man reveals that even though he refers to an audience while writing, it is only to make it easier for himself to express his thoughts. Then he moves on to add that a memory from the past has been bothering him and  says, “For some reason I believe that if I write it down I will get rid of it.”( Dostoevsky 38). When I read this it reminded me of Esperanza from The House on Mango Street who also resorts to writing in order to escape and free herself from the memories that cause her pain. Both of these characters rely on writing to help rid themselves of their troubled thoughts.
           I hope that during the second part of Notes from Underground, the underground man will reveal the memory that has been floating around in his mind.

A More Complete Story

 A More Complete Story  

In Things Fall Apart and The House on Mango Street, Chinua Achebe and Sandra Cisneros present a more encompassing view of the Ibo and Mexicans by focusing on a member that is a part of these groups,  acknowledging the dark side of their communities, and showing their aspirations to succeed in life. The House on Mango Street is a story about a young girl named Esperanza who is ashamed of her community and wishes to escape it.  The single stories about the Ibo and Mexicans are very similar, the most common stereotypes classify them as  poor, violent, and ignorant. Achebe and Cisneros attempt to complete this single story through Okonkwo and Esperanza who are individuals that share their thoughts about their own people. Through these characters, both authors show the flaws of the Ibo and Mexicans and undertake the task of further explaining them. Achebe and Cisneros create characters with imperfections but although they have their flaws, they are strong individuals who will try to achieve greatness despite the difficulties they encounter. 

Achebe and Cisneros create the characters of  Okonkwo and Esperanza, and use them as tools to provide insight on their communities. Through Okonkwo, Achebe presents the Ibo as hard working people and he explains that, “During the planting season Okonkwo worked daily on his farms from cock-crow until the chickens went to roost.” (Okonkwo 13) Okonkwo is a man that wakes up eager to work and that puts a lot of labor into his farming. Cisneros also presents Mexicans as hard workers through Esperanza’s story of a neighbor. Esperanza explains how the man saved money to bring his wife and child from another country, and in order to do so, "He worked two jobs He came home late and he left early. Every day." (Cisneros 76).The man was determined to bring his family together and he put a lot of effort to see it happen. Achebe and Cisneros present the Ibo and Mexicans as hard working people to reveal their commendable actions.

     In addition to being hard workers, Achebe and Cisneros describe the Ibo and Mexicans as caring people that want the best for their family. Achebe explains that, “Okonkwo wanted his son to be a great farmer and a great man. He would stamp out the disquieting signs of laziness which he thought he already saw in him.” (Achebe 28) Since Okonkwo had to work himself up from the bottom, he wants to make sure that it will be easier for his son to become a great farmer. In The House on Mango Street, Esperanza’s mom also wants her to be successful, and she tells her, “I could’ve been somebody, you know? Esperanza, you go to school. Study hard.” (Cisneros 91) As opposed to Okonkwo, Esperanza’s mom didn’t achieve much, but just like him, she wants her child to have a bright future. Achebe and Cisneros shed light on the good qualities of the Ibo and Mexicans to complete the single story.

In order to capture the true essence of the Ibo and Mexicans, Achebe and Cisneros acknowledge their imperfections because they are made up of both their admirable and undesirable traits combined. Mexicans as well as the Ibo are considered to live under a patriarchal society where men have most of the power. Okonkwo shares that, “No matter how prosperous a man [is], if he [is] unable to rule his women and children (and especially his women) he [is] not really a man.” (Achebe 53) Within the clan, the power of men is defined by imposing dominance over women and it becomes a larger problem when men assert their power through physical abuse. When Okonkwo’s wife comes home late from plaiting her hair, he is furious, “And when she [returns] he [beats] her very heavily.”(Achebe 29). Although she hasn’t committed  a great offense, Okonkwo uses the power he has over his wife to punish her. Similar to the Ibo, Esperanza shares that, “Mexicans don’t like their women strong.”(Cisneros 10), and also discusses the story of Sally who gets hit by her father.  Esperanza says that, “Sally doesn’t tell about that time he hit her with his hands just like a dog, she said, like if I was an animal. He thinks I’m going to run away like his sisters who made the family ashamed. Just because I’m a daughter, and then she doesn’t say.”(Cisneros 92). It is because Sally is a woman that her father hits her, even when she hasn’t done anything wrong. Cisneros and Achebe recognize that there are occasions when Mexicans and the Ibo transform into ruthless people.

In addition, the Ibo and Mexicans are also seen as violent people and as criminals. During the onset of imperialism, “Three converts had gone into the village and boasted openly that all the gods were dead and impotent and that they were prepared to defy them by burning all their shrines. “Go and burn your mothers’ genitals,” said one of the priests. The men were seized and beaten until they streamed with blood.”(Achebe 154). The Ibo are outraged that missionaries criticize their beliefs and also threaten them, so they attack them. It is usually not part of their nature to attack someone, but imperialism has made them change their ways. In the House on Mango Street, Esperanza tells about the time when a neighbor's cousin gave her a ride in a very fancy car, “The seventh time we drove into the alley we heard sirens...real quiet at first, but then louder. Louie’s cousin stopped the car right where we were and said, Everybody get out of the car.” (Cisneros 24). He was trying to run away from the cops because he had stolen the car. Achebe and Cisneros show both the positives and the negatives of the Ibo and Mexicans so they won’t be defined by only one or the other.

Achebe and Cisneros explain how the communities that Okonkwo and Esperanza live in influence their desire to succeed, and in doing so they show a missing part of the single story. Okonkwo grew up in poverty, and he, “did not have the start in life which many young men usually had. He did not inherit a barn from his father. There was no barn to inherit.” (Achebe 16). Since his father hadn’t been successful, Okonkwo had to work very hard to gain respect and a title among the Ibo. Achebe also states that, “His life had been ruled by a great passion - to become one of the lords of the clan. That had been his life-spring.” (Achebe 131), and Okonkwo worked hard to achieve it. Despite the troubled neighborhood that Esperanza is a part of, she wants to be like the four skinny trees, “Four who grew despite concrete, four who reach and do not forget to reach. For whose only reason is to be and be.” ( Cisneros 75). She wants to become someone successful despite of where she comes from, and doesn’t want to give up until she reaches her goal. Esperanza wishes that “One day [she’ll] own [her] own house but [she] won’t forget who [she is] or where [she]came from.” (Cisneros 87). Esperanza’s Mexican roots will always be a part of her and she accepts it because being Mexican is what drives her to become the person she wants to be.

Okonkwo and Esperanza share the goal of wanting to become someone important that others can look up to.

   In Things Fall Apart and The House on Mango Street, Achebe and Cisneros attempt to provide a more complete story of Mexicans and the Ibo.They create characters who are strong individuals and who allow us to see the admirable attributes and the faults of their people. Both the Ibo and Mexicans are lions, in some cases they might be violent and dangerous, but they are also strong willed and they won’t go down without a fight. The authors recognize that there is always room for improvement and show this through Okonkwo’s and Esperanza’s aspirations for a better life. Achebe and Cisneros believe that people must be recognized for both their strengths and their flaws because it is the only way in which their stories will be complete.

Things Fall Apart: ObiErika and Nwoye

          After reading the first two parts of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Obierika and Nwoye are two characters that have really caught my attention. Just to make things clear, this is not only due to the fact that Obierika has my name in it! 
       Like everyone else in their clan, Obierika and Nwoye follow the rules that have been set up by their ancestors, but they begin to question why certain actions must be followed through.
       After Okonkwo flees Umuofia because he accidentally kills a boy, Obierika is one of the men who burns and destroys Okonkwo's home in order to cleanse the land. When the deed is done and Obierika is all alone, he begins to ponder over the situation and over his friend's misfortune.  He wonders, "Why should a man suffer so grievously for an offense he [has] committed inadvertently?"(Achebe 125)Obierika does not understand why Oknonkwo should be punished and forced to leave his home, when his action was merely an accident. Furthermore, he goes on to remember how he threw away his twin children even though they hadn't done anything to deserve this faith. Obierika is filled with conflicted emotions and questions why such unfair situations must occur to innocent people. 
        Just like Obierika, Nwoye does not agree with some of the clans orders. In his childhood, Nwoye was scarred by the death of Ikemefuna who was like a brother to him. His death was ordered by the Oracle and the orders were driven out by Nwoye's own father. It was no surprise when Nwoye felt attracted towards the white men and their new religion. It offered a different perspective in which Nwoye hoped to obtain explanations which he had not received from his own people.

"How to Spot a Liar"

        In this Ted Talk, Pamela Meyer talks about different ways that you can tell if a person is lying. It is amazing to think that all persons are liars. Even though we say we are against lying, because from a young age we are taught that it is wrong, our words are discredited by the lies we constantly make. 

Meyer says that 1 year olds lie by using concealment, 2 year olds bluff, 5 year olds lie and manipulate by using flattery, 9 year olds use cover ups, and by the time you are a teenager, you lie to your parents in 1 out of 5 interactions. It is incredible how from a young age we begin to lie to our parents in order to stay out of trouble and rid ourselves of consequences due to our bad behavior. We don't realize that by lying instead of admitting our wrongdoings we are making it even worse. According to Meyer, everyday you are likely to be lied to from 10 to 200 times a day, so I suggest from now on you be on the lookout! 

There are many signs that you can look for to tell if a person is lying. Usually we believe that when a person is lying, they will fidget and they won't make eye contact, but when people lie they keep their upper body straight and they make sure to look you straight in the eye. People who lie usually shift their blinking rate, point their feet towards an exit, lower their vocal tone, and put objects between them and the people they are lying to. Also, people who lie will use way too much detail and use formal rather than informal language, for example they will say "did not" instead of "didn't". I learned that women lie more to protect other people, men lie more about themselves, and extroverts lie more than introverts. People lie for many different reasons it might be to get out of trouble, to blame another, or to protect someone else. 

I found it interesting how Meyer explained that lying is a cooperative act. Usually we think of the person being lied to as the victim, but Meyer is trying to say that the person who is being lied to is unconsciously taking part in the lie. The only way that we can abstain from participating in a lie is to learn to identify the signs of a person who is lying. When people learn to identify these signs, lying will become more looked down on. Only then will honesty become more valued in our every day lives.