Kelly+Fineberg+-+The+Namesake

Title: The Namesake Author: Jhumpa Lahiri By: Kelly Fineberg __Setting:__
 * [[image:map1.jpg width="375" height="290" caption="After the Ganguli's have their baby, they move to Boston, Massachusettes."]] || [[image:birthcertificate1.jpg width="400" height="297" caption="After the family moves, they are asked what name they want to put on their childs birth certificate. They are waiting or a name being sent by the grandmother back in India."]] ||

__Character:__ Gogol name decided on because they couldn't wait any longer for the grandmothers choice of a name. Evolution of his name: Gogol--->Nikhil--->Nick
 * [[image:indian_flag.jpg width="446" height="244" caption="Gogol left his Indian culture and became 'Americanized'."]] || [[image:aworld.jpg width="279" height="252" caption="Thinks the world revolves around himself."]] ||

__Cultural Information:__ Gogol and his family find a group of Bengali's that relate to them. They form a group and celebrate holidays and special occasions with traditions. Some of the traditions are: - The traditional way of serving food is on the floor, where individual pieces of carpet, called //asans//, are spread for each person to sit on. -Small banana trees are placed at the entrance of the house. Under this tree, a copper pitcher-shaped vessel is placed. In this vessel, a mango stem with five leaves is placed in water. After a Bengali wedding takes place, the tree is kept for ten days. This tree with the mango stems is a symbol of marriage. -Bengali's celebrate the New Year on the 13th or 14th of April which is called //Baisakh.//

__How to Read Literature Like a Professor__ The turning point in "The Namesake" occured when Gogol's father died. This is symbolic because it makes him realize that he is the one who can pass on his culture. He comes to think that he must become closer with his family again.

__Recommendation: __ This is a very good book to read. It relates to a lot of people who have moved to the United States and have betrayed their culture. I would recomend it to all readers because it is an easy book to read, and is not boring at all. On a scale of 1-10 difficulty wise, I would give it a 6. It is a good novel to read if you are in high school because you can look at the diversity and relate it to the book. The book is very realistic and is a fantastic book to read. 