Week Four Discussion (pages 102-135)

Happy Saturday Scholars,

Hope you are enjoying this final weekend of July! With August upon us that means senior year is quite near. But I'm getting ahead of myself.  This week in The Namesake brought a great number of inner conflicts for Gogol (person vs. self) that come from his need to constantly define his identity (person vs. society/person vs. person).  Also as a reminder, if you are not quite done with pages up to page 135, no worries. Keep reading and you will meet us when you can.  You can do this!  As always, if you have any questions, comments or concerns please reach out so we can make sure everything you are reading is clear.

Here are some questions to consider for the fourth section of the text (pages 102-135):

1.Where does Gogol decide to go to college?

2.What decision does Gogol make about his name before leaving home?

3.  What reasons does Gogol give his parents for this decision?


4. What courses does Gogol take in his first semester at college? Why doesn't he tell his parents about the fifth course he takes in drawing? What kind of career are they hoping he will choose?

5. To what profession does this drawing class lead him? Why?

6. On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving during his sophomore year, whom does Gogol meet on the train between New Haven and Boston? Why does he find his own upbringing "bland" or boring (111) compared to her upbringing? What happens after Thanksgiving break?

7. How does Sonia, "revealing a confident, frequent, American smile" now that "her braces have come off her teeth" (107), seem to be more "American" than Gogol was at her age?

8. How does Gogol's meeting with his cousin Amit give us a clear view of his conflict with his cultural identity?

9.  Why does Gogol spend Thanksgiving of his senior year alone with his father?

10.  What happens on Gogol's train ride to Boston that makes Ashoke tell Gogol the full history of the reason for his name? How does he react to the story? How does his father assure Gogol that his name has always had a positive association in his mind despite the tragedy that brought it into being?


Think about your responses. You do not need to answer all the questions here unless you would like to do so. Instead, use the questions to explore the themes of the reading.

The novel is called The Namesake. As the story develops we must consider Gogol's navigation between American and Indian culture.  As previously noted, this presents challenges to him as he grows into young adulthood. Consider this as you prepare your response. We look forward to the discussion. Remember next week's reading includes pages 136-168.  Enjoy!

PS...it's not too early to start thinking about the college process yourselves.