Week Five Discussion (pages 136-168)

Happy Friday Scholars,

Here we are...the first week of August and week five of The Namesake.  Time is moving quickly during what I hope is an incredible summer for you all!  Speaking of incredible, the 32 pages you read this week of The Namesake took Nikhil (Gogol) deeper on his journey of self discovery as well as challenged the structure of the Ganguli family, much more on this next week.

Whether you are reading along with us, or catching up to this point I am proud of each of you for putting forth great effort to read the novel.  I recognize that you all have many additional responsibilities besides summer reading.  Thank you for including this as part of your commitments.  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 fifth section of the text (pages 136-168):

1.Where does Nikhil get a graduate degree in architecture? Why does he choose to study in New York rather than in Boston?

2. How does he meet Maxine Ratliff, and how does his relationship with her transform his life?

3.  How are Gerald and Lydia, Maxine's parents, different from Nikhil's parents?


4. Why does Nikhil believe that his active participation into Maxine's family is like a "betrayal" (141) of his own?

5. What warnings does Nikhil give Maxine before they go to his parents' house? Characterize how  Maxine's visit with Nikhil's parents.

6. When spending time in "paradise" (152) with Maxine and her family, why doesn't Nikhil have "nostalgia" (155) or a longing for the past for the vacations he has been on with his family?

7. How does Maxine hear Nikhil's pet name for the first time? How does she react when Nikhil explains the difference between his pet name and his good name?

8. How does Nikhil celebrate his 27^th birthday?

9.  Why does Nikhil's father move to Ohio?

10. How does Ashima learn of her husband's death?


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 Nikhil's (Gogol's) navigation between American and Indian culture.  As previously noted, this presents challenges to him as he lives his adult life as an American of Indian descent. Consider this as you prepare your response. We look forward to the discussion. Remember next week's reading includes pages 169-202.  Enjoy the week ahead!