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Essay Available:
Pages:
2 pages/≈550 words
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Style:
MLA
Subject:
Literature & Language
Type:
Book Review
Language:
English (U.S.)
Document:
MS Word
Date:
Total cost:
$ 7.2
Topic:

The Namesake

Book Review Instructions:

https://www(dot)rljdmcdavpselibrary(dot)com/books/jhumpalahiri.pdf
Link to the book, read then follow the instruction.

Purpose:

You will be assigned three separate Reading Journal assignments as you read The Namesake – this is your first. These Reading Journal assignments are intended:

  • to offer you an informal space to begin expressing your thoughts about the novel and to begin making important thematic connections with our articles & TEDTalks through your selection and close reading/analysis of key passages (quotations) from the texts
  • to give you practice and preparation for Paper 3, which will require you to synthesize our course readings and develop your own argumentative claim about a globalization-related issue through your close reading and analysis of important passages in the texts

Assignment Requirements:

Overall, your Reading Journal assignment should be at least 2 paragraphs long and total at least 450 words. Include the word count at the end of your assignment, before your Work Cited information for your edition of The Namesake.

  • At least one paragraph focused on Ashoke and/or Ashima in response to the following:

What do chapters 2 and 3 reveal about Ashoke and/or Ashima’s evolving cultural identity and sense of belonging as they navigate their assimilation into American culture while trying to preserve their Bengali roots and traditions? To what extent are they becoming Americanized vs. resisting assimilation into the majority culture? Overall so far, do you feel that Ashima and/or Ashoke serve as examples to support that globalization is threatening cultural and linguistic diversity (as discussed in the articles by Traves & Luu, for instance), or not? Why/how or why not?  *See BB > Readings for articles!

*Notes: 1) You are welcome to focus on just one character or on both Ashoke and Ashima. 2) There is an important metaphor in chapter 3 – what two things are being compared, and why/how?

  • At least one paragraph focused on Gogol in response to the following:

Compare/contrast Gogol’s evolving understanding of his cultural identity with that of one or both of his parents, which you will have discussed above. What do these chapters (particularly ch. 3), and the emphasis on Gogol’s connection/disconnection with his name and Bengali language and cultural traditions, reveal about his own “hybrid” identity (to use Rachita Vasan’s term in Taylor’s essay) as a Bengali-American and the conflicts developing between the two generations of the Ganguli family: the first-gen immigrants (Ashoke & Ashima) vs. the first-gen Americans (their children, Gogol & Sonia)?

  • In each of your paragraphs, include the following to receive full credit:

-          Respond to each of the questions above

-          Support your response with specific references to words, situations, etc. in both chapters 2 & 3, including at least one direct quotation (from ch. 2 or 3) that you examine closely to explain how/why it illustrates your point of view. Other references to the text can be paraphrased in your own words.

-          Include parenthetical citations for all paraphrased references & direct quotations. Example: (Lahiri 19)

-          Establish a thematic connection with at least one of our previously discussed articles/TEDTalks based on one of the themes in red included in the sets of questions for each paragraph. Establish key points of convergence and/or divergence between the characters in The Namesake and the ideas/experiences discussed in the article/TEDTalk.

  • Include the word count, followed by your Work Cited information for The Namesake and any article or TEDTalk that you reference in each paragraph.

Grading:

Per our Grading Contract, you will receive “A” level credit (4 points on BB) if you complete this assignment on time and fulfill all requirements above.

 

Book Review Sample Content Preview:
Name
Institution
Course Code and Name
Instructor
Date
The Namesake
Ashima's major struggle entails how she assimilates into the American culture. It takes a long time before she can adjust to the change in her cultural identity and belonging. While naming her first child, she yearns to incorporate Bengali traditions by asking her grandmother to name the child. However, she gets into a conflict with the customs in the strange land, where she is alerted that she has to name the child, yet her grandmother's letter is yet to arrive. In chapter two, “For they learn that in America, a baby cannot be released from the hospital without a birth certificate and that a birth certificate needs a name” (Lahiri, 28). Here, even though Ashima tries to protest that they cannot possibly name the child by themselves, she learns that she has limited options. Eventually, Ashima reluctantly agrees to name her child Gogol. She does it because of the lack of a viable alternative, showing that she is becoming assimilated into the 'strange' culture. However, she vows to change the name immediately she receives the letter from her grandmother, demonstrating resistance to assimilating into the American culture (29). She further demonstrates resistance to the culture by expressing her deep desire to return to India. At this point, she is very angry with the American culture and feels isolated and probably not understood (33). She limits her interactions with Americans and closely associates with a few friends from Bengali. This way, she can keep off from being fully integrated into the ‘strange’ country.
However, as time goes by, Ashima starts overcoming her fear of...
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