The Importance of Family

Gogol is constantly being pressured by his parents. He has very little say over many of the decisions in his life. They hold on so tightly that Gogol eventually pushes back. He chooses not to go to MIT because he wants to be somewhere that won't remind him of his parents. If Ashima and Ashoke had been in India they would be surrounded by family all the time. In America they don't have a large support group. They have other Bengali friends, but it is not the same. Gogol doesn't fully understand this. He is American. He has grown up in a different culture. His parents keep Gogol so close because he and his sister are the only family they have in America. Gogol pushes his family away when all they want is to be there to support him. He doesn't understand that they need him and he also needs them.

Gogol to Nikhil

Gogol deciding to change his name is understandable. It is often hard to be taken seriously when your name is odd. Gogol sounds childish not professional. While a name doesn't define your personality traits, it still defines you. It is your identity. No one wants an identity they are ashamed of. They want to wear their name proudly. Maybe it was a copout in a way for Gogol to legally change his name. It was his way of not dealing with the uncomfortable truth he had yet to accept himself as a person and his heritage. Still, it is justifiable. To take himself seriously, he needed others to do so as well. 

Extended Trip to Calcutta

Ashima and Ashoke decide to move their family to Calcutta for eight months. Gogol is in tenth grade. He has school, friends, and a life in America. It was extremely unfair of the parents to do this to their children. As a current tenth grader, it is almost impossible to imagine my parents telling me that we would be moving to a different country with a different language and way of life. Still, I have to sympathize with Ashima. She wasn’t much older than her son was when she was forced to move to the United States. This was her chance to return to her roots. As bad as I feel for her though, I am still appalled that both Ashima and Ashoke were okay with their son also taking an eight-month break from school. Over all, I think it was a mistake for the Gangulis to go back to Calcutta for such an extended period of time. 

Books of Comfort

When Ashima fits arrived in America she reread the handful of books and magazines she brought from home several times. When her daughter is first forced to move to India she did the exact same thing. People seek comfort when they are placed in a completely different environments. Many become attached to the books they read. They become a connection to the place they used to live. Just reading words written in their native language makes them feel at home. They're somewhere completely new with a new language. Reading their favorite books reminds them that their has some normalcy.

So Stubborn She's Practically American

In The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, the main character Ashima is incredibly judgmental of her new home America. She hates almost every aspect of life there. Sometimes we hold on too tightly to what we want that we forget to enjoy what we have. People are stubborn. They pout and feel sorry for themselves. They refuse to be happy with what they have because they weren't given what they expected. In many ways these traits are commonly expected of Americans. Oddly enough, while Ashima feels no connection to her new nation, she already seems to be adopting their ways. She's so stubborn she's practically American.

Does Your Name Actually Affect Who You Are?

Does your name actually affect who you are? I would say yes it does. Everyone's name has a background wether it's just that you're parents thought it sounded nice or that you were named specifically after someone. Maybe your name was carefully chosen by some cultural practice. As Americans, I sometimes believe we loose sight of the importance of names in other countries. Here we have a diverse group of people with equally unique sets of names, but in some places names can mean so much more. When we hear names some make us think a person is from a certain place. Where we are born shapes part of who we are. It helps us develop our traditions, values, and ideas of the world. So when you really think about it doesn't that mean our names account for part of who we are?

Julia Alvarez's Inspiration for In the Time of the Butterflies

Julia Alvarez was not born in the Dominican Republic, but she lived there for the first ten years of her life. Her parents were part of the underground rebellion during a time of political turmoil, the time of the Mirabal sisters. The story starts with a woman who has Hispanic roots but is from America interviewing Dedé. It seems as though the interviewer is meant to be Alvarez herself. The author drew on her own experiences and her parent's political influence which probably helped inspire her to write the novel. She has told people in previous interviews she wanted to share the story of her country. Had the Dominican Republic not been a large part of Alvarez's life, she most likely would have never decided to write the book. Before the book, not many people outside the Dominican Republic were aware of the tragedy of the three sisters who perished for the greater good of the nation. Julia Alvarez brought the story to the world. She helped everyone remember so the world could move forward.

Point of View Throughout In the Time of the Butterflies

In the Time of the Butterflies gives the perspective of all four Mirabal sisters. It can get confusing at times switching narrators and time periods. However, it gives readers a unique insight into the stories of each sister and why they joined the rebellion (or chose not to in Dedé’s case). Minerva and Patria’s portions are written in first person. Mariá Teresa’s is also first person, but it is expressed through her diary entries. It seems to symbolize her innocence. She’s a child writing in her special little book she keeps hidden. Dedé’s story, unlike her sisters’, is told from third person point of view, almost as though it is her interviewer writing. Changing point of view, while occasionally confusing, helps separate each individual sister’s portion. The set pattern of each sister’s perspective set over three time periods also assists in keeping all the stories straight. Julia Alvarez’s set up for the novel gives it an interesting dynamic that I thoroughly enjoyed. You get to hear four stories all connected and intertwined into one large one over 22 troubling years.