Double Entry Journal Example

Pg. 35 “Two children, a little boy of about seven and a little girl who might have been a year older, were playing, very gravely and with all the focused attention of scientists intent on a labor of discovery, a rudimentary sexual game.“Charming, charming!” the D.H.C. repeated sentimentally.”

They have never been on a date in their lives and therefore they see no reason to encourage Gogol, certainly not at his age." Both of Gogol's parents grew up learning the Bengali culture. They know that living in another country may change some of their traditions, but they still want to withhold the culture as much as possible. Nevertheless, Gogol doesn't so much care for his Bengali culture because it is now affecting his life. Gogol's relationships have been affected by his cultural collision, "His relationship with her is one accomplishment in his life about which they are not in the least bit proud or pleased... He wishes his parents could simply accept her as her family accepts him, without pressure of any kind." Both Gogol and his parents have been brought up differently about things. Because they don't see eye to eye their relationship isn't like it used to be. Now that Gogol is growing up, his diverse traditions are affecting his life with his girlfriend and his family. All of Gogol's life is not being afflicted because Gogol has stopped continuing the Bengali culture. It is just grasping the American culture more than he did in the past.

“Every time, when I got my self into position to jump, I felt a flash of disbelief that was I was doing anything so perilous. But I always jumped. Otherwise I would have lost face with Phineas, and that would have been unthinkable.” P. 34

Gogol grapples with his name throughout the majority of the novel, yet this tension was in the makings even before his birth. Ashoke and Ashima being immigrants set Gogol up to live in two different cultures, American and Bengali. Many children of immigrants may feel like Gogol, having one foot in each world. Gogol framed his struggle with cultural identity through something tangible, his name. In Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel, The Namesake, Gogol’s struggle with cultural identity is exposed most greatly by the name others call him and his reaction to it.

The makeup of our everyday lives is influenced immensely by the culture we are a part of. In Bengali culture, a person is usually given two names, a pet name and a proper name. Families who move from Calcutta often struggle to assimilate to American life and maintain their cultural heritage. In the novel, The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, Gogol’s changing of his name along with his romantic relationships with Ruth and Maxine show his initial rejection of Bengali identity and culture. This essay will give an explanation into the ways in which Gogol rejected his culture, first by changing his name, but also through his close relationships with American girls.

After his divorce, which is a second difficult experience in his life, Gogol spends time with his family, specifically at a party his mother is hosting before she leaves for India, which again influences him to accept his Bengali culture. At this party, Gogol explores his old house and finds the copy of The Overcoat that his father once gave to him, which makes him realize that “without people in the world to call him Gogol, no matter how long he himself lives, Gogol Ganguli will, once and for all, vanish from the lips of loved ones, and so, cease to exist” (Lahiri 433). In college and when he was Maxine, going by Nikhil gives Gogol a newfound perspective in his life, one where being shameful of his name does not really exist. However, after going through both his father’s death and his divorce, Gogol feels upset when thinking about how he changed his name, which “provides no solace at all” (433). With most of his family and Moushumi gone, few people are left to call him Gogol, reminding him who he once was. Gogol’s sadness shows how he has become comfortable with his birth name, which he originally hated. Through his reading of The Overcoat and his reflection on the possible nonexistence of his life as Gogol, Gogol accepts both his name and his culture, which ultimately shows how he becomes comfortable with

1. (Outliers) Page 19-20: Biologists often talk about the “ecology” of an organism: the tallest oak in the forest is the tallest not just because it grew from the hardiest acorn; it is the tallest also because no other trees blocked its sunlight, the soil around it was deep and rich, no rabbit chewed through its bark as a sapling, and no lumberjack cut it down before it matured. 2. (Outliers) Page 17: If you have ability, the vast network of hockey scouts and talent spotters will find you, and if you are willing to work to develop that ability, the system will reward you. Success in hockey is based on individual merit—and both of those words are important. Players are judged on their own performance, not on

I believe that a very prominent theme in this story is the struggles in society relating to classes. One of the things that Gogol most often points out is the dress and ranking of the characters in this story. For instance, the barber Ivan Yakovlevitch is described as a very dirty man who does not care about his appearance, probably emphasizing his lower class ranking. Kopek is described as very well dressed and has a somewhat higher ranking of “Major.” Meanwhile, when he spots his nose masquerading as a very high ranked man, it is dressed exquisitely. The nose draws envy of everyone with its appearance and apparent rank. The ludicrousness of a nose causing envy and admiration and fear in people, even in Kopek who owns it, really emphasizes how ridiculous Gogol perceives the class system to be.

In Jhump Lahiri’s The Namesake Gogol Ganguli is constantly forced to choose between his American side and his Bengali side. Throughout the novel he has many relationships and goes through many stages of life, especially with his name. Gogol is running from his culture, but his culture has been so forced and pushed on him his entire life he will never really be free from his Bengali culture. From a young age Gogol has had a separation from his culture. So it is up to him to choose whether he wants to follow his cultural traditions or be a full and true American.

I believe that what the student was saying about how mostly kids don’t get jobs because they are lazy or there was someone better at the job than he was. That was also something that kids suffer with now n day so when Laurie Hales Anderson bought that up it was something mostly all teen and adults have a problem with.

Intergenerational conflicts mainly involves in the process of searching identity in a new country. In The Namesake, it seems like the major part of the book is about Gogol’s identity formation and confusion. In fact, Ashima is also part of the process of forming American identity. One of the significant incident is the name-changing process of Gogol. At first, we can see how Gangulis’ parents Ashima and Ashoke are “still proudly and deeply entrenched in their Indian heritage” (Bhattacharyya 77), when they were asked to name their baby after themselves or one of the ancestors. They think “This tradition doesn’t exist for Bengalis, naming a son after father or grandfather, a daughter after mother or grandmother. This sign of respect in America and Europe, this symbol of heritage and lineage, would be ridiculed in India” (The Namesake 28). But later when Gogol ask to change the name, his parents agrees either because becomes accepting individualism or doesn’t want to explain why they name Gogol at the very first place. This explains how much Gogol wants to possess a new identity beyond his parents’ traditional norms.

This makes him feel out of place. Additionally, Gogol and his sister Sonia want to do American things like all the other kids do. Their parents try to help them and, “For

While this theme generally revolves around Ashima, it also shown to affect Gogol on another occasion. While staying with Astrid and Donald in Paris, Gogol encounters with food repeatedly cause him to remember Moushumi and himself “in the beginning… skipping meals, then wandering around the streets… desperate for something to eat.” (Lahiri 232) While these moments help remind us how the Gangulis are connected by food, it also alludes to immigrants who often wondered or lost as they struggle with their identity. These characters have to face the conflict of hybridity, or the struggle experienced by characters who feel strangled (squeezed) between two identities - an American and a

Culture is not just about race, family background, and inheritance. It is bigger than that. Characters and actor’s choice are significant to present this. Characters used in the book and movie relates. When I was reading the book, I had an idea of how Ashima, Gogol, Ashoke looks. Most of those ideas were true. I thought Gogol would be better looking and darker shade skin. Ashima is exactly what I thought she would look like. Ashoke is shown as this perfect husband, dad a provider. A lot of Gogol’s character is understood as it foreshadows when Gogol was six months old and during his Rice Ceremony, Gogol had to choose between a dollar, a pen, and dirt. Each represents a different profession in the future. As it suggests to the future, Gogol doesn’t choose none of them and cries. We see the same thing when he is an adult, he chooses to embrace the culture he grew up in, American Culture even thought he struggled to respect both cultures that are polar opposites of each other.

Introduce students to the double journal entry for reading/note taking strategies. Display an example of a double journal entry on the smart board and explain the purpose. Double journal entries give students the opportunity to express their thoughts and become more involved with the material they encounter. They can be useful for the reading of textbooks and articles as well as for listening to lectures in class when word for word class notes are not required.