How is Ashima characterized at the beginning of the chapter?
How is Ashima characterized at the beginning of the chapter?
She does not have the easiest of times as she struggles with culture shock and homesickness, both of which can be seen in the following quote: ”for being a foreigner, Ashima is beginning to realize, is a sort of lifelong pregnancy – a perpetual wait, a constant burden, a continuous feeling out of sorts.
How does Ashima feel about giving birth in America?
Ashima thinks, as she waits to deliver her baby, of her new life in the United States. Ashima was a student and English tutor in India, with a special interest in the poets William Wordsworth and Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
What does Ashima mean in the namesake?
she who is limitless, without borders
Names. Names tell us a lot about other characters, too. “Ashima” means “she who is limitless, without borders,” which is fitting for a woman who ends up spending time jetting back and forth between India and the U.S (2.21).
Why don t Ashima and Ashoke name their child after them or an ancestor?
Ashima gives birth to a son. She and Ashoke don’t immediately name him because they are waiting for a letter from Ashima’s grandmother, in which she will divulge his name.
Why doesn’t Ashima say her husband’s name and what does this reveal about her include evidence from the text in your answer?
Ashima never thinks of her husband’s name when she thinks of her husband, even though she knows perfectly well what it is. She has adopted his surname but refuses, for propriety’s sake, to utter his first. It’s not the type of thing Bengali wives do. It’s a part of growing up, they tell him, of being a Bengali”.
What was Ashima craving in the novel What is the significance of that craving?
Ashima is craving something spicy. It is for this reason that she reaches for dry cereal, peanuts, and any semblance of spice that she can find. It is to satisfy a craving. This craving is partly biological, due to her pregnancy.
How does Ashima like life in the suburbs?
Ashoke loves his job, but Ashima hates the suburbs, feeling even more isolated and out of place than she had in the heart of the city.
What name do Ashima and Ashoke want Gogol to be called at school?
Nikhil
Before Gogol begins kindergarten, Ashoke and Ashima decide on a good name for him: Nikhil. This is the name they want him to be called at school even though Gogol doesn’t understand why his name is changed.
Where is Ashima from the namesake?
Calcutta
Ashima (Bhaduri) Ganguli Born and raised in Calcutta, Ashima is a college student studying English when her parents arrange her marriage to Ashoke. Within weeks, Ashima has married Ashoke and moved to Boston, where she feels isolated and out of place.
What’s the first thing that causes Ashima and Ashoke to suspect she’s pregnant?
What was the first thing that causes Ashima and Ashoke to suspect she’s pregnant? She accuses Ashoke of confusing salt for sugar.
How does Ashima learn that her husband has died?
How does Ashima learn of her husband’s death? From a phone call. To identify his Dad’s body. What kind of diet do Ashima, Gogol, and Sonia follow during the 11-day morning period after Ashoke’s death?
Why has Ashima sold the house on Pemberton Road How will she now spend her life how will this arrangement be true to the meaning of her name?
Why has Ashima sold the house on Pemberton Road? Ashima has to sell the house because it is no longer possible for her to stay now that Sonia is getting married. She will spend six months in the US and six months is Calcutta. It is true to her name because she will be without borders, a resident everywhere and nowhere.
What did Ashoke and Ashima do to preserve their culture?
Ashima and Ashoke make a very active effort to preserve their culture in their new home, they teach their children they language and teach them about their traditions and beliefs. One example could be the rice ceremony they had for Gogol, and when they asked him to memorize a four-line poem by Tagore.
How does Ashima feel in the beginning of the novel?
In the very beginning of the novel we can tell that Ashima is feeling very homesick, and Lahiri makes this clear when Ashima says “nothing feels normal” to her in this alien land.
Why do the nurses have their own nicknames for Ashima?
This introduction of nicknames is used to highlight the difference between the Indian visitors and Patty. The nurses have their own nickname for Ashima, based on their misunderstanding of her eating habits, which are driven by her cultural preference for skinless chicken.
What is Ashima’s reaction to the Montgomery children and alcohol?
Ashima is particularly shocked by the way the Montgomery children are left alone, and by the spectacular mess in their apartment. The alcohol, too, is totally foreign for her.
