Alien Nation

Alienation is defined as "the state or experience of being isolated from a group or an activity to which one should belong or in which one should be involved." Wow does this sound like Gogol. The definition is interesting as it brings up the idea of should you be involved in something. Does Gogol have to be involved in his Bengali culture just because he is Bengali? This is probably how he felt throughout the book. Gogol struggled with accepting his background growing up, something you can't escape nor deny. Unfortunately, he let it prevent him from doing what he wanted, living a life he wanted. Leaving him with a bunch of "what ifs." Throughout his teenage years he didn't want to date because he thought his name/he was too strange and his parents would be disapproving. He doesn't want to let his Bengali roots to define him so he tries to ignore it. He tries to escape it. He separates himself from it. He doesn't understand his parents struggle with being homesick nor what it's like having their family on the other side of the globe. He doesn't understand the reason for their parents continuing their culture and identity in America. For these reasons and others, he doesn't appreciate his culture. A lot of his major decisions are based off on putting distance between him and his parents.

Gogol doesn't want to go to MIT as that is where his dad wants him to go and that’s where his dad works. He doesn't want that kind of tie/reminder so he chooses Yale. He wants to put distance between them. Yale also has a different setting and offers a different geographical setting. There, he doesn't want any part that has to do with his culture. He doesn't want to join the Indian Association when Amit asks him. He moves away and rarely keeps up with his parents. "He prefers New York, a place which his parents do not know well..." He doesn't want to end up like them either. Alienation is a heavily repeated theme in The Namesake. But at the same time he constantly brings his parents up and his culture. This is evident during his time with Maxine. He has a dream of his mother calling him and he realizes he hasn't been in contact with his parents in so long that it wakes him up. He is reassured when he realizes they don't even know where he is staying. He also enjoys being apart of this lavish American upper class lifestyle, something he has never been a part of, more than he has ever enjoyed being Bengali.
Also his parents alienated their kids from experiencing an American household (until the kids decide they don't want it). They only befriended Bengalis not because of who they were but because they shared that same culture and reminded them of their old lives. They exposed Gogol to Bengali ways. They really only knew Bengali customs so it's not totally intentional. But they preferred him to focus on his studies and continue in Bengali customs even when he was older.
Overall, alienation is what plays a huge role in The Namesake because it makes Gogol undergo an identity crisis. It plays a huge factor in what he decides for his future.

relationship not relationshit am i rite

“She tells him she was raised on a commune in Vermont, the child of hippies, educated at home until the seventh grade. Her parents are divorced now. Her father lives with her stepmother, raising llamas on a farm. Her mother, an anthropologist, is doing fieldwork in on midwives in Thailand.”

Gogol is on his way home from Yale when he meets Ruth on the train. Ruth is studying at JE. She is a free spirit. Clearly, her hippie parents are, not confined to the restrictions of traditions, culture, and religion. Her parents chose to marry and then divorce. The fact that they had so much freedom already contrasts Gogol's parents and their lifestyle. As Gogol shares his "bland in comparison" experience, she shares a strong interest in what he has to say. This is an important quality as he has never enjoyed this part of his life. He has always been insecure about it. He has never even shared these stories with any American friend. Now he has a little more confidence due to his name change. She is helping him come out of his shell and finally experience something he has never allowed himself to experience. Though their love only lasts a year, it is a cute first love. But it's also one he keeps from his parents. Again his insecurity is not gone, "He cannot imagine being with her in the house where he is still Gogol." I think Gogol wants to differentiate himself from his parents as much as possible. he uses his parents to see what he doesn't want. "He pities his parents when they speak to him this way, for having no experience of being young and in love." He is probably also trying to get out some final rebellious angst. His parents aren't supportive and would rather he be with a Bengali woman. "They've even gone so far as to point out examples of Bengali men they know who've married Americans, marriages that have ended in divorce." This relationship doesn't last because Ruth goes to Oxford and then unexpectedly stays for a summer term. When they reunite, they just aren't the same people. They have fallen out of love. Then they start arguing and it's just not the same anymore. "Ruth looked the same but her speech was peppered with words and phrase she'd picked up from England, like 'I imagine' and 'I suppose' and 'presumably.'"

His second serious love lasts 

(almost) forever!!!! He first meets Maxine at a party and she hits him up the next day. He is invited to her house for dinner. The fact that she lives with her parents catches him off guard. Again the relationship she has with her parents totally contrasts Gogol and his parents' relationship. While Maxine and her parents can talk about anything and happily live under the same roof together, Gogol barely speaks to his parents. He falls in love with her elegancy and lavish lifestyle. Boy does he love their lifestyle. "They eat appreciatively, commenting on the tenderness of the meat, the freshness of the beans. His own mother would never have served so few dishes to a guest." Gogol is so quick to notice their differences in their manners/etiquette, speech, relationship, discussions at the table, parties, wealth, and so much more, always adding how his parents differ. He loves the ways of the Ratliffs. He loves their country house and enjoys their super fancy parties with elegant food. He tries to be one of them. I think he loves being one of them. And how can you not, their lives are simple and luxurious!! Other than the couple times he has mentioned his background and upbringings, he pretty much is quick to blend in with them. He uses this relationship as an escape (a very nice one too). His parents can't contact him and he is so relaxed throughout it. Perhaps, he is mostly relaxed because he is away from his parents and work. Maxine is also gets to meet Gogol's parents. This is significant as it makes Gogol very vulnerable as now he is seen in a different light. His parents are different from her parents and it's one of the few times Maxine sees Gogol as Bengali. The biggest reason for this relationship ending is due to the death of Ashoke. This is after Ashoke finally explains to Gogol the significance behind Gogol's name. Gogol is shocked. This makes him mature and pulls him back into reality, more specifically back into his mother's and sister's lives. He distances himself during this mourning period and Maxine can only withstand it for so long. She wants to help him and help him go through this but Gogol doesn't want her to be a part of it. They fight. They break up.
Gogol begins to see a woman. She is an architect. She is also married to a college professor. This reminds him of his parents. He isn't looking for anything serious or romantic. Again, he just wants to escape. This is a way for him to move forward but not effective or healthy. "He does not know exactly where she lives. She always goes with him to his apartment. She never spends the night. He likes the limitations." He doesn't want to get attached but he still wants some intimacy. This doesn't last long either. He feels guilty once he comes to the realization of how his husband must feel like missing her. His mother is pushing for him to get settled and so he eventually agrees on going out with his mother's Bengali friend's daughter, Moushumi. “He had not expected to enjoy himself, to be attracted to her in the least. It strikes him that there is no term for what they once were to each other. Their parents were friends, not they.” They quickly got along and fall for each other sooner. They learn each other's quirks. They mostly seem to bond over their similarities, such as their parents' expectations, culture, experiences, and beliefs. They understand each other due to their immigrant parents. While Gogol felt like he couldn't date, Moushumi was forbidden to date and so this has negatively affected her, making her believe she would always be alone. Anyways their wedding is extravagant and happy but was set up by their parents. It's traditional and not exactly what Gogol wanted. Neither of them saw themselves marrying a Bengali yet there they were expressing "until death do us apart." Gogol was just trying to make his mother happy especially after a hard time dealing with Ashoke's death.
This relationship ends because of her affair and his unhappiness. He gets super jealous as he "finds odd remanants of her life with Graham." He starts to realize she kept a lot of things from him such as the meaning of her name. More importantly she casually tells her friends that his name was Gogol. The betrayal!!! Overall it doesn't end well. In fact, it ends in divorce. Funny because his parents believed marrying an American woman would lead to divorce.

identity (theft) is not a joke, jim!

Isn’t it crazy how parents pick a word for us to be identified as, before we are even born? That it’s never based on us (bc how can it be if we are the size of a tennis ball that hasn’t seen the light of day) but others whom our parents are influenced by. That we will forever identify ourselves as that? We accept this tradition and continue the tradition, never quite with the intention that it would do harm to our offspring. Once we are older we find it harder to figure out who we are during our teenage years. Now, imagine having that same crisis AND not knowing whether you’re American or (in this case) Bengali. Do you go with what your friends are doing or what your parents want for you?? Throughout The Namesake, Gogol is the hyphen in between Bengali-American, not sure which one he should identify with. 

Gogol is just one example that will be discussed later in this blog. We are first introduced to Ashima Ganguli. Firstly, we see learn about the difficulty Ashima Ganguli had acclimating to a new, foreign country. Ashima is the first character introduced in The Namesake. She has an arranged marriage with Ashoke Ganguli. However, Ashoke is studying at MIT in the US so he is gone most of the day. So at the age of twenty, she has begun her newly wed life in the US with her new partner, a stranger. She is basically on her own trying to accustom to the foreign country and culture. Her English isn’t perfect so it is hard for her at first to get around and get used to the city. She is extremely homesick. She loves and misses her Bengali culture and doesn't want to let go of it. She doesn't really know how to adapt to American ways since she’s only known Bengali customs her whole life. She is torn between accepting the change or maintaining where she comes from. The former is seen when she has to name her newborn son in order to for him to be released from the hospital. In Bengali culture, everyone has two names, a good name, used in the “outside world”/ professional setting, and a pet name, used in a more personal and private setting. It’s tradition that the father’s grandmother comes up with both names. However in The Namesake, these two names are written in a letter, sent from Calcutta, but is never received. "" She and Ashoke have no choice but to personally name her son which is totally normal for Americans. It happens again when Ashoke drops off Gogol at his first day of school. He claims Gogol is perfectly bilingual and it says how Ashoke speak English to Gogol, for the first time, in front of the principal. Also, Ashima preserves her Bengali heritage by cooking Bengali dishes for her family and happily befriending other Bengali people. She hosts and attends Bengali parties with other Bengali people. She struggles to accept that her kids don't really want that in their life. She doesn't understand/know their struggle when they're older. Nonetheless she buys them pizza as she eats Bengali meals with her adult friends.

Gogol Ganguli is born in America. His parents are Bengali who grew up in Calcutta. Gogol grows up in the US with a Russian name that for first half of his life (or so), has no meaning to him. He doesn't know who he is. Gogol feels trapped. He doesn't know how to be who he really wants. His parents want one thing and he can’t exactly do what it he wants. He feels like he can’t be this person because of who he physically is. In high school when he finally learns about the horrible life Nikolai Gogol lived and the kind of person he was (essentially weak), Gogol is more confused about his name. He hates it even more.  “There is talk of the difficulty of Russian names, students confessing merely skimming them. Gogol says nothing. He has not read the story himself. He has never touched the Gogol book his father gave to him on his fourteenth birthday.” This kind of reminds me of how back in elementary school, I envied my classmates because their names were so commonly referenced in books or something in class. Anytime we came across their names, the person would say something like “heyy that’s a cool name!!” or “that’s where my name comes from!”  Of course that never happened to me except for one time in fourth grade during our social studies lesson. (yes I remember it clearly) The person reading the textbook came across “Dania” (which is pronounced like my name just different spelling obvi) and everyone's head whipped around and looked at me and suddenly I didn't feel as excited or cool like I thought it would feel or how everyone else felt when that happened to them. I suddenly didn't want that attention on me. It was so weird and I didn’t like it. In that scene, everyone seemed fazed by the name and the story of Nikolai Gogol as they were too busy trying to get it all in their notebooks, except Gogol. He was so self conscious. “It’s as though the name were a particularly unflattering snapshot of himself that makes himself want say in his defense, ‘That’s not really me.’”

Gogol gets lost in his identity because his parents overwhelm him, from the beginning, with expectations and cultural traditions that he just doesn't want. If he were in Calcutta he wouldn't have denied it but since they are among the few in America that are partaking in traditions Gogol doesn't understand, he'd rather not be a part of it. He especially experiences this huge tug-of-war between cultures and traditions as he is the first born in America. His parents don't know how to raise a kid in America. It's completely different. As mentioned before, all they know are Bengali traditions and customs. Everything they know about growing up is based off of their experiences, in Calcutta. Because once his sister Sonia is born, she is much more American from the start. This is evident in her ceremony which is like the Bengali version of a Baptism. Ashima watches as young Sonia doesn't want any part of this ceremony.

This tug-of-war between cultures is also seen when the Gangulis visit Calcutta. This causes Gogol to miss out on his 10th grade year while his parents are ecstatic to go back. The kids are in American apparel in the midst of this poverty-stricken country. They don't realize that they are in the same situation their parents had when they moved to America, unfamiliar with the language and culture. The kids don't fit in with their cousins and they are constantly moving from relatives’ homes to truly become familiar with the setting and relatives. Their cousins make fun of their American ways and how they can’t properly speak the language. While visiting they are presented as Americans in a foreign country. They can't help it though since at school the kids are exposed to American history, traditions, food, behavior, and more. Of course this is going to influence them greatly. They behave like Americans kids, such as occasionally talking back to their parents whereas in India culture there is huge respect to family/everyone older than you. Then at home, Ashima pushes their Bengali culture and traditions to the kids. For example, for his fourteenth birthday, Gogol has an American party with his friends from school and then another party, Bengali one, with his parents’ Bengali friends. It is more formal and his mother makes a lot of Bengali dishes. At school Gogol gets questioned about his name and as he gets older, he realizes how peculiar it is. He doesn't understand it so his teachers and classmates are just as confused about it too. Then at home he starts responding to his parents in English. The two kids get used to the American customs and the parents slowly begin to buy American clothes and enjoy barbeques and even celebrate parts of Christian holidays.

Overall, there is this huge back and forth between the two cultures which most of the time clashes. This creates this identity issue for everyone. Traditions, names, identity, and culture are only a few of the themes heavily repeated throughout the book.

what is love (bby don't hurt me)

So what we have read is that Viola, disguised as Cesario, quickly fell in love with The Duke, Orsino. The same Duke who has been pinning for Olivia for a while now. Within one visit, Olivia fell for Cesario. It all happens very fast that it’s crazy to comprehend how it’s possible. Anyway since Twelfth Night is categorized as a comedy, the purpose was probably to portray love as a comedy which is good bc love is a joke (haha jkjk). I think the biggest reason for this would be due to everyone falling in love almost instantly. The reason behind some of the characters’ actions (such as Viola being so quick to want to help/meet the Duke and everyone falling in love so quick) are left unknown so we are left with why?????? I think they are trying to make love come off as a lighthearted thing. Like a  “yeah go fall in love”/ “you do you” vibe. Everything in Twelfth Night is happens so fast. Of course one can relate it to love at first sight (romantically because I’ve definitely have loved several celebrities from the very first time I saw them). Many of us don't believe in it. It just seems impossible and crazy! How can you love someone within seconds of seeing them for the first time? Often we think “no that’s not real love.” sometimes we mistake it with the other L word, lust which is probably what “love at first sight” is based on.

There are clearly different types of love. I instantly thought of these kinds of love.

1. Divine love   

2. Object love

3. Friend love

4. Reciprocal love

5. Sexual love

6. Unrequited love

They correlate with the visual and it makes sense as (for the most part) the love you have for your family and vice versa isn’t the same love you have for your partner/crush, teacher(s), intangible objects, etc. If you do that's a little... interesting...

Anyway this list presents a broad range of different kinds of love we may have experienced or about to experience or never will. Also, I know there are more examples but you get the point.

Some of the worst types of love includes unrequited love and “Mania” aka obsessive love. No one wants to be in a manipulative relationship. I don't think anyone wants that but some people do find themselves in that situation. It’s one of the worst types of love, in my opinion, because it is an intoxicating and suffocating relationship that is just unfairly balanced. It just doesn't seem healthy nor fun. I see this as a relationship where one person is selfish and manipulative. They take advantage of their partner. They’ll be so rude and untruthful. They’ll coax you to do what they want. They want to be on top /always in command and won't want to see you as their equal/lover. Not fun at all. It can even be traumatizing and terrifying.

I also say one sided/unrequited love is another one of the worst as you have so much love
for someone who doesn't even realize or doesn't return it and that is a horrible situation to be in. Some have it so bad they get so sick they cough up petals, hanahaki, and die. Okay no but that feeling sucks. It's not fun.

Ludus, playful love, involves two lovers. (I am going to focus on young love in particular bc I think that is when it feels like it’s not going to end and it’s just different than when you are 40/50/etc and in love - due financial/adulting/kids/etc factors & also I don't know about being in love when you’re much older bc not that old rn) I think this is one of the best types of love to experience. When you’re in love once you’re like 17+ years old, for one of the first times as it is a great age to do whatever you want. There aren’t too many responsibilities so you can do as you please. It’s easier to do things/you’re more willing to make things happen. It’s a great feeling, you just love being with your partner. It’s the best kind of love as it is when you love someone so much your heart is ready to go into cardiac arrest at any second because you have so much of them in your heart. They just make you so happy and gushy in the inside and out!!! It makes you want to scream “I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!” at the top of the lungs everytime you see them. You want to tell everyone about your love for your partner!! You find any reason to bring them up in the conversation. I love that kind of love. The best kind of love is a love that doesn’t fade away, not even for a second, not even when the honeymoon period ends.

Crit

I feel like the texts are talking about a different play. They made the play seem so interesting and likable. They had me fooled. None of them seemed to mention how the ending sucked and was almost nonexistent. In fact they barely touch upon the last scene of the play, or lack of. Strangely, they make Sweet Bird of Youth so interesting.

Sweet Bird of Youth could have had so much potential :( The summary at least seemed to showcase that. Upon reading it, it is boring, anticlimactic, and just barely scrapes in some kind of narrative. Worse, people paid money to see it on Broadway.

I suppose Crit #1 kind of best fits my view of the play.

“‘Absorbing on a superficial level’”

Although, I would have never Sweet Bird of Youth as a “Southern Gothic horror story.”  I feel like I agree with this one the best. This one recognizes that there isn't much to the Sweet Bird of Youth.

“The bird not only represents purity but. . . the male sexual organ. If the bird is a phallic image”

I like the point the author makes about that. That was a different take from the usual freedom and purity a bird has been represented as in previous stories we’ve looked at.  

Chance is one of Williams’s desperate dreamers, a good-looking small town boy whose ambitions exceed his talent. Like many Williams characters, he is trying to hold on to the fleeting (title drop) “sweet bird of youth.” I agree with this and it is also a good point.

The second text seemed to be filling in the gaps of this poor, loosely written drama. It seemed more like a summary but with key scenes left out, such as the scene with Boss Finley and his kids and information about the characters (which you would think would be mentioned in the story). Another example was “...but felt blocked by something. He only got as far as the chorus of a Broadway production of Oklahoma.” Oddly specific for this author to know when it wasn't stated in the text. This text felt more like a recap than a critique. It is mostly about Chance and [complaining] how he is selfish and too stubborn to accept the reality he is living.

Lastly, Crit 3 is pretty garbage as it seemed to wrong. The points were interesting as they weren't something I would've considered for this play. I think a lot of these points were a stretch.

“In one of the finest examples of Williams’s plastic theater the theme pervades not only the characterization but also the words and action, as well as the setting and sound. It is a forceful and compassionate drama of one decisive day in the lives of a man and a woman played out against a background of sleazy politics and impending violence in a small Southern town.”

This text went way out there, over analyzing this text. This text made the Sweet Bird of Youth seem like a whole different text. It totally hyped this play a lot. “The Cinderella story . . . our favorite national myth, the cornerstone of the film industry, if not of the Democracy itself.”

I completely disagree with this. I don't see it as any of that at all. I also wish the author expanded on this more.

“The Princess and Chance are among Williams’s best character creations.” Again, I disagree. Saying that is a huge insult. Unless Williams has horrible characters in all his works, making these two look like his best, in which case, says a lot about Williams. I doubt that's the case, though. Princess and Chance are poor excuses for characters. They didn't have any development and their quest and resolution was poorly executed. They came off more as whiny and weak characters in Sweet Bird of Youth. However, they were the best developed of the play.

Overall, I feel like this text just went way overboard about everything on the text. When really there isn’t anything in the whole play.

“Williams’s seventh sense of theatrical instinct is no-where so evident as in his reaching a note of high drama as the end approaches. He creates a magic that is so memorable it is forever associated with this play.”

Seventh sense? High drama? Magic is created? Oh my gosh where do I start?

“Despite its lyric dialogue, Williams thought of the action of this play as realistic, yet suddenly, just before the play ends, it shifts gears. The closing moments are nonrealistic and poetic. In the hotel room—and what can be more transient to reflect time passing?—Chance and the Princess sit side by side on the bed, directly facing the audience, ‘like two passengers on a train sharing a bench.” The metaphor is that of a train trip, a journey through life.’”

This is interesting that the author thought of it this way. I did not take it that way as I thought it as a lousy and lazy way to end the play like this. Chance is back to where he has started. He accomplished nothing!! I also did not think highly of the way this scene (or any other scene) was written.

Overall, I think this text tried too hard in attempting to create allusions that I am sure Williams didn't plan. (sorry Williams)