Folklore

Ashoke is an Indian name meaning "classic," "youthful," "wholesome," and "strong". Ashoke exudes these characteristics at the time he comes to the United States. He is determined and willing to face the challenges ahead. He is "classic" because he is still strong in keeping Bengali traditions even though he has lived in America for many years. Ashima is an Indian name meaning "limitless and boundless". This is also a demonstration of the American dream the Bengali family held for a long time. However, in reality Ashima had a hard time adapting to the American way. She did not have a job in America for a long time. In chapter 7, she got her first job as a librarian: "It is Ashima's first job in America, the first since before she was married" (162). Nikhil means wholesome and entire in Sanskrit. His name clearly represents Gogol's strife to find his identity as he is American and Bengali at the same time. ...

I do not know the complete ancestry of my family. The furthest I can trace back to is the generation of my grandparents. My father's parents were born in Henan, a province in the northern part of China. They moved to Beijing in the 1970s. My parents were both born and raised in Beijing. So was I. I am the first person in my ancestry to study abroad in the United States. In these four years of living in the United States, I have become westernized in many ways. I rarely ate fried chicken and burger before I moved to the United States, but now they have become a part of my regular diet. I started watching American football often, a sport that I used to know little about when I was in China. I also listened to American songs and watched American TV shows much more frequently. Our family now also began to celebrate western holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. Last Thanksgiving, my parents and I actually spent the Thanksgiving day in Tennessee, and we ate Turkey. On the other ha...