Jhumpa Lahiri in the Classroom

A Case of Clashing Cultures

Written by Anna Mokas, Erin OLeary & Rosie Ruzzi

2 Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

v Personal Reasons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

v Rationale for the Title and Texts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

v Pedagogical Suitability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

v Teacher-Reader Responses: You vs. Adolescent Audiences . . . . .10

v A Guide to Our Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

1. Where Life and Art Intersect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 2. Writing from Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 3. Novel Study: The Namesake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 4. Taking a Critical Stance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 5. Preparing for the Censors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 6. Additional Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 7. Works Cited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Attached

v Duty Roster

v Individual Reflections

v Literature Circle Minutes

3 Introduction A Case of Clashing Cultures

Have you ever felt the sting of pain that arises when a classmate, a neighbor, or a stranger

in the grocery store treats you unfairly based upon your social status, monetary income, race, or

gender? The urge to stand up in protest when a peer mocks your religious beliefs, family values,

or personal decisions? Have you ever been so ashamed of the constant mispronunciation of your

name that you wish to alter your entire identity? So flustered by the cultural contrast between

your home life and school life that you yearn to abandon both existences?

Stereotyping and the assumptions that accompany it occur interminably today among all

classes, education levels, and backgrounds of people. As Jhumpa Lahiri reflects upon her own

experience as a second-generation Indian-American, she remarks on the quick conjecture of her

American audience to label her as a foreigner based on her name, her darkly pigmented skin,

or the motifs within her works. We label each other as gangsters, geeks, prudes, or aliens based

upon the way we wish to perceive people, and we quickly fit our peers into little boxes that we

believe encapsulate their identities. But when was the last time we took a step back, took the

time to learn the nuances of a persons life, and attempted to see the world through another

cultural perspective? When was the last time we understood the feelings of another and

sympathized with the struggle of our neighbors?

Personal Reasons

After researching a variety of diverse authors, the authenticity and reliability of Jhumpa

Lahiris accounts of the immigrant experience in the United States demanded our attention.

4 Although unfamiliar with Lahiri and her corpus of literature, we were immediately drawn to her

distinct cultural identity as an American citizen born in London to Indian parents. Most critics

praise her ability to integrate her identity conflict and personal feelings of emotional exile as an

Indian American into the characters of her fiction. Therefore, as readers and future educators, we

hoped to encounter prevalent 21st century issues, similar to those of her own life, within the body

of Lahiris works.

In a society plagued by the pursuit of selfish pleasures and the constant advancement of

technologies like the IPhone and IPod, teenagers easily become consumed in their own selves,

focusing on I and me over the seven billion other perspectives that the Earth holds. We

chose to introduce the works of Jhumpa Lahiri in a high school classroom because we aspire to

change the narrow-minded, bigoted outlooks of the privileged American students who remain

ignorant to the plight of their culturally diverse peers. Cognizant of the censorship issues

surrounding Lahiris short story collection, Interpreter of Maladies, we approved of the

somewhat brutal, yet honest portrayal of the obstacles faced by both first and second-generation

Indian-American immigrants. Due to our own unfamiliarity with immigration and the identity

struggles that non-native Americans continually face in society today, we had confidence that

Lahiris honesty and compassion would expose us, as well as our students, to the Indian-

American culture and promote the diversity of all types of peoples.

If anything, each text in with which we familiarized ourselves further confirmed our

groups selection of Jhumpa Lahiri as a potential author to study in depth within a classroom.

Aside from the obvious, recurring theme of the immigrant experience, Lahiris corpus of

literature also highlights the common experiences of love, relationships, and family subjects in

which all students can relate. The cultural isolation of the characters is amplified through

5 Lahiris simultaneous depiction of their personal isolation, exhibited clearly through the search

for identity and the confusion of clashing cultures. As tools for educating students about the

foreign themes of multicultural identities and immigrant experiences, Lahiris works transcend

the expected norm by intensifying the effects of these topics through the inclusion of common,

authentic difficulties faced by nearly every family.

Rationale for Title and Texts

The entirety of Lahiris works centers around the displacement of her characters, or their

sense of belonging to a certain place and culture but struggling as outsiders to another. We could

not imagine the frustration of the characters to fit in until we witnessed Gogol beg his mother to

pack him a deli sandwich with bologna and roast beef rather than the typical Indian food he

consumes at home (The Namesake 65). Until we observed Lilia sorrowfully relinquish a novel

about Pakistan and its South Asian neighbors in her fourth-grade classroom in order to read (for

the fourth year in a row) about the American Revolution and the effects of taxation (When Mr.

Pirzada 25). Through the corpus of Lahiris works, we began to understand the overwhelming

difficulty of living in two worlds simultaneously and attempting to preserve a native culture from

the country of origin, but experiencing instead an overall sense of cultural displacement in the

country of adoption. Before students can understand the case of clashing cultures that defines

each of the characters, they must develop the ability to empathize and appreciate a culture

outside of their own.

The basis of our selection of literary works derives from our belief that short stories

authentically illustrate the clash by providing the perspectives of multiple characters from several

different storylines. The downfall of a novel resides in the shortcomings of a nave reader that

6 bases his view of an entire demographic group on the limited descriptions he ascertains from a

sole narrator. Literature is, in fact, finite. It simply cannot encompass all the facets of a particular

identity or completely defend all the idiosyncrasies of a culture. For this reason, we believe that

Lahiris short story collection, Interpreter of Maladies, lends itself to a variety of meanings and

perspectives due to its variety of characters, settings, and themes. All nine of the stories within

the collection mirror Lahiris own background and experiences by either taking place in India,

involving Indian immigrants living in the United States, or imitating her personal experience as a

second-generation Indian American (Gipe et al.). Due to time constraints, however, we

strategically chose to perform an in-depth study of the three stories that we felt best encompassed

the general themes of the entire collection, i.e. the fact that they transcend the confined borders

of immigrant experience to embrace larger human issues, age old issues..." (Noor 366).

Interpreter of Maladies, the short story that inspired that title for the compilation,

revolves around Mr. and Mrs. Das, a young American couple by birth, who embark with their

children on a tour of India, the country of their ancestors. Even though their parents live in India,

Mr. and Mrs. Das do everything in their power to devalue their own darkly pigmented skin tones,

particularly through the way they dress, their ignorance of the country, and the immersion of

their children in American ideals. No one in the family shows interest in the tour except for Mr.

Das, who feels the need to bury his face in a tourist guidebook and capture every shot on his

camera. Furthermore, the incessant bickering of the couple reminds their Indian tour guide, Mr.

Kapasi, of his own arranged marriage and insipid relationship with his wife. Though sexual

tension builds between Mr. Kapasi and Mrs. Das, who admits to the guide her participation in an

extramarital affair, the cultural divide between the two characters prevents them from resolving

their marital struggles. The apparent maladies between the young couple, the tour guide and Mrs.

7 Das, and the children and their parents attest to Lahiri's recurring theme of cultural and personal

isolation.

Just as Mrs. Das reveals her guilt surrounding her affair and is forced to pay the

consequences for her infidelity to her family, Jhumpa Lahiri forces the characters in her other

works to confront their secrets and face the truth as well (Tyrell 198). In A Temporary Matter,

Shoba and Shakumar, an Indian-American couple in the United States, spend five nights in their

house in complete darkness as a result of a power outage. Ever since the stillborn death of their

first child, the couple struggles to uphold their marriage due to the annoying little things done by

the other. The darkness allows the couple to play a game, in which they tell each other deep

secrets each night. Beginning as a positive method of creating intimacy in the marriage, the game

ultimately destroys their relationship as the couple realizes their inability to communicate the

truth. The trivial, seemingly temporary details of the marriage that constantly bothered Shoba

and Shakumar actually prove to be complex, destructive, and unfortunately permanent.

Lilia, a ten year-old first-generation American born to Indian parents, narrates the third and

final short story, When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine. Due to the generational divide between

Lilia and her parents, she partakes in common American customs and struggles to comprehend

the current events in India, much to her fathers dismay. Mr. Pirzada, the elderly Pakistani who

joins her family for dinner each night, deeply misses his family in Dacca and spends hours with

Lilias parents in front of the television, watching the latest updates on the Indo-Pakistan War.

Because the aged gentleman looks, acts, and talks the same as her parents, Lilia labels him the

Indian Man, a stereotypical misnomer during Pakistans fight for sovereignty from India. She

fails to realize that the bond between her parents and Mr. Pirzada forms based upon their shared

customs, beliefs, and cultural backgrounds, not the color of their skin. Through the use of a

8 young, nave narrator, Jhumpa Lahiri highlights the superficial, often socially constructed

differences that separate people. Lilias struggle for identity, a balancing act between her

American nationality and Indian ancestry, demonstrates the pervasiveness and superiority of

white culture upon immigrants in America.

Without fully diving into its contents and exploring the hidden, yet strikingly intentional

meanings of its text, The Namesake may appear to be a somewhat typical, predictable

interpretation of the ordinary immigrant experience. When Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli, Indian-

American immigrants from Calcutta, unfortunately name their first son in betrayal to Indian

customs, they unintentionally launch Gogols constant struggle to overcome the burden of his

Indian heritage and the identity crisis that plagues his existence. Yet, the trials of the immigrant

experience, the forces of assimilation, and the clash of cultures that all play a role in Gogols self

discovery do not signal the end of Lahiris genius in constructing a complex, relatable storyline.

The universal, larger human issues within the novel, such as commentary on traditional gender

roles, Western sophistication, and Amerocentric education, offer countless opportunities for rich

discussions in a classroom and the confrontation of hidden stereotypes.

Pedagogical Suitability

After familiarizing ourselves with Lahiris works, there is no end to the sound reasons we

propose for her inclusion in the high school curriculum. To state the obvious, she sheds a light on

immigration that exposes readers to the complexity faced when the characters must struggle and

come to terms with what it means to live here, to be brought up here, to belong and not belong

here (Crampton 21). Lahiris use of a variety of culturally diverse narrators that differ in gender

and age enables her readers to empathize on multiple levels with the obstacles and sources of

9 frustration for an immigrant, particularly the generational divide between first-generation parents

and their second-generation immigrant children. Literature leads to awareness, particularly in

schools that lack diversity, in which it becomes the primary means of educating students about

the timeless issues of racial, gender, and ethnic stereotyping, among others. The determination of

her characters to break the American stereotypes imposed upon them attests to the pressure of

cultural assimilation and the dominance of high society Western values. As a cultural artifact that

both reflects and derives its meaning from its social context, literature must offer multicultural

and interracial perspectives on the world, which is a skill that Lahiri incorporates into each of her

works.

Through her focus on the immigrant experience, Lahiri opens the door for the application

of multiple critical lenses to both her short story collection and her novels. Readers can study the

influence of the times on Lahiris works, including the South Asian diaspora and the successes of

Western culture, acknowledging the texts through a New Historicist lens as products of her time

and culture. This allows students to bridge the gap between history and literature and recognize

their hand-in-hand relationship, further eliminating any preconceived notions of literature as an

outdated, irrelevant art. The Post-Colonialism lens, on the other hand, focuses on Lahiris works

as Diaspora literature involving minority communities living in exile (Gholipour and

Sanahmadi 56), which are victims of Othering and the neocolonialism of America. By

applying the postcolonial lens to Lahiris writing, students will understand the privileges enjoyed

by Americans, the colonial oppression employed on less dominant cultures, and the empathy

required in the face of diversity. Feminist Criticism, the final lens we see fit to apply to Lahiris

works, focuses on the patriarchal nature of all cultures and the resulting cultural constructs of

gender. As a female author, Lahiris works provide the opportunity for an intense discussion of

10 double-voiced discourse (class handout) and her intentions in portraying gender roles and

female powerlessness within her writing.

As Jhumpa Lahiri once eloquently stated, We are less divided than we think we are

(The New Yorker), so do her works attest to the commonality of the human experience. The

universality of the themes, including familial relationships, marriage, communication, and

identity, transcend the limitations of cultural, ethnic, gender, and racial boundaries. After an

analysis of stereotypes and the differences between cultures, Lahiris works go even farther by

linking all of her characters with ordinary, worldwide obstacles. The inclusion of her corpus

within a high school curriculum is necessary to foster community within a classroom and to

encourage students to focus on the aspects that unite people, rather than the differences that

segregate them.

Teacher-Reader Responses: You vs. Adolescent Audiences

Lahiris unsophisticated, simple, and authentic style of writing facilitated a range of

responses from our group regarding the texts. We questioned whether the success of her works

arose from their perpetuation of Indian and American stereotypes or from the challenges they

imposed upon these stereotypes. We examined each of the relationships in the texts and studied

the input of many critics; however, we failed to arrive at a definite conclusion regarding Lahiris

depiction of ethnic and cultural diversity. Remarkably though, this uncertainty and lack of

definition allows for a variety of interpretations and the endless possibilities for the discussion of

these very issues in a classroom.

As a whole, our group questioned Lahiris seemingly unfinished and unresolved endings

in The Namesake and each of the stories within her collection, Interpreter of Maladies. In The

11 Namesake, the last of Gogols relationships fails due to his wifes infidelity, much to the readers

surprise since he has finally found an Indian woman who appreciates his heritage. Similarly, in

A Temporary Matter, Shoba and Shukumar spend four intimate nights together, repairing their

marriage and exposing their deepest secrets. Expecting the relationship to flourish from the

eventual honesty of the characters, our group expressed shock and confusion at the end of the

story when Shoba confirms that shes moving out and the couple weeps in each others arms. As

a characteristic of Lahiris works, we decided that her often unsettling endings match her honest,

unembellished language choices. The authenticity of her storytelling represents the isolation,

loneliness and search for identity that immigrants face, and her decision not to fictitiously

resolve all the problems of her characters allows the reader to believe the hardships that each

faces.

After reading The Namesake and discussing Gogols character in detail, we wondered

why he chooses Nikhil when he officially decides to change his name. Annoyed with his

Indian background and ready to fully embrace the American culture, he surprisingly selects the

Russian name that his parents had originally intended for the world to call him. We expected him

to choose a traditional American name in accordance with his desire to relinquish his ethnicity.

As we discussed this confusion in detail within our Literature Circle, we realized that Lahiri most

likely intended to highlight Gogols identity crisis by offering another layer to his uncertainty

his strange connection to an elderly Russian author.

In a high school classroom, we anticipate similar reactions to arise concerning Lahiris

body of works. Its important, however, to allow the students to come to their own conclusions

regarding the texts. Through deep analyses and thoughtful discussions, students will be forced to

confront any existing stereotypes and narrow-minded views. Due to the subjectivity of Lahiris

12 works and the possibilities for multiple interpretations, teachers must take into account the

diversity of their own classroom and its racial, ethnic, and gender makeup. Students with strictly

white backgrounds may fail to perceive the dominance of white culture and might struggle to

understand the plight of minorities. They may carelessly read Lahiris works, remaining passive

and indifferent to the lessons that the literature holds. The difficulty in trying to enlighten these

readers to the prominent issues of diversity, which exist rampantly in society today, lies in

refraining from treating culturally diverse, non-white students as tokens, in which they feel

singled out and excluded due to their backgrounds. As teachers, we must abstain from becoming

hypocrites we cannot attempt to teach students about inclusivity while segregating our own

classrooms.

A Guide to Our Guide

We cannot stress the importance of planning ahead of time for an unresponsive or unruly

class as an English teacher. For this reason, we have included several page numbers within each

section that provide numerous examples of the concepts discussed in the section. For additional

passages and examples to use in a classroom, reference the listed pages.

13 Where Life and Art Intersect You are still young, free... Do yourself a favor. Before it's too late, without thinking too much about it first, pack a pillow and a blanket and see as much of the world as you can. You will not regret it. One day it will be too late. Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake Childhood & Adolescence

Nilanjana Sudeshna Lahiri was the child of two Bengali Indians who moved to London

from India. She was born in London, United Kingdom on July 11, 1967 to immigrant parents

who then moved their family to Kingston, Rhode Island where Lahiri was raised. Her father was

a University librarian and her mother worked as a teacher, which would later influence a few of

Lahiris novels and short stories. When Lahiri began school in the United States, she became

known by her family nickname, Jhumpa ("Nilanjana Sudheshna Lahiri"). This also will prove to have an impact on her writing in her literary novel, The Namesake, a story about a boy who

struggles his whole life to identify with the name that his parents give him. Lahiris life as a

second-generation immigrant raised in America with parents tied closely to Bengali roots proves

to be an integral part of her literature.

As a child who was raised as a Bengali but brought up in America, Lahiri faced many

challenges with the idea of having a home. In an interview with the LA Times, Lahiri explains

that though her parents were the owners of a house, they didnt think of the house as their

home ("Jhumpa Lahiri Talks about Home"). For this reason, Lahiri constantly questioned who

we were and what we were doing there, cognizant that she always felt somehow that it wasnt

quite right ("Jhumpa Lahiri Talks about Home"). Her childhood was faced with uncertainty due

to the differences in her culture, appearance, and education.

14 We see this uncertainty in her short story When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine, which is

told through the perspective of a ten-year-old girl being raised by two Bengali parents in

America. One of their family friends comes over to watch the national news because he does not

have a television. To the ten-year-old narrator, he appears Bengali; however, her father corrects

her and explains the changes that occurred with the Partition that divided their country in 1947

(Interpreter of Maladies 25). This confusion leads the main character to search for as much un-

American history as possible since the history she learns in her school focuses solely on the

United States. This idea of assimilation of second-generation children is a common theme in the

literary works of Jhumpa Lahiri and is explored further within this guide. College

Jhumpa Lahiri attended Barnard College where she studied English Literature and

received her bachelors degree. She continued her education at Boston College, receiving both

her masters and Ph.D. Her familiarity of the Boston area inspired many of her short stories and

The Namesake, which take place in and around the Cambridge area. Once again, her own life

coincides with her literature; the majority of her short stories and novels take place in the areas

surrounding Boston.

Adult Life

Jhumpa Lahiri moved into her adult years and married a man from Guatemala. She gave

birth to two children, raising them in New York City. She explains in an interview with Diane

Rehm how she will always see herself in an in-between zone between America and India,

while her children feel like New Yorkers ("Jhumpa Lahiri On Writing). After living in

America for 38 years, Lahiri moved to Italy where she still resides today (Hore).

Indo-Pakistani Conflict

15 It is important to make your students aware of the Indo-Pakistani War conflict that they

will read about in the short story, When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine. This will also give them

insight on what was going on in Jhumpa Lahiris home country while her parents moved to the

United Kingdom, then the United States of America.

To give you a beginners guide to the conflict that started in 1947-8, the conflict arose

over the decolonization of South Asia. India was a British colony and it broke free in 1947.

Jammu and Kashmir were two predominantly Muslim populations but they had Hindu leaders,

which led to conflict over the right to power. The first war started in 1947, but the Cold Wars

political problems blinded the actual conflict between Pakistan and India. There was a second

War that broke out in 1965 over the state of Jammu and Kashmir, six years before the setting of

When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine (The India-Pakistan War). This conflict continued on for

years leading to the violence and abuse of women as Lahiri writes about in When Mr. Pirzada

Came to Dine.

It would be beneficial to coincide with the History department at your school to see when

the students may be taught about the dispute in South Asia. This literature is a great tool to

involve other subjects in the students education to teach them new information on a more

universal basis.

v v v

Potential Minefields

One of the biggest issues with Jhumpa Lahiris literature is the lack of common

knowledge about the Bengali culture among students. Being someone who migrated to the

United Kingdom first as a young child, then moved on to living in Boston, Massachusetts, Lahiri

has the attitude of the South Asian diaspora, which means one with its own way of thinking,

16 its attitude to the country of origin as well as the country of adoption (Panwar 197). The way

that she writes and the topics that she writes about are unique, which could confusion among

students who have not migrated into another country or experienced a totally different culture.

To ease some of this confusion, be sure to give your students background knowledge on the

Bengali culture either before reading the short stories or the novel. It would help to explain

womens roles, the social system, the ceremonies described in The Namesake and important

dates that are relevant to Lahiris childhood and adult life.

It is also important to make sure that your discussions are not directed at students who are

immigrants from yourself or your other students. Speaking about immigration is a touchy

subject, especially in an area where students are typically second-generation immigrants. If you

are having class discussion about what it must have felt like for Lahiri to be assimilated into

American culture, you should run the discussion, making questions more general so that other

students can put their own input into it.

v v v

Introduction to Jhumpa Lahiri in the Classroom

Jhumpa Lahiris literature is severely intertwined with her past. As a first generation

Indian American, Jhumpa was faced with plenty of obstacles. Her parents, not knowing what it is

like to be raised in America, did not understand the norm of what kids her age were doing. In

order to convey this understanding with students, we have designed a short writing activity prior

to introducing Lahiris literature.

Directions: Take 5-10 minutes to describe a time in your life in which you have been

faced with an unfamiliar situation. This could be anywhere from being in a classroom without all

of your friends in grade school to moving to a different country. Think about how you felt in this

17 situation. What were some obstacles that you faced? How did you consider yourself a minority in

the situation? What was different about you or the others that made you feel this way in the

group setting? Did you ever begin to feel comfortable? Did you have to conform to the norm to

feel welcome?

Follow Up: Open up a group discussion with your class. Ask some students to share their

situations. When talking with students about their situations, ask the same questions from the

prompt. Discuss the differences in the examples that students share.

v v v

Making Initial Connections: The Namesake

Assign the reading, An Indian Fathers Plea for homework the night before you begin

reading The Namesake. Tell them to pick out one to two important quotes from the reading that

they found impactful. When you begin class the next day, put your students into groups of 3 or 4.

Tell them to share their quotes with their group members and collaboratively pick out the two

that they find most important to the passages theme.

The reason why we introduce Lahiris novel The Namesake with An Indian Fathers

Plea is because it is a shorter passage that touches upon many of the same concepts that The

Namesake does. It is important to remind your students that Jhumpa Lahiri is a Bengali Indian

and not a Native American like the author of An Indian Fathers Plea. The two cultures are

extremely different but they face the same hardships in American Schools. Gogol is a lot like

Robert Lakes son Wind-Wolf. He goes through similar problems assimilating into school. He

wants to fit in and finds it hard because of his own cultural beliefs and the way that he was taught

on his reservation.

18 We have pulled a few quotes from An Indian Fathers Plea to help connect the novel to

this reading.

He is not fluent yet because he is only 5 years old and required by law to attend

your educational system, learn your language, your values, your ways of thinking,

and your methods of teaching and learning (Lake 2).

He is caught between two worlds, torn by two distinct cultural systems (2).

He is the only Indian child in your class, and he is well-aware of this fact. Instead

of being proud of his race, heritage, and culture, he feels ashamed (2).

All I ask is that you work with me, not against me, to help educate my child in the

best way (2).

Your students may or may not pull these same quotes, but these are excellent references

to help any students that may be stuck. Each of the quotes we chose expresses the assimilation

process into American Culture by those who have extremely different values and cultural norms.

It also tackles how the parents feel going through the change of having a child in the American

School System. Gogol, the main character of The Namesake, is a second-generation immigrant.

Wind-Wolf is not an immigrant but he faces similar challenges as someone who grew up on a

reservation. This activity also shows students that many cultures face the same problems that

they will soon read about in Lahiris works.

v v v

Interpreting Interpreter of Maladies

Divide students in the class into three separate groups. Give each group a short story to

take home and read for the next class. The short stories are about 10 pages long on average. Treat

19 this activity like a Literature Circle, giving each member in the group a specific role when

reading the stories.

The roles of the groups are as follows:

v Vocabulary Enricher

This person will look for 5 vocabulary words that he or she does not recognize and will

look up the definitions. He or she will also provide the sentences from the short story that

the vocabulary word can be found in.

v Theme Detector

While this title is self-explanatory, this person will be the one looking for themes in the

short story. He or she should come up with two to three themes for the short story that his

group read. During group discussion, this member is responsible for providing certain

passages from the short story in which the theme becomes clear and direct his group to

these passages. He will also explain how he came up with these themes and how they

could be universal.

v Connector

This person connects the problems/situations from the short story to real life situations.

He or she should be checking with current events and trying to find ways to relate the

story to them.

v Secretary

This group member will take the notes on the discussion that the group has. He or she

will be sure to keep track of which group members are participating in the activities. At

the end of the class, the secretary will hand in his or her notes to the teacher so that he or

she can make copies for the rest of the group.

20 v Summarizer

The summarizer will provide the group with a general summary of the short story that

they were assigned to that night. The summary should be no more than a page and should

cover the major events of the story.

v Discussion Leader

The discussion leader will come up with 3-4 questions that he or she thinks will lead to

developed discussion among his peers. The questions should not be yes or no and should

provoke thought among the group.

Prior to leaving the class in which this was assigned, the groups should fill out a piece of

paper indicating which group member is taking on each role. When students come in the next

day, they should have read the story and fulfilled their roles. The next class is entirely devoted to

the success of their literature circles, giving students the entire period to fulfill their roles and

have a group discussion. Upon completion, the groups will receive their next short story and

reassign roles among one another. The system will go on for three consecutive days, completing

the short stories: A Temporary Matter, The Interpreter of Maladies, and When Mr. Pirzada

Came to Dine. At the end of the three days dedicated to Literature Circles, each student in the

classroom will have read the three short stories from the beginning of the Interpreter of Maladies

and will also have had a discussion about each of them in a small group setting.

To show you how this system will work, we will provide a tentative schedule that can be

altered to fit how your school periods fall. Assigning students as roles is totally up to you. You

can either let them figure out who is doing what each day or you could directly assign them each

day. You know your students the best so do whatever you think will work!

21 Literature Circle Day 1

Group A: When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine

Group B: A Temporary Matter

Group C: The Interpreter of Maladies

Literature Circle Day 2

Group A: The Interpreter of Maladies

Group B: When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine

Group C: A Temporary Matter

Literature Circle Day 3

Group A: A Temporary Matter

Group B: The Interpreter of Maladies

Group C: When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine

Tying it All Together: Day 4

After students have completed the reading of all three of these shorts stories and participated in

three days of Literature Circles, hold a group discussion on the strengths and weaknesses of the

Literature Circles to show the students that you appreciate their feedback. After this, have

students take about five minutes and write down which of the three short stories that they believe

is their individual favorite. Encourage the students to write down a few reasons why they chose

the one that they did. Once again, open up the floor to a discussion on which short story the

students enjoyed the most.

v v v

The Assignment

22 Now it is time for the dreaded word for high school students: an essay! There are two

possibilities for an essay assignment with the short stories or The Namesake.

Assignment 1: Have the students write an essay discussing a time in their life that they

felt like they did not fit into the norm. They have already written about this before so be sure to

give them their short writing piece back so they have a starting point. Then, assign them to

compare their experience to a character in one of the short stories or in The Namesake. They

should use direct quotes from Lahiris work to legitimatize their argument. You can also

encourage them to use An Indian Fathers Plea in addition to Lahiris literature.

This assignment could be used for younger grades, like ninth or tenth, to make them

interested in the work as it relates to their own lives. For older grades, we would suggest using

assignment 2.

Assignment 2: Discuss the overlapping theme of names in The Namesake. How does

Gogols life change as he changes his name permanently to Nikhil? What changes about his

character through the decision to permanently change his name? What setbacks did he have

along the way with his name that made him who he is at the end of the novel?

23 Writing from Models: Interpreter of Maladies When I sit down to write, I don't think about writing about an idea or a given message. I just try to write a story which is hard enough. Jhumpa Lahiri

Jhumpa Lahiri has written a variety of short stories in her collection Interpreter of

Maladies, which are all centered on themes of immigration from India, assimilation to American

culture, and relationships between family members of multiple generations. One of Lahiris

biggest skills in these pieces is providing various and quite personal perspectives that allow the

reader to better understand the different personalities and mindsets of these unique and insightful

characters. As she herself has immigrated from India, to Britain, and to America, she offers

extremely valuable information and perspectives of what it is truly like living in two different

countries and cultures, especially while family members are both in America and India. This first

hand experience gives Lahiri credibility for writing about immigration in her stories, but her true

skill is shown not by writing from her personal experience as an immigrant but by using this

experience to shape her writings of different perspectives of this experience, using more of her

creativity and empathetic skills.

The first of her great short stories is A Temporary Matter, which is an intimate story

about a couples faltering marriage after their baby died tragically. Due to electrical fixes being

performed on their street, the couple was left to themselves in the dark for five days, during

which they decided to share their deepest secrets with each other like they have never been able

to otherwise. Throughout this week they were able to relieve their grievances and fall in love

with each other again, and to communicate with each other like they havent been able to without

this darkness. After months of silence and short, terse conversations with each other, this

intimate darkness allowed them to reconnect and be honest with each other and feel the bond that

24 they had lost do to their babys death and their intense reactions to the occurrence. This story

allows for the reader to see most personal parts of this couples relationship so that they can feel

their love, frustration, and sadness as well.

Another one of Lahiris great short stories is called When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine.

This story differs from A Temporary Matter as it is told through the perspective of the ten-year-

old daughter of an Indian family living in America. This creates an interesting dynamic to the

story because she only notices specific details of the storys events while an adult narrator would

be able to tell of the occurrences more comprehensively and thoroughly. This story is about an

Indian family who has a fellow Indian student have dinners at their house. The daughter sees Mr.

Pirzada, the guest, watch their TV for news of the war back in India, and she begins to

understand how much he must be worried about the wife and kids that he left back there. Mr.

Pirzada and the daughter build a special relationship, as he gives her candy each time he visits

and creates somewhat of a friendship with her. This closeness makes her feel more connected to

him and his issues of having family involved in the war scene. She begins to pray for him and his

family, demonstrating that even young children are able to make a difference and connect to

religion in a meaningful and spiritual way that is mostly expected only of adults. This story

discusses deep topics such as war and family through the perspective of a young girl, making the

thoughts more naive and sincere.

The third short story of Lahiris that we focused on was Interpreter of Maladies. This

story differs from the others, as the perspective is from a middle-aged man who acts as a tour

guide in India. Throughout this story, he gives a tour to this one Indian family who has become

Americanized and have decided to visit and learn more about India. As the title addresses, the

tour guide is also an interpreter in a doctors office, and he ends up using this skill to help the

25 family with their personal issues. This perspective offers the outsider perspective, as he lies

outside of the family and is simply guiding them around India. This story provides a great

description of the differing aspects of the American and Indian cultures, as he is embedded in

Indian culture but feels the vast difference of culture when he gives tours to American visitors.

This story also demonstrates Lahiris talent of writing in different perspectives, as she effectively

writes through the eyes of a middle aged male Indian native as without error in character

qualities.

v v v

Lessons for Teaching

Lahiris short story, A Temporary Matter, is unique because it is set within the period

of five days, and periodically checks in with them and their conversations each night during the

darkness. One activity that could be done with students is a News Story activity during which

they will write a story as if they were a news reporter checking in on a story as it progresses.

First, they will choose a story that they would like to create and write about. This can be

anything that can be placed on a timeline and described at certain parts as they have progressed

by giving updates on the situation. Then have them write out their story in segments, making the

story broken up into short, informational sections about what has occurred in the break of time

since they had written last. Make sure that their story progresses and that there is a significant

break between updates and does not simply have a break in lines. Then, allow them to share their

stories in small groups, as if they were a news reporter speaking to their TV audiences who are

listening to this continued news story. Then the group members can give feedback to the author

to let them know whether or not their story made sense, if it made sense in its broken up form,

and any other comments they have on the story. This activity will help students practice this skill

26 that Lahiri highlights in A Temporary Matter that is a unique style of writing that can help

change up the techniques students use in writing their stories.

Another lesson that would help students embody Lahiris skills as a talented author

would be to have them practice writing from different perspectives like she does throughout her

many stories. Each student would write a short story of their choosing through one characters

perspective, with multiple other interesting characters involved in the storyline. Make this a

homework assignment for one night. Have them share their story with a partner and discuss the

strengths and weaknesses of the story with each other. Then, have them take another night to

rewrite the story through the perspective of another one of their characters. Have them take note

of the way Lahiri writes through perspectives of diverse characters in each of her stories to give

them inspiration of how to first write from the perspective of a young American girl and to then

write through the perspective of an old man from another country. For instance, in When Mr.

Pirzada Came to Dine, Lahiri writes from the perspective of a young girl who is learning about

serious topics such as war, and then changes over to writing from the perspective of an older man

in Interpreter of Maladies. This variability of perspective in Lahiris in one of her greatest

strengths, and could be useful for students to work on and one day be able to use effectively to

make different points and tell different stories in their writing. It is limiting for an author to only

write from their personal perspective, so this activity will help students work to step out of their

comfort zones and write through a perspective that they are new to writing through. Once they

write their story from these new perspectives, have them share the revised story with the same

partner (since they are already familiar with the first version of the story and can compare the

two of them). Have them discuss what could be improved in the revised version, which version

they liked better, and what they learned from this experience of writing in different perspectives

27 than they normally would. You can finish by discussing this activity as a whole class to reflect

the importance of perspectives taken in a story and what they learned through their own

experiences of writing differently than they normally would.

28 Novel Study: The Namesake That's the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet. Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake A widely acclaimed novel and The New York Times bestseller, Jhumpa Lahiris The

Namesake mirrors several of the dominant themes included in her short story collection,

Interpreter of Maladies. Its relatable themes, authentic characters, and universal experiences, all

packed within a 300-page thrilling read, make the novel an easy sell to high school students. The

benefit of a limited omniscient narrator allows the reader to gather the complex personalities and

identities of multiple characters, offering us information about each that is kept secret from the

others. In accordance with the range of different narrators within the short stories in Interpreter

of Maladies, we can choose to view The Namesake from the perspective of a variety of

characters, comparing and contrasting the various interpretations of experience. The story

resolves around Gogol Ganguli, the first-born son of Ashima and Ashoke, an immigrant Bengali

couple who moved to Massachusetts for better job prospects. Gogols namesake foreshadows his

lifelong struggle to balance his Indian background with American culture, adding the confusion

of a relation to an old Russian author. As Gogol struggles to determine his identity, Lahiri

follows his experiences with interracial dating, his decision to completely abandon his Indian

heritage, the hurt he inflicts upon his parents, and his eventual discovery of the true identity of

Gogol Ganguli which comes only through an appreciation of the Indian customs and values he

once tried so hard to abdicate.

An unlimited range of possibilities exists for the analysis of Lahiris first novel, The

Namesake, but time constraints restrict a teacher to only the most significant topics. So the

question remains:

29 What should teachers choose to teach about The Namesake?

v The significance of names within the novel and the reasoning behind the title

v The themes of immigration, assimilation, and stereotyping and their relevance to current

events in society today

v An application of biographical criticism to the novel, in accordance with the assumptions

made concerning Jhumpa Lahiris Indian heritage

v Postcolonial theory and American privilege

v v v

The Significance of Names

Evident even in the title of the novel, the importance of names plays a significant role in

The Namesake. At the beginning of the novel, when Ashima and Ashoke do not receive the letter

from Gogols grandmother in India with his official name enclosed, they are forced to abandon

their determination to abide by the Indian tradition of allocating two names upon the birth of a

child. Explain to your students the importance of both the daknam and bhalonam by referencing

pages 25 and 26 in the text, and discuss how the obstacles surrounding the naming of Gogol

foreshadow the identity crisis that plagues his life.

Pet names are a persistant remnant of childhood, a reminder that life is not always so

serious, so formal, so complicated. They are a reminder, too, that one is not all things to

all people (The Namesake 26).

The title The Namesake reflects the struggles of Gogol Ganguli to identify with his uncommon

names and accept his Indian identity. How does Gogol reject first his public name, his bhalonam,

and then his private pet name, his daknam? Why and how does he try to remake his identity?

What are the results, and what does he discover at the end of the novel? Reference the following

30 pages for excerpts concerning Gogols attachment (or lack thereof) to his name: 66, 76-78, 92,

98-106, and 288-291.

The three main characters in the novel are defined by their names:

Nikhil: he who is entire, encompassing all

Ashima: she who is limitless, without borders

Sonia: she who is golden

Discuss with your students the ability of the characters to fit the description of their names. How

do our names precede us in society, and how do they define us? Gogols identity crisis hits home

with teenagers of all backgrounds, genders, races, and ethnicities because it adds a relatable

dimension to his character. The discussion of identity may lend itself to a personal reflective

writing activity, in which the students reflect on the components that comprise their own

identities and the pressures of society to fit into a particular cookie-cutter mold.

v v v

Immigration, Assimilation, and Stereotypes

Due to its overwhelming presence in The Namesake, it is impossible for teachers to

ignore the all-encompassing theme of the immigrant experience and its effects on the characters.

The struggle to conform begins when the birth of their first child, Gogol, forces Ashima and

Ashoke to relinquish a highly symbolic Bengali tradition concerning the naming of their child.

Although the couple passionately attempts to preserve Indian customs and pass their roots to

their children, they ultimately have no control over Americanization and its ability to replace

the heritage of their second-generation American children. They often disapprove of Gogols

decisions and express disappointment at his indifference to Indian culture and values; however,

even the couple must assimilate on certain levels to survive in America.

31 As the students read, have them design a table to chart the changes that each of the

characters makes in order to respond the growing force of assimilation. It may be helpful to

divide the class into groups of four, assigning each member of the group to a different column of

the table. Encourage them to find specific examples from the book and to include page numbers.

The table may look something like this (we have provided some examples to prompt the students

if necessary):

Gogols attempts to assimilate

(specific actions)

Gogols feelings about assimilation

Ashima and Ashokes attempts to assimilate

(specific actions)

Ashima and Ashokes feelings about assimilation

Pg. 107: Watches MTV; refers to his college as his home

Pg. 126: He chooses to attend Columbia over MIT so that he wouldnt have to go home on the weekends, attend pujos and Bengali parties, or remain unquestionably in [his parents] world

Pg. 142: He dates Maxine and moves in with her, and never returns home in the summers

Pg. 64: Looks forward to Christmas far more than the worship of the Durga and Saraswati

Pg. 66: Gogol hates Bengali class and compares it to the folded toilet paper her uses at school

Pg. 75: He his relieved that he shows no resemblance to his Indian-looking father

Pg. 88: Quickly blocks out of his mind his experience in India and is relieved to return to America

Pg. 49: They buy a new Toyota Corolla

Pg. 52: They partake in yard-saling, despite Ashimas reluctance and shame at the thought of buying what had orig. belonged to strangers, American strangers at that

Pg. 54: She allows Gogol to watch American TV shows after his Indian lessons in order to keep up with the English he uses at school

Pg. 64: They celebrate American holidays

Pg. 65: They buy American groceries

Pg. 49: Describes being a foreigner as a lifelong pregnancy a perpetual wait, a constant burden, a continuous feeling out of sorts. . . elicits the same curiosity from strangers, the same combination of pity and respect

Pg. 58-60: Disappointment and confusion when Gogols teachers refuses to call their son by his good name, his school name

Pg. 64: Each step requires consultation with their Bengali friends

Pg. 65: They cant trust their childrens American accents- they feel unsettled

32 Once each student fills out his/her column of the table, allow the students to group with

those who filled out the same column, exchanging passages and holding a small discussion on

their finds. After about fifteen minutes, switch it up once more by instructing the students to find

their original group of four in order to fill out the remainder of their chart. Once again, encourage

discussion within these groups.

The remainder of the class discussion could go in a variety of ways, and here are just a

few that we suggest:

v Use the table as the starting point for a discussion about the generational divide between

first and second-generation immigrants. Lahiri has said, "The question of identity is

always a difficult one, but especially for those who are culturally displaced, as

immigrants are...who grow up in two worlds simultaneously" (The New Yorker). Why is

Gogol so eager to abdicate his Indian identity, and what do his actions say about his life

desires? How do Gogols feelings about assimilation differ from those of his family, and

what they wanted when they first came to America to start a family? How have

expectations changed between generations in your own family? What kind of cultural

influences affect these changes? Do you want something different for your own children

from what your parents wanted for you?

v Direct the students attention to Ashimas realization about the American stereotype

towards foreigners:

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.

It is an ongoing responsibility, a parenthesis in what had once been ordinary life,

only to discover that the previous life has vanished, replaced by something more

33 complicated and demanding. Like pregnancy, being a foreigner, Ashima believes,

is something that elicits the same curiosity from strangers, the same combination

of pity and respect (The Namesake 49-50).

Next, have the students flip to page 67 when the family discovers the desecration

of their mailbox, in which the name G A N G U L I had been shortened to

G A N G.

His ears burn at the sight, and he runs back into the house, sickened, certain of the

insult his father will feel. Though it is his last name, too, something tells Gogol

that the desecration is intended for his parents more than Sonia and him. For by

now he is aware, in stores, of cashiers smirking at his parents accents, and of

salesmen who prefer to direct their conversation to Gogol, as though his parents

were either incompetent or deaf (The Namesake 67-68).

Comment on Ashimas feelings as a foreigner in America and discuss the initial feelings

of your class toward these unwarranted, unjust actions toward an innocent family.

Through questioning, find out if the students have any personal experience with a similar

situation. How did it make them feel and how did they respond? Have they ever stood up

for someone who they felt was treated unjustly on the basis of skin color, ethnicity, or

gender?

v Have the students make a modern-day connection to a current event, such as the events

that have unfolded in Ferguson, Missouri in the past few months. Rather than to elicit a

heated discussion about the fairness or unfairness of the trial, let your students free-write

in their journals and respond to the events. Encourage them to make connections between

the rampant themes in The Namesake and the possible interpretations of the police

34 activity in Ferguson. How does the class discussion of the novel shed light on the event?

Remind them that they are not to take a stance on the trial - rather, they are to explore

both sides of the story in relation to stereotyping and the American response to the

incident.

v v v

Significance of Book Jackets

Before exposing students to the following interview and Lahiris own opinions of the book

jackets created for her works, have students study the front and back covers of The Namesake.

Discussion Questions: What are your initial reactions to the cover? How do you respond to the

color choice the use of yellow and blue? Does this say anything about gender roles? Why do

you think the cover pictures a large flower and flowing vine? With what kinds of things do you

associate these images? Is there anything peculiar about the font choice? From a first glance,

what do you think the novel with be about?

Show students the following excerpt, taken from an interview with Jhumpa Lahiri, conducted by

Julia Leyda in Greenwich Village, New York in August 2009.

Q: What do you think of your book jackets?

A: For the most part, they frustrate me.

Q: Why?

A: Too many flowers, for one thing. I adore flowers, but my writing isnt flowery. The

Namesake was the story of a boy, yet the cover on the US edition was of a giant flower. I

gather its supposed to appeal to women, because women buy more books. Foreign

35 editions often resort to a stock image of India a deity, or spices, or an elephant, or a

woman in a sari. Its tiresome and unimaginative. But as I said, I have no control. I can

only control the words I write (Leyda 72).

Have the students brainstorm design ideas for a new cover for the novel, attempting to validly

represent Lahiris intentions for writing the story. Think of colors, images, font types, and other

elements of design that could positively and justly depict Indian culture and gender roles without

romanticizing either of the two.

When prompted with other questions, Jhumpa Lahiri discusses the common stereotypes that

people automatically assume to be valid regarding herself and her works. She expresses

frustration and exasperation that many readers and critics limit her to the Indian sphere of

culture.

A: . . . I think its inevitable that my writing will continue to be regarded alongside other

writers of Indian descent and Indian writers. Its always been the case and were not

beyond that. I mean, I spend half the time in interviews trying to explain to people that Im

not from India. And I think theres a large population of readers out there who, when they

see my book, see the jacket, see the design, see the motifs, see my name assume certain

things about me. They assume that Im Indian. Or that Im Indian in the way that they

want to think of me as Indian, having been born and brought up there, and that Im a

foreigner in this country . . . (74).

Stop here to ask a few discussion questions: How does the knowledge that the author and

characters have some link to India facilitate assumptions on the part of some readers? Do you

think Lahiri intended for this overemphasis on culture and ethnicity?

36 Lahiri continues, commenting on the narrow-minded outlooks of her readers, who often assume:

A: . . . This is an Indian writer and I have to go to the specialty store, the next step up from

a foreign bookstore, to get it. I have to go to the niche cultural institution that is devoted

exclusively to the art and literature of a certain geographical part of the world (75).

At this point in the students understanding, it may be helpful to draw parallels between Lahiris

own life and that of the main character in The Namesake, Gogol. Have students apply

biographical criticism to The Namesake, studying how Gogol may, in fact, be a representation of

Lahiri herself.

v v v

Critical Theory in The Namesake

Critical Theory can be new to high school students. While critical theories are sometimes

hard to understand, they are a vital part of literature. Jhumpa Lahiris literature appears to

universally encompass Post Colonialism. In order for students to understand Post Colonialism,

you must provide them with an introduction to Critical Theory in general, and then explain Post

Colonialism.

Activity: Understanding Critical Theory Through Music

Preface this activity with the fact that there is foul language used in the songs that the students

will be listening to.

Directions:

Hand out the lyrics to the following songs. Tell your students to take out a notebook or a

few sheets of paper. Instruct the students not to talk to one another throughout the entire process.

Preface the songs with the question: What do you think the songwriters are trying to tell us in

37 these songs? (Idea derived from Bryson book- will cite later). Play each song for a short clip so

you can cover the lyrics that you presented your students with. When the clip is finished, tell the

students to write their thoughts in response to your question down on the piece of paper.

When you have finished the songs, go through each song and ask for about three to four

volunteers to share what they wrote down. Each song tackles a specific literary theory, and

hopefully your students will mention something that has to do with the theories as they are

listening to the songs. Be sure to alternate between males and females to hear the different

perspectives. You also have the most knowledge of your students lives outside inside and

outside of the classroom, so try to ask for a variety of opinions.Accidental Racist Brad Paisley To the man that waited on me at the Starbucks down on Main, I hope you understand When I put on that t-shirt, the only thing I meant to say is I'm a Skynyrd fan The red flag on my chest somehow is like the elephant in the corner of the south And I just walked him right in the room Just a proud rebel son with an 'ol can of worms Lookin' like I got a lot to learn but from my point of view I'm just a white man comin' to you from the southland Tryin' to understand what it's like not to be I'm proud of where I'm from but not everything we've done And it ain't like you and me can re-write history Our generation didn't start this nation We're still pickin' up the pieces, walkin' on eggshells, fightin' over yesterday And caught between southern pride and southern blame They called it Reconstruction, fixed the buildings, dried some tears We're still siftin' through the rubble after a hundred-fifty years I try to put myself in your shoes and that's a good place to begin But it ain't like I can walk a mile in someone else's skin Dear Mr. White Man, I wish you understood What the world is really like when you're livin' in the hood Just because my pants are saggin' doesn't mean I'm up to no good You should try to get to know me, I really wish you would Now my chains are gold but I'm still misunderstood I wasn't there when Sherman's March turned the south into firewood I want you to get paid but be a slave I never could Feel like a new fangled Django, dodgin' invisible white hoods So when I see that white cowboy hat, I'm thinkin' it's not all good I guess we're both guilty of judgin' the cover not the book I'd love to buy you a beer, conversate and clear the air But I see that red flag and I think you wish I wasn't here

When youre done with this, introduce literary criticism and theory. When introducing these

theories to a classroom, Charles Bresslers text, Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory

and Practice, is extremely useful. Definitions to introduce to your classroom:

Literary criticism: the act of studying, analyzing, interpreting, evaluating, and enjoying

a work of art.

Post-colonialism: consists of a set of theories in philosophy and various approaches to

literary analysis that are concerned with literature written in English in countries that

were or still are colonies of other countries.

After introducing the definitions and the lyrics to the song Accidental Racist, play the song

again and have your students listen more closely for responses to the following questions.

What happens in the text when the two cultures clash, when one sees itself as superior

to another?

Describe the two or more cultures exhibited in the text. What does each value? What

does each reject?

Who in the text is the Other?

What are the worldviews of each of the cultures?

What are the forms of resistance against colonial control?

How does the superior or privileged cultures hegemony affect the colonized culture?

How do the colonized people view themselves? Is there any change in this view by the

end of the text?

Have a class discussion about what the possible message in the song is and how it could

be tied back to postcolonial theory. The reason why we suggest learning about theory through

music is because it shows the students that these are not just tied to literature. Music is something

that is relatable to all students because it is in everyones life. The lyric portion of this lesson is

39 purely for interest in connecting theory to modern interests while serving the purpose of teaching

students something new and useful to the book that they are reading.

Expected responses may lead to a discussion about racism and stereotypes which is ideal.

Lahiris novel covers stereotypes based on the Bengali culture; this would make a good segway

into discussing the ways that her novel shares some of the themes with the song Accidental

Racist.

Now that your students have practice viewing readings and other works of art from a

specific lens, it is time to introduce critical theory through the novel, The Namesake. We have

picked out a few passages that your students will be able to look at through the eyes of a post-

colonial critic.

In the first passage, Lahiri writes about the first experience of sending Gogol to school

with his new name:

______________________________________________________________________________

Go on, Gogol, he says, patting him on the head. Tell Mrs. Lapidus how old you are.

What was that? Mrs. Lapidus says. I beg your pardon, madam? That name you called him. Something with a G. Oh that, that is what we call him at home only. But his good

name should be is he nods his head firmly Nikhil. Mrs. Lapidus frowns. Im afraid I dont understand. Good

name? Yes. Mrs. Lapidus studies the registration form. She has not had to go

through this confusion with the other two Indian children. She opens up the folder and examines the immunization record, the birth certificate. There seems to be some confusion, Mr. Ganguli, she says. According to these documents, your sons legal name is Gogol.

That is correct. But please allow me to explain That you want us to call him Nikhil. That is correct. Mrs. Lapidus nods. The reason being? That is our wish.

40 Im not sure I follow you, Mr. Ganguli. Do you mean that Nikhil

is a middle name? Or a nickname? Many of the children go by nicknames here. On this form there is a space

No, no, its not a middle name, Ashoke says. He is beginning to lose patience. He has no middle name. No nickname. The boys good name, his school name, is Nikhil.

Mrs. Lapidus presses her lips together and smiles. But clearly he doesnt respond.

Please, Mrs. Lapidus, Ashoke says. It is very common for a child to be confused at first. Please give it some time. I assure you he will grow accustomed (The Namesake 58-59).

______________________________________________________________________________

After you draw your students attention to this passage, have them take about five

minutes to write down their thoughts after reading with a post-colonial lens. Make sure you

remind them of the questions that were provided by the Bressler text in regards to being a

postcolonial critic. After the allotted writing time, spark up the discussion with the same

questions. Talk about the decision that Mrs. Lapidus makes when Gogols parents leave. What

does this say about the American Culture? Why do the parents wishes get undermined?

Here are some more passages that can be used in the same context:

____________________________________________________________________________

And yet to a casual observer, the Gangulis, apart from the name on their mailbox, apart from the issues of India Abroad and Sangbad Bichitra that are delivered there, appear no different from their neighbors. Their garage, like every other, contains shovels and pruning shears and a sled. They purchase a barbecue for Tandoori on the porch in the summer. Each step, each acquisition, no matter how small, involves deliberation, consultation with Bengali friends. Was there a difference between a plastic rake and a metal one? Which was preferable, a live Christmas tree or an artificial one? They learn to roast turkeys, albeit rubbed with garlic and cumin and cayenne, at Thanksgiving, to nail a wreath to their door in December, to wrap woolen scarves are snowmen, to color boiled eggs violet and pink at Easter and hide them around the house. For the sake of Gogol and Sonia they celebrate, with progressively increasing fanfare, the birth of Christ, an event the children look forward to far more than the worship of Durga and Saraswati. During pujos, scheduled for convenience on two Saturdays a year, Gogol and Sonia are dragged off to a high school or a Knights of Columbus hall overtaken by Bengalis, where they are required to throw marigold petals at a cardboard effigy of a goddess and eat bland vegetarian food. It cant compare to Christmas,

41 when they hand stockings on the fireplace mantel, and set out cookies and milk for Santa Claus, and receive heaps of presents, and stay home from school. (The Namesake 65)

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In the supermarket they let Gogol fill the cart with items that he and Sonia, but not they, consume: individually wrapped slices of cheese, mayonnaise, tuna fish, hot dogs. For Gogols lunches they stand at the deli to buy cold cuts, and in the mornings Ashima makes sandwiches with bologna or roast beef. At his insistence, she concedes and makes him an American dinner once a week as a treat, Shake n Bake chicken or Hamburger Helper prepared with ground lamb. (65)

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At home, his mother is horrified. What type of field trip was this? It was enough that they applied lipstick to their corpses and buried them in silk-lined boxes. Only in America (a phrase she has begun to resort to often these days), only in America are children taken to cemeteries in the name of art. Whats next, she demands to know, a trip to the morgue? In Calcutta the burning of ghats are the most forbidden of places, she tells Gogol, and though she tries her best not to, though she was here, not there, both times it happened, she sees her parents bodies, swallowed by flames. Death is not a pastime, she says, her voice rising unsteadily, not a place to make paintings. She refuses to display the rubbings in the kitchen alongside his other creations, his charcoal drawings and his magazine collages, his pencil sketch of a Greek temple copied from an encyclopedia, his pastel image of the public librarys faade, awarded first place in a contest sponsored by the library trustees. Never before has she rejected a piece of her sons art. The guilt she feels at Gogols deflated expression is leavened by common sense. How can she be expected to cook dinner for her family with the names of dead people on the walls? (70)

______________________________________________________________________________ Put your class into four groups and give each of the groups one of the passages above

from Chapter 3. Make sure that each of the groups has enough copies of the passage so that

everyone gets one. Give them about fifteen minutes to read the passages and discuss them from a

postcolonial perspective. Draw attention to the way that American values and traditions are

portrayed in each of the passages. Also bring up the idea of assimilation and how it is

manipulated in schools. When time is up, give each group the opportunity to share their passage

and their thoughts with the entire class.

42 There are many points of discussion for The Namesake that can be used as discussion for

a lesson on postcolonial criticism. The assimilation of Ashoke and Ashimas children into the

American culture is excellent to draw attention to. Specifically, comparing and contrasting the

two rice ceremonies will bring great points of discussion. First, introduce information on the way

that rice ceremonies work. Gogols rice ceremony has a section that speaks on this:

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Gogol is offered a plate holding a clump of cold Cambridge soil dug up from his backyard, a ballpoint pen, and a dollar bill, to see if he will be a landowner, a scholar, or a businessman (The Namesake 39).

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Once you explain this ceremony to your students, draw their attention to pages 38-40 to view

how Gogols was, then have them contrast it with Sonalis, which is on pages 63-64. Put the

students into groups of 4-5 and have them come up with a few ideas on how the two ceremonies

differ. Make a large Venn Diagram on the board and give each of the groups a marker so that

they can write down what they discussed for the entire class to see.

When you discuss the differences as a group, be sure to have students read this passage:

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Unlike her compliant older brother, Sonia, seven months old, refuses all the food. She plays with the dirt theyve dug up from the yard and threatens to put the dollar bill into her mouth. This one, one of the guests remarks, this one of the true American (63).

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After directing your students attention to this passage, it is important to bring up the fact that

Sonali is the second child born to Ashoke and Ashima. This concept of assimilation into the

American Culture is important to critical theory. Even though Sonali is only six months old, she

is already showing the progress that this family has made straying away from the Bengali culture

after their first-born.

43 Careers are also something that can be talked about with your students. Draw attention to

the fact that the careers that the Bengalis have are all considered highly ranked in the United

States. Jhumpa Lahiri touches on this when she writes, Like the rest of their Bengali friends, his

parents expect him to be, if not an engineer, then a doctor, a lawyer, an economist at the very

least (104). This proves to be an interesting point when talking about the differences between

the two cultures. Coming to America is obviously a choice that Ashoke makes for the benefit of

his family and his career, which puts pressure on his children to be the best of the best. Talk with

your students about the concept of careers in the namesake and relate it back to the original

questions that are set by Bressler. Also bring up how Gogol chooses to attend only Ivy League

schools. Talk about how this could be feeding into the stereotypes of Indian students. Is Lahiri

perpetuating the stereotype that all Indians are smart and hardworking by making the main

character of this novel attend some of the best schools in the nation?

By the end of this lesson, your students should have a good grasp on how to view the

novel through the lens of a postcolonial theorist. As the novel continues on, discussion can

always be held on the questions discussed earlier and how aspects relate back to postcolonial

theory.

v v v

To View or Not to View: Mira Nairs Version of The Namesake

No matter how splendidly depicted or attentive to detail, films never fail to pose a

problem due to a teachers time constraints in the classroom and the directors own time

constraints in the production of a film rendition. Due to the stringency of high school curricula

and the time allocation for each unit of study, the showing of a film that lasts for 122 minutes,

often a span of over two full class periods, seems implausible and too time-consuming.

44 Furthermore, from a directors perspective, how does one fit over 300 pages of detail, action, and

character development into a mere 122 minutes of screening? Directors are often forced to

eliminate a certain amount of detail due to the restrictions in the number of scenes that can

actually be shown. In the film rendition of The Namesake, Nair unfortunately chose to cut the

detailed plotline involving Gogols residence with Maxines family, which is a crucial

illustration of his rejection of his Indian heritage.

However, ignoring the restrictions of time management in the curricula and those placed

upon directors, we deem it absolutely beneficial to show Mira Nairs 2006 version of The

Namesake in a high school classroom for Nairs accurate depiction of Lahiris best-selling novel.

If time allows, the showing of the film provides readers with the necessary context of Indian

customs, the Indian homeland of Calcutta, and the emotional struggle of immigrants to balance

two opposing cultures. In an interview between Mira Nair and Jhumpa Lahiri herself, Nair

explains her decision to focus the film on the love story between Ashima and Ashoke. This

choice proves advantageous in a classroom setting because it allows the audience to consider the

intentions and feelings of the other characters. Though Lahiri uses a limited omniscient narrator,

it seems easy when reading to fall in the trap of revolving the entire plotline around Gogol, who

captures most of the action and experiences the most drama. However, Nairs decision to equally

distribute the limelight between the characters helps the audience understand the many

perspectives involved in the story and the complexity of the plot.

Furthermore, Nairs Indian background allows her to combine her personal experience

with the detailed characterizations within Lahiris text, utilizing a series of events in her own life

to inform the movie. In her 2007 interview with Jhumpa Lahiri, Nair admits that she loved the

novel and kept re-reading its contents, mesmerized by the ability of the book to capture her own

45 struggle of burying her mother-in-law in a country far from her home. The experiences of the

characters in the novel resonated within her, for she understood the deep bond of Indian families

and the interesting concept of two people who marry and then fall in love. Since she lived in

New York City and Calcutta for most her life, Nair authentically and confidently depicts the

setting of the novel within her movie, attentive to the minute details that truly enhance the visual

images. Upon leaving India at nineteen-years-old, Nair moved to the United States and married

an African man; therefore, the clashing of cultures within her life allow her to sympathize with

the struggles of the main character, Gogol.

Nairs accurate depictions of the Indian tradition within the story greatly please Lahiri,

who excitedly remarks that the thoughts in her head were transformed into a reality. Amazingly,

the beauty and richness of Calcutta matches the descriptions in the novel, offering students a

reliable view of the world outside of the United States. The imagery of the bridges in both major

cities serves as a powerful metaphor to link the contrasting places together, but it also acts as a

division to show the distance and cultural differences between the cities. Due its depictions of

Calcutta, Indian customs, and the roller coaster of emotions within the characters, Nairs version

of The Namesake opens students eyes to the reality of the novel, allowing them to compare and

contrast their own imaginative pictures with Nairs representation. The movie and its inclusion of

an Indian community holds a special place in Hollywood today in the words of Mira Nair, If

we dont tell our own stories, no one else will tell them (FoxSearchlight).

46 Taking a Critical Stance

Ronny Noor

In Ronny Noors critique of Lahiris short stories, he speaks of Lahiris multicultural

background and describes how this is a benefit to her writing of immigration. He also states that

another one of Lahiris greatest strengths is her attention to detail. He makes a good point that

almost all of the short stories in Interpreter of Maladies have been published before, but how

she uses her keen use of details to format and shape these pieces into a more cohesive collection

of short stories in Interpreter of Maladies. Noor respects Lahiris ambition to write of major,

universal issues such as war, assimilation and even familial struggles that everyone understands.

He makes this point to demonstrate that Lahiris pieces are not simply about immigration, but

can be relatable to any person due to her themes of worldwide human issues. Noor explains that

Lahiris skill of writing with detail and of relatable themes resulted in her winning multiple

awards for The Interpreter of Maladies, such as the Best American Short Stories award.

Noors critique of Lahiris Interpreter of Maladies collection and her overall talent as

an author is extremely positive and supportive of her work. In his review, he did not make any

negative remarks about Lahiris work and only praised her for her attention to detail and skill of

writing to a large audience about human issues. He spoke of specific parts of Lahiris short

stories that he found captivating and demonstrated the universality of her work to all readers in

her audience. Noor is clearly a fan of Lahiris Interpreter of Maladies and would most likely

also enjoy her other work, as he mostly praised the way in which she wrote.

Noors critique of Lahiris Interpreter of Maladies can be helpful to talk about in the

classroom because the discussion can be focused on the importance of multicultural authors

47 writing about the lifestyles lived in different countries, as well as the necessity of good writing

skills that Lahiri possesses. He provides the students with specific examples in which Lahiri

demonstrates her skill as an effective writer, which they can look at to observe what it means to

have these kind of writing skills. Also, reading such a positive critique of Lahiris Interpreter of

Maladies will prompt the students to be more excited about reading this text. Noor provides

clear, positive, concise critique of the Interpreter of Maladies and Lahiris writing talents,

making it one that is easy to use in the classroom.