Writing Assignment: The Namesake-指导美国assignment-Ashoke and A

Writing Assignment: The Namesake

Part I: Give a summary of the movie
Ashoke and Ashima leave Calcutta and settle in New York as soon as they get married. In the USA, Ashima struggles through language and cultural barriers as well as she deliver her first child. Through a series of miscues, their son’s nickname, Gogol (named after Russian author Nikolai Gogol), becomes his official name. By the time Gogol turns 14, he starts hate his name. Considering Gogol’s young age, his father did not explain the significance of the name to him. It turned out that Ashoke had been in a very serious accident of derailing train. Many people died. He had been reading Gogol just before the accident. He had a page of that book in his hand, acting as a flag in the darkness. The paper caught the attention of the medics. He got rescued. Finally Gogol’s parents decide to give him a more public name, Nikhil. When he goes to Yale University, he uses it. The distance between Gogol and his family continues to increases. He wants to be an American, goes home less frequently, dates American girl Maxine, and becomes angry when anyone call him Gogol. Ashoke finally explain the true significance of Gogol’s name. Gogol is deeply troubled by this news; he starts to regret changing his identity. Ashoke died of a heart attack while he is working in Cleveland. Gogol travels to Cleveland to gather his father’s belongings. Something inside of him changes. Gogol breaks off the relationship with Maxine and starts to spend more time with his mother and sister, Sonia. Gogol gets married with Moushumi, who is the daughter of his Ashima’s friend. By the end of their first year of marriage, Gogol finds out that Moushumi is having an affair. Moushumi and Gogol divorce. Ashima sells family home so she can live in India with her siblings for half a year. Sonia is preparing to marry to an American man named Ben. Gogol has come to accept his name and picks up a collection of the Russian author’s stories that his father had given him as a birthday present many years ago.
Part II: Did you like the movie? Why or why not? What was your favorite part
I do like this movie. This movie spans two generations, two clashing cultures and two very different ways of life that crash into each other only to become lovingly intertwined. Emotion is sincere and quite without affectation.

In this movie, my favorite part is Gogol’s whole family travel to India. To Gogol and Sonia, everything in India is unfamiliar. For the beginning, Gogol and Sonia do not like staying there until they visit to Taj Mahal. Taj Mahal’s beauty infects Gogol, deeply immersing in it. Finally he decides to major in architecture.
Part III: Movie Quotations (choose one)
1) What was the context?
2) What is the meaning and why is it important?
3) What is your opinion or How can you relate to this quotation

Think of Gogol’s future. This is the land of opportunity Ashima. He can be whatever he wants, study whatever he desires. You know, options are limitless. Don’t you want to give him that?

Those words come from Ashoke. In the first few year they came to the US, as Ashima prepared to give birth, she realized how isolated she has become, suffering from two clashing cultures. She misses her siblings and country so much. Since she delivered Gogol, she does not want him stuck in this tough condition. So she told Ashoke that she want take Gogol back to India. Ashoke persuade her into dumping her idea.

In America, there are more opportunities to get good education than in India. People in America have opening-mind, information transparence, freedom of speech, full of academic atmosphere, plenteous development space for professional career. Gogol lives in here would get better chance to earn what he wants.

In my opinion, I can’t agree with Ashoke. I think the most important thing is what Gogol wants. It seems that Gogol never get the chance to choose what he wants, he was born in America, almost spent the whole youth hood in the US, everything he know about , his life, his friends, school … are all in America. There was no first-hand impression of his nation. I think he also can earn what he wants in India in his own way, for instance, he decides to major in architecture instead of engineering, while his family visit to Taj Mahal.
Part IV: Open-ended questions (choose one)
1) The dedication at the end of the movie says “For our parents who gave us everything.” What did Gogol’s parents give him? What are some important things your parents gave you?

The first I have to say is life. Gogol’s parents gave him life, and the identity with his birth. Even he was born in the US, he can’t change his attribute of nation; Also his parents gave him understanding, they knew Gogol’s name would cause him to be laughed by his classmates, and allowed Gogol change his name into a public one. Ashoke and Ashima treat Gogol leniently. Gogol got Maxine to meet his parents, telling her no kissing, no holding hand in front of his parents, but she still did it anyway. Ashoke and Ashima did not blame him, just respected their son’s choice. And they gave Gogol the faith, that he can be free, pack a pillow and blanket, go see the world. No matter what adversity he meets, his parents will always support him.

指导assignment My parents are very strict with me. My father is a sailor, spending most of the year in the ocean. I barely see him, but he always attaches importance to high mark of my school work. If my score can not satisfies him, he will brush aside me. I used to be bothered about how to earn my father’s attentions. It turned out that I am getting more and more upset and disappointed. So, here is what I learn from my father. If you want something, fight for it; if you don’t want it or need it, then don’t desire it.
My mom takes care my life too well, she design my life based on her blueprint while I was very young. For now, the situation seems a little bit out of her conceivability. She is a “tiger mom”, since I enter the primary school, she enrolled me in painting and math classes. During the process of growing, I join in a lot of different classes. The most important thing my mom gave me is getting me learn the useful knowledge and skills.