Lahiri's The Namesake

Characters
Ashoke Ganguli: Gogol's father who is nearly killed in a train accident.
Ashima: Ashoke's wife who arrives in New York after their arranged marriage.
Gogol/Nikhil: Main character who struggles with his Indo-American identity.
Sonia: Gogol's younger sister who marries Ben.
Ruth: Gogol's college sweetheart. They separate after she studies abroad.
Maxine: Gogol's first love. Break up due to Gogol's struggles after father's death.
Moushumi: Gogol's wife. Marriage ends with her affair with Dimitri.

1. In the first three chapters, we learn of Ashoke's train accident, Gogol is born, and then Gogol starts kindergarten. After reading these chapters, some emerging themes are the importance of names and establishing a new identity.

2. The Namesake opens with an excerpt from Gogol’s “The Overcoat” but the parallels do not end there. Allusions to “The Overcoat” can be found everywhere throughout the novel. The most important similarity between the two writings is the way that Gogol Ganguli changes his name just as Akaky Akakievich changes his overcoat. Both Gogol and Akaky are born without a name picked out. As a child, the resistance Gogol shows to being called by a new name is similar to Akaky’s opposition to getting a new overcoat. In “The Overcoat”, Akaky retreats back into the defenseless person he used to be after his overcoat was stolen. In contrast, Gogol never truly converts back to his old self, except when he is with his family. Gogol wears his name like Akaky wears his overcoat. Both things give them a new sense of confidence and allows them to recreate themselves.

3. Chapter 7- Ashoke dies
    Chapter 8- Gogol meets Moushumi
    Chapter 9- Gogol and Moushumi get married

4. The last time Gogol saw his father was when he was with Maxine. It is a ritual for men to shave their heads when they are in mourning.

5. I think it was a terrible decision for Moushumi to call Dimitri. She knew exactly what she was getting herself in to and she wanted to prove to herself that she was still an independent woman.

6. The train represents change in many instances throughout the novel. It signifies traveling to the next stage in life. Almost every life-changing moment takes place on a train. In the beginning, Ashoke nearly loses his life in a train accident. As a college student, Gogol meets his first girlfriend, Ruth, on a train. Also, Gogol is at a train station when he learns of Moushumi’s affair.

Marquez's "A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings"

Characters
Old Man/Angel: A mysterious man with wings that is discovered by Pelayo and Elisenda who keep him in a chicken coop. He becomes a local attraction and is mistreated by some of the visitors. His purpose for showing up is never revealed.

Pelayo: Husband of Elisenda. He seems concerned about the old man at first. Although he goes against the neighbor's suggestion to kill him, he puts the old man in the chicken coop. He becomes rich from the old man's arrival.

Elisenda: Wife of Pelayo. She came up with the idea to charge admission to see the angel. Once the angel is no longer of use to her, she looks at him as a nuisance. She is relieved when the angel flies our of their life.

Father Gonzaga: He doesn't believe the old man is an angel. He tries to be the voice of reason by insisting that the people treat the old man with respect.

Neighbor Woman: A friend of Pelayo and Elisenda who apparently knows everything about life and death. She believes the old man is an angel who has come for their sick child.

Spider Girl: A girl who was turned into a spider by the heavens for sneaking out of the house. She becomes a carnival attraction and takes the attention away from the old man.

A prominent theme in this story is Human Nature. Marquez is suggesting that if you are different or unique, then you aren't accepted by our judgmental society. This is why Marquez referred to the visitor as "a very old man with enormous wings" rather than "an angel". The old man doesn't fit the normal description of an angel and Marquez wanted us to him the character as an outcast. The reactions of the different townspeople also reveal more about human nature. Most of the people don't care who he is or represents, which shows how narrow-minded people are. The story proves that people are always looking for the next best thing. Once the Spider Girl came to town, they no longer paid attention to the old man. Spider Girl was even more intriguing because she had an explanation of why she was there.

Silko's "Yellow Woman"

1. Silko's "Yellow Woman" is a simple story of a young woman's brief romantic adventure with a handsome, mysterious stranger names Silva. Although the events may have actually taken place, the narrator only fantasizes that she is the Yellow Woman and that Silva is a ka'tsina (a spirit). If Silva was a ka'tsina, he wouldn't steal and kill the innocent rancher. The narrator only wanted to believe that she was the Yellow Woman. She obeys Silva even though she doesn't know him because she wanted to be a part of the Yellow Woman story. This portrays a theme of desire in the story because the narrator desired to be more than what she was. Silva also goes along with the story and makes her question her sense of what is real.

2. The characters in "Yellow Woman" possess both the roles of male and female archetypes. In Laguna Pueblo culture, the Yellow Woman was both heroic and sexual. Females are portrayed as courageous in the service of their people and usually achieve success through sexuality rather than destruction.  Yellow Woman tales embody male qualities with an aggressive sexuality but with a traditional object of female desire.

3. The story of "Yellow Woman" is about the narrator. Even though we as readers never learn her name, we get an insight to her thoughts that allows her character to develop. The story is about her struggle between a life of fantasy as the Yellow woman or a normal life as a mother and wife.

Guevera's Motorcycle Diaries

Motorcycle Diaries exemplifies to characteristics of a bildungsroman by serving as a "coming of age" story of Ernesto Guevara. During the course of the novel, Guevara transforms from a 22-year-old, sheltered medical student to a mature, serious adult. Guevara grows psychologically, morally and socially throughout various encounters with people and places. One such experience is when he meets the Communist couple in the Chilean desert. Guevara and Granado had been traveling for a long period of time without food, water or rest. Upon meeting the couple, they are relieved. However, they soon realize that the couple is in worse condition than they are. The following day, Ernesto is exposed to poverty of the indigenous peasants who are all searching for work. Guevara is appalled at the treatment of workers. This is the first instance that makes a noticeable change in Guevara. Furthermore, Guevara is changed psychologically during his visit to Macchu Picchu. He wonders how the highly advanced culture gave way to the urban sprawl of Lima. In addition, Guevara's visit to the leper colony alters his outlook on life most drastically. He sees the physical and symbolic division of society and strives to close the gap. All of these encounters with social injustice transform the way Guevara sees the world and motivates his later political activities as a revolutionary.

Plan: 8000 km in 4 months
Name of motorcyle: La Ponderosa (The Mighty One)
Travelers: Ernesto Guevara & Alberto Granado
Chichina: Ernesto's Girlfriend

"You gotta fight for every breath, and tell death to go to hell."
-Ernesto says this to Silva (patient at the leper colony)

Achebe's "Things Fall Apart"

As we can see from Part 1 of "Things Fall Apart", the centuries-old Ibo culture was well functioning and civilized before the white Europeans came. We can admire certain aspects of their culture including their marriage rituals, a cash crop to provide for their families, and a way to avoid war. The Ibo culture also had a system of titles, a council of elders, and a court system. This shows that they were self-sustaining and had a way of life that worked for them. However, things began to change from within the culture, even before the arrival of the white man. Some members of the clan started questioning why certain people had to be sacrificed or murdered. Also, some wondered why twins needed to be thrown into the Evil Forest. Even Okonkwo deviates from the expected practices of the clan when he kills the man's son, even though it was accidental. Because of it, he was exiled from his father's land for seven years. In addition, some may have been surprised when he killed Ikemefuna himself. All of these things led Nwoye, Okonkwo's son, to follow the missionaries upon their arrival. Nwoye questioned the actions of his father and the clan, and he saw Christianity as a better option.

So, why did the society fall apart?
1. Christianity
     -The church disproved many of the Igbo superstitions
     -Encouraged the Igbo to break traditions
2. Settlers
     -Killed the village of Abame
     -Attempted to convert the rest, while imposing their power on the land
3. Igbo Tribe
     -Lack of central structure made the tribes easy to separate and convert/conquer
     -Couldn't offer a consolidated defense against invaders and their customs

Ozick's "The Shawl" & Borowski's "Ladies and Gentlemen, To the Gas Chamber"

In "The Shawl," the shawl is considered to be "magic." This is because it keeps the baby from crying and being seen, which saves her life. Although she had no food, the shawl gives her nourishment to magically keep her alive.

Ozick's story shows strengths and weaknesses of human beings. Through the character of Rosa, we see the selfless and caring qualities. She willingly gives up her food to keep Magda alive. On the other hand, Stella shows the cold-hearted and jealous side of human nature. She does not see Magda as an innocent baby, but rather as a piece of food that is going to waste. Starvation has brought out the worst in her and she will do anything for her own survival.

Similarly, "Ladies and Gentlemen, To the Gas Chamber" tells Borowski's own survival story. To save his own life, he must escort others to their deaths. With this idea of "escorting," the politeness of the title mocks the reality of the situation. The fact that the trains are thoroughly cleaned gives people the false impression that they are going to a better place.

This leads to the major themes of the story are death and survival. In aiding the death of others, Borowski and the workers facilitate their own survival. Their physical well-being also depends on the destruction of the Jews because they collect essential items from the prisoners. As Henri says, if the camp "runs out of people" to kill, he and his coworkers will starve to death. Making the connection between death and survival, he says, "All of us live on what they bring." 

Mansfield's "The Fly"

Even with no direct references to World War I, Katherine Mansfield makes it a clear focus of "The Fly"through many details:
1. "...photograph over the table of a grave-looking boy in uniform...It had been there for six years." (page 1) This is the first clue that his son was in the military and possibly had been killed.
2. "The girls were in Belgium last week having a look at poor Reggie's grave, and they happened to come across your boy's." (page 2) The readers now learn that both of their sons were killed in the war.
3. "There's miles of it," (page 2). Woodifield is speaking of the massive graveyard where their sons along with other soldiers are buried.
4. "The boy had been in the office learning the ropes for a year before the war." (page 3). This is the first direct reference to the war, although it does not specifically state which one.

Although "The Fly" can be interpreted in many different ways, there is one theory that makes the most sense to me. After learning about Katherine Mansfield's personal life, I believe that Mansfield herself is the fly and God/fate is the boss. She harbored an unbearable anger about the war and her brother's death. As the fly, she is being crushed by the boss who represents a fate she cannot control. The hardships of her life slowly led to her death, signified by each drop of ink. One of these ink drops was the death of her brother. With each obstacle, she tried to dust herself off and move forward. But eventually, she no longer had the physical and emotional strength to keep going. "The Fly" symbolizes her own struggle.

Various themes are also present throughout the story. Hopelessness and despair appears throughout the story which parallels the devastating aftermath of World War I. Another theme is the notion that time heals all wounds. After six years, the boss finally cannot force himself to mourn over his son's death. On another note, this is why Mansfield wrote the story: she didn't want people to forget those who lost their lives fighting in the war, like her brother.