The Namesake

Explain the theme of this excerpt from The Namesake.

• Travel is meretricious.

• If you don't leave, you'll be stuck here forever.

• Talking with strangers while traveling leads to all kinds of mischief.

• Reading books instead of traveling causes one to become supercilious.

How does the reader know that Gogol has never received a gift from his father before?

• Gogol cries gratefully to himself after his father leaves, treasuring the gift through college

• Gogol is surprised to see his father, since his mother usually buys the gifts and writes his dad's name on them

• Gogol is vitriolic, throwing the gift across the room since he doesn't want anything from his father

• Gogol runs to his sister and closest friends, telling them that his father finally got him a gift inspite of their economic situation

Gogol's name, his "namesake," is

• Indian

• American

• British

• Russian

How do Ashoke and Ashima plan to name their baby?

• They will ask their American friends for names because they want an American name.

• Ashoke will name the baby, because Indian fathers always name their children.

• They have asked Ashoke's relatives in India to come up with a suitable name.

• Ashima's grandmother will send a letter with a boy name and a girl name.

How does Ashoke earn money?

• He works as a waiter by day, professor at night classes

• He is an assistant medical practitioner

• He works as an engineer for a major tech company

• He is a graduate teaching assistant at university

Who decides that Gogol will not be called Nikhil in kindergarten?

• Ashoke

• Mrs. Lapidus, the Principal

• Ashima

• Mr. Lawson, his teacher

Explain what really happens when Gogol and his friends go to the party .

• Nikhil allows Gogol to be free of his family constraints and expectations.

• Gogol hides in the bathroom, ashamed to participate in such an American affair.

• Gogol convinces Nikhil to go home.

• Gogol and Kim start a relationship for the first time.

We all came out of Gogol's overcoat means what?

• The Ganguli family played together and wound up twisted in their son's jacket.

• Gogol had such a profound impact on his family that they are all changed because of him, and not for the better.

• Gogol, despite living such a short life, influenced his writing contemporaries more than anyone really realized.

• Sofia and Gogol created new identities after putting on his coat.

Ashima engages in a small _____ when she steps into Ashoke's shoes before meeting him because it was improper for a Bengali woman to do such a thing.

• indiscretion

• foray

• tentative

• inviolable

What is the primary theme explored in Jhumpa Lahiri's novel 'The Namesake'?

• Identity and self-discovery

• War and peace

• Love and betrayal

• Technology and society