Stereotypes...Exist for a Reason?

Today, I  began to think of the many stereotypes in The Namesake directed at the Ganguli family and the many discussions we have had about stereotypes last year.  Stereotyping is defined in many ways; some describe it as to categorize, type, identify.  On the other hand, others explain it as a set of inaccurate, simplistic generalizations about a group that allows others to categorize them and treat them accordingly.  Personally, I mainly disagree with this second definition because I do not think stereotypes are necessarily inaccurate.  I think often times stereotypes exist because they have been proven as true. To justify this, I will use myself as an example.  People give Asians or more specifically Chinese people, many stereotypes.  Although I am only half Chinese, I think I fit many of the stereotypes.
1. "They are bad drivers" - I can certainly say I am not a good driver.  I do not know if this is a bad driver because of my ethnicity, but nonetheless, I would not consider myself a good driver.  
2.  "They love math" - I do like math.  It is my favorite subject.  Last year I took two math classes and whenever someone would hear this they would say "Oooh you would, you Asian!"
3. "They are awkward" - Many people would consider me an awkward person.  Possibly even the most awkward person they know.  The 8th period English class probably witnesses my numerous times of awkwardness during class. 
4. "They eat rice and Asian food- all the time" - My family probably eats Chinese food two times a week. And all I eat is rice...I cannot eat gluten (wheat) so that eliminates a lot of foods, so I do eat rice more often than normal.  Also, we had Chinese food at our Thanksgiving dinner.  As a little kid, I can remember having Thanksgiving dinner with my mom's side of the family and there would be a table full of traditional Thanksgiving food and a table of Chinese food. So, my mom decided to continue this tradition.  Also, most people eat the leftover turkey in say, a sandwich, but no, my mom makes this Chinese soup which we call "juk."  Additionally, I'm not lying, just before writing this, I ate edamame. 
5. "They use chopsticks all the time" - We do not use chopsticks all the time, but we do use them a lot.  For example, when cooking bacon, most people use tongs.  Nope- my mom uses chopsticks. She likes them and says it's easier. Try it some time. Except you probably cannot because I am going to take a guess that most of you don't have 20 pairs of re-usable chopsticks in your home? Do not worry, you can borrow ours because we do.
6. "They are good at martial arts" - As a child, I regularly went to karate classes.  Most people do not believe me, but I promise it's true, I have a black belt in karate.
7. "They excel at some kind of instrument - usually violin, piano, clarinet, flute"- I am in the band and I, not surprisingly, play the flute.
8. "They have strict parents" - My mom is very strict and usually does not let rules slide.  If I am even a minute late for curfew I am grounded for probably about a week or two which probably seems a bit extreme to others (and myself) .
9. " They have arranged marriages" - I am not quite old enough to elope, but if you read my last blog, you would know that my grandparents had an arranged marriage. 
Overall, I do not think stereotypes necessarily represent a negative thing, because in my case, most of them are true.  Oh and if you hadn't noticed, my blog has an Asian theme...because I embrace my culture unlike say, Gogol Ganguli.

Arranged Marriage...in my Family?

As we started The Namesake and we learned about the arranged between Ashima and Ashoke, I had mixed feelings about the situation.  Arranged marriage was a part of their culture but at the same time I thought, "How could two people who didn't know each other and who were forced into marriage actually be happy and fall in love?"  I reflected back upon these feelings yesterday when I was with my mom and our family friend Rachel.  We were talking about how Rachel was getting a divorce and how you can never really guess how relationships will end up.  Rachel thought it was amazing that her parents only dated for 12 weeks before being married for over 30 years.  My mom agreed and said, "My parents had an arranged marriage and they were married all their life until my father died a few years ago."  When I heard this, I was taken aback a little.  I had forgotten that my grandparents had an arranged marriage (Technically my grandpa (GungGung) was arranged to marry my grandma's (PoPo) sister, but somehow the parents changed their mind)  Now, looking back at my grandparents and at the Ganguli's I have a different perspective on arranged marriage.  My GungGung and my PoPo had an amazing relationship.  They really did live happily and I believe they were truly in love even though they had an arranged marriage.  My GungGung put on a hard front and always pretended like he didn't have emotions, but we knew he did, cause when it really mattered, he showed it, especially to PoPo.  Although all around them they saw that other people had the chance to fall in love and choose their partner, I do not think either of them would go back and change their arranged marriage because they fell in love and it the system  is a part of their culture (Asian ethnicity if you didn't catch on).  I am not an advocate of arranged marriage now, but I am also not totally against it.  Everyone always jokes and says, "So are you going to have an arranged marriage? Are you going to marry an Asian?" And even after this realization about my grandparents, my answer is still a no.

Nikhilam...No way!

As some of you already know I work at Math Monkey, a math tutoring/enrichment business.  Yesterday, I went to work and began setting up the classroom.  It was the last class of the session, which we always end with a big game of jeopardy.  As I wrote down the categories, I came upon one called Nikhilam.  Yeah NIKHILam. Like Nikhil.  From The Namesake.  As I read the name over a couple times to make sure I was not acting delirious and making things up, I began thinking about why the name Nikhil was in a term used for math.  I got very sidetracked and probably stood there for a good amount of time thinking about this when I should have been writing the other categories down.  But don't worry guys- I figured it out so it was worth the time.  Okay, so the name Nikhil means "'he who is entire, encompassing all'" (56).  The term Nikhilam at Math Monkey comes from the Vedic term, which is Indian too.  The Nikhilam strategy's saying goes "All from 9, last from 10." I'm not going to lie, I thought it this connection was pretty cool and felt kind of excited/proud of myself when I figured it out.  So, from this experience I've learned that little things make me happy and that you can never really escape from AP English.

I am Watching...Observant or Creepy?

Everyday in English class we sit in a large circle.  This set up makes it possible to see every other student in the class.  As we have our daily discussions, I have begun to observe my classmates in 8th period( It's not that creepy...I bet you watch people too).  I have noticed interesting human characteristics, quirks, and tendencies.  I apologize in advance if you find this odd or unusual, but as I listen to discussions (Ms. Serensky- I promise I do pay attention to discussions as well as observe), I find the actions of people very intriguing.  Here is my list:

1. I have noticed that as a person gets ready to talk, their body position changes.  Most people sit closer to the desk and sit up straight as if to prepare themselves to talk.  

2. People's voice level changes.  Some people talk more loudly and confidently.  Others, like myself, talk quietly and practically whisper, and even sometimes get a "ERTEL! LOUDER! AND AGAIN!" from Ms. Serensky.

3. Sometimes people are a lot more outspoken than I'd expect.  For example, Lizzy Burl (sorry for the callout but you're a good example!).  To me, she always seemed like a quiet, shy person.  However, in English class she speaks her opinion, which I fully give her credit for and I feel jealous towards her because I never can do this.

4. On the other hand, other people confirm their outspoken nature - Henry Gilbert.  As a friend of mine, I have always known him as an outspoken, confident, and loud individual.  In English class, as all of 8th period knows, he never holds back.  He voices his opinion no matter what and often times begins screaming.  He even talks about unnecessary things and such as students'  relationship statuses.  Even when it does not apply to the topic...

5. People get passionate.  For instance, Katie Conolly.  Her and Henry could probably debate for hours.  

6.  People have weird quirks.  Example 1- Alex Kreger.  When he talks during discussions, he pushes his hands against his desk, sits up straight, and almost leans back.  Then, as he discusses, he clicks his pen. Unique? Yes. Unusual? Yes.

7. People talk with their hands.  I have never understood this.  Does moving your hands around help you get your point across?

8. Many females in the class play/fidget with their hair as they speak.  I too do this as a nervous habit and I rarely notice when I do it.  

9. Many students cannot explain the placement of a quote in the book.  1st...no 2nd...no 1st real paragraph...umm...1, 2, 3, 4, 5th line.  I believe I fall into this category.  I feel so much pressure when the entire class watches and waits for me to find a quote, when really, it does not matter that much.

10.  As a person begins to talk, they usually start with "Yeah."  As highly-educated, well-spoken AP English 12 students, "Yeah" probably is not the best, most effective way to make a point.  

Have you noticed any unusual habits about your classmates?

  

What do you want Moushumi?

After reading chapter 10 and discussing in class, initially, I felt bad for Moushumi.  I feel as if she feels trapped and she feels very confused about her relationship with Gogol.  I do not think she truly knows what she wants from life.  She has very differing emotions throughout the chapter.  For instance, the narrator talks about Moushumi and that "she'd genuinely liked Nikil.  She'd liked that he was neither a doctor nor an engineer" (248).  Through the repetition of the past tense verbs, the narrator displays Moushumi's past and previous love for Gogol, but that she does not feel that same love anymore.  However, on the other hand, the narrator also explains that Moushumi "is reminded, forcefully, of why she still loves him" (249).  Through this, the author indirectly characterizes Moushumi as still in love with Gogol.  Then, the narrator describes Moushumi's times with Dimitri and explains, "Moushumi refers to Nikhil in conversation as 'my husband'" (264).   At first, I thought this sentence simply showed Moushumi's affair with Dimitri, which displays that she does not love Gogol.  However, after reading it again, I believe this sentence reveals a lot more about Moshumi.  I think that because she uses "my husband" instead of his actual name to refer to Gogol indirectly characterizes her as guilty.  Because she uses a common and general term like "my husband," instead of Gogol, I feel as if she feels guilty for cheating on Gogol, representing that she still has feelings for Gogol.  I think Moushumi feels very confused about her life and her feelings for Gogol.  I believe her problems are rooted in the problems she had in her childhood, and she can never truly escape these problems, so she will continue to have conflicting feelings towards Gogol.

Gogol's Future Looks Like Failure

Throughout chapter 9, I felt very frustrated and upset with Gogol.  I feel as if by marrying Moushumi, he simply settles because he does not want to take a chance and get hurt like he did with Maxine; it seems as if he takes the safe route through Moushumi.  Also, I think he knows that they do not truly love each other and it will not work out.  I think if he actually loved her, he would feel more excited for their marriage.  For example, the narrator states right before his wedding, "he could have done a few miles on the treadmill before preparing himself for the event" (222).  Through this, the author indirectly characterizes Gogol as distracted and uninterested.  On the day of Gogol's wedding, he should feel happy and he should look forward to it, not feel bored and want to go running.  From the beginning of their marriage, Gogol seems uninterested and out of touch. Then, later in their marriage, the narrator describes that Gogol "knows that that sort of insular passion can't be sustained" (237).  Through this, Gogol has such a negative and depressing tone. In addition, I think this foreshadows that his and Moushumi's relationship will eventually fall apart.  Through his depressed tone, it seems as if he believes the relationship will end up boring and fail.   I feel like Gogol can never feel happy because he only sees the negatives of every situation.  And, if they actually loved each one another, this love would not fade out, only change as time goes on.  Gogol is unhappy with his relationship, but he does not do anything about it.  I wish Gogol would take a stance and do something about his unhappiness.  However, I think he himself will hinder him from every truly feeling happiness.