One of the things that I would like to talk about are expectations in general. In the novel The Namesake the readers can clearly see how Gogol parents expectations help develop his character, this is shown when Gogol says how "his parents expect him to be, if not an engineer, then a doctor, a lawyer" ( Lahri 105 ). Gogol talks about how he did not tell his parents that he registered for a drawing class, like Gogol my family my family ( mostly grandparents ) have certain expectations I have to meet. Being the only guy in the family ( father side ) my grandmother puts a lot of pressure on me, like every time I would give my grandmother her medications she would always say that "I would be a great doctor and that I should become one since I should represent my families name in a positive way", but when I tell her that seeing blood makes me really dizzy she says that I should get over it and man up . My parents have a different perspective since they are more "westernized", so they just want me to have a job that I love ( which isn't a doctor ). The question I have for you is, do you think where your parents lived or how their raised affect what their expectations are ?
 |
| My grandmother and I |
Another thing that I can relate to is how little you now about a countries culture. Maxine attends Ashoke's funeral wearing black ( instead of white ), which is considered impolite this shows how knowing nothing about a countries culture can lead you into every awkward moments. I had a similar experience, but unlike Maxine it did not offend as many people. In 2011 I visited Canada for the very first time, I came to LDHSS for a visit to and I met his random guy. We talked for a bit and then he had to go to class, I shook his hand which is like how you say goodbye in most countries in the world and left. But I forgot about the fist bump and I just left him hanging I never knew about me leaving him hanging until the next day when my sister told me about it, she also told me how he acted like he was cracking his knuckles when I ignored him. Then 3 years later the same thing happened on my first day at LDHSS, but unlike last time the guy insisted that I would not leave him hanging. The question I have for you is, who was the person responsible for Maxine attending a funeral wearing black instead of white ?
Hey Mo!
ReplyDeleteI throughly enjoyed your blog this week. In response to your first question, for me personally my parents never put any pressures on my career path. They do suggest however, that I get out the house and explore the world when I get the opportunity to. I think the experiences my dad had when he was a student in the U.S really helped him gain a new prespective on his way of viewing things and it's because of this that I think he values gaining new experiences a lot more than having me going into a career he "approves" of. Ironically, him not putting any pressure on me actually puts makes me even more stressed because I feel like if I don't end up doing something worthwhile he'll be dissapointed in me and feel like his raising me here was a failure.
For the second question, I think it was Maxine's fault for wearing black. If I remember correctly, he knew Gogol wanted to be alone and attended the funeral in spite of his wishes.
I really like your memes and I'm looking forward to the next blog!
Hi Mohammed! That was a really interesting post you wrote. I can sort of relate your grandmother to my uncle since he lives in China and he doesn't have a clear perception of what Western culture is and that he thinks every male in my family should be a doctor or an engineer.
ReplyDeleteSince some of our parents were born elsewhere they have different expectations than probably of a family that was born in Canada. For example if I was born in China and not Canada then I would probably become a doctor because China focuses a lot on the industrial and medical fields. My parents first urged me to become a doctor, then an engineer, then they realized that Western life is different from Eastern life. So they told me that I could be whatever I wanted to be.
I really like that blog post, can't wait to read your next one!
(I like that doctor picture by the way)