Tuesday, January 14, 2020

The Name Game

Ashoke- In Indian, it means strong, strange, wholesome, youthful, and classic. It categorizes as civil rights. Ashoke has a strong mind but sometimes strange because he holds the truth about his son's name, and he knows his son is too young for this. That's why he decides to tell his son later. "Ever since that day, the day he became a father, the memory of his accident has receded, diminishing over the years. Though he will never forget that night, it no longer lurks persistently in his mind, stalking him in the same way. It no longer looms over his life, darkening it without warning as it used to do" (78).
Ashima- in other forms: Ashiyma. It means boundless and limitless. It categorizes as freedom. Ashima is willing to support her family and provide food. She is more boundless and limitless (she feels the freedom) when cooking her own cultural food (Bengali food). "All this is less stressful to her than the task of feeding a handful of American children, half of whom always claim they are allergic to milk, all of whom refuse to eat the crusts of their bread" (72).
Nikhil- It means whole and entire in Sanskrit. People think this name is youthful, formal, upper-class, wholesome, strong, refined, and strange. Nikhil is very upset with his pet name "Gogol," and he thinks that Nikhil is his only name. This name is whole and entire to himself because he doesn't want to share the same name as Gogol. "'I'm Nikhil now,' Gogol says, suddenly depressed by how many more times he will have to say this, asking people to remember, reminding them to forget, feeling as if an errata slip were perpetually pinned to his chest"(119).
Sonali- in other forms: Sonal. It means formal, upper-class, refined, strange. It categorizes as colors, gold, metals, and yellow. There is not much description of Sonali, Gogol's sister. However, I think her parents named her Sonali because she is the gold to their family. The last child and cherished girl to the family. "For their daughter, good name and pet name are one and the same: Sonali, meaning 'she who is golden'"(62).

My name is Chinese is Zhu Xi (朱希), which directly translates as the "vermillion hope".  I guess the reason why my parents named me this because they want me to be positive, and I am the hope for my family. That's why I have a (personality) positive attitude every day. 




4 comments:

  1. The fact that sonali’s name is referring to formal, refined is really interesting and I did not find this meaning. I think it reflects that Sonali is integrating into American life and class. She is the one who really escaped from her family’s burden. ZhuXi as a name is quite concise and impressive: it is sounds like a famous ancient Chinese poet named 朱熹(ZhuXi)

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  2. This makes sense Justin. The time that I've known you since 8th grade, you have proven to be a very positive person. Even though you may not talk that much, you always come to class in a positive attitude. On the soccer field, you also tend to be more proactive and never tired during a game. Justin, you definitely live up to your very interesting name meaning hope and positivity.

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  4. I think you did a really good job explaining your name! I love your name not only because it has a positive meaning, but also because it sounds very poetic. It sounds like a great Chinese poet who was also named ZhuXi. You fit your name perfectly because you have always been the guy who encourages people and helps them out of trouble.

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