The Namesake Post A # 5

Gogol breaks up with Ruth, and after a little bit, he meets another girl named Maxine. They begin to date, and Maxine invites him (Gogol tells her his name is Nikhil) to her house for dinner, the second day after they meet. Later on, Maxine goes to Gogol's house for dinner. The most striking differences that I noticed were in the manners of the two families. Maxine's parents are more of the "Mi casa es su casa" type, while Gogol's parents are the reserved, quiet, Indian type parents. For example, when Maxine introduces her parents by their first names, Gerald and Lydia, nobody seems to mind, but Gogol's parents get uneasy when Maxine addresses them by "Ashima" and "Ashoke." In addition to this, the meal they have for dinner is not of epic proportions, and there is no indication that seconds are available (I know that this is not what a typical American family would do, but it is what the family in this book does). Gogol knows that the exact opposite would be going on at his house, if they had Maxine over for dinner. "His own mother would never have served so few dishes to a guest. She would have kept her eyes trained on Maxine's plate, insisting she have seconds and thirds (133)." Lastly, I know that I talked about this already, but there is now a concrete example of the difference in public affection between Indian and American married couples. "Seeing Gerald's head resting on Lydia's shoulder, Gogol is reminded that [...] Whatever love exists between them [his parents] is an utterly private, uncelebrated thing (138)." Gogol is happy being with Maxine, and although both of their parents lives are extremely different, I believe that Gogol is happy with her. Being a native-born American, I think that this is the life that he wanted, but could never have.