The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (part 2)

Ashoke and Ashima have just had their baby and are waiting for the arrival of the name of their baby from Ashima's grandmother. When they are ready to leave the hospital they are told they must give the baby a name before he is allowed to leave. So they decide to make the baby's nickname Gogol, after the character in the book Ashoke was reading during the train accident. Both Ashoke and Ashima believe this name is only temporary and will change it on the birth certificate when the letter of the baby's real name arrives. The Ganguli family takes Gogol home and await for the name. While waiting Ashima goes through troubldes with taking care of Gogol. He develops and ear infection and Ashima feels she is not a good mother.

Question: Are names really important?

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

The novel The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri is about and Indian family from Calcutta who are trying to conform to life in America. The twenty five pages I have read so far are good. Ashima and Ashoke Ganguli are due to have a baby. As Ashima arrives at the hospital to deliver her baby her husband steps out and leaves Ashima their alone in a room with two other women who are about to deliver. As Ashima awaits the arrival of her baby she becomes frightened to know she will be raising a child in a country where "she is related to know one." As the baby arrives they await the name that will be given to the baby by their grandmother.

Quote: "...she is terrified to raise a child in a country where she is related to no one, where she knows so little where life seems so tentative and spare."

Question: Should Ashima be worried about being accepted in America?

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Laurie Halse Anderson's novel, Speak, is about a girl named Melinda who went through a very tramatic situation in her life and is now entering high school and trying to forget it. Anderson shows how harsh high school is to some people and what they have to do to conform or find acceptance. The themes of the novel are conformity and holding secrets. The main character, Melinda, kept the secret of her rape from everyone and tried to ignore it like it didn't happen. When she started high school she tried to do her best to be like everyone else. I enjoyed this book because it showed that when you decide that being yourself is okay and nothing is wrong with you, others will see that also and want to be around you. I also enjoyed Melinda because she finallly spoke about what happened to her and the world didn't end, like she thought it would.


Question: Why does Melinda feel she can't tell anyone she was raped?
Why is it so important to "fit in?"

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Stephen Chbosky's novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, is a coming of age story that gives an insight on what it is like to grow up in high school. Chbosky argues that growing up is not easy and you should always be true to yourself. The main character, Charlie, has to face a lot of issues during his years in high school. The book has many themes: conformity, appearance vs. reality, and holding secrets. An example for all the themes is the main character's (Charlie) friend Brad. He is a popular football quaterback that everyone likes. Most think he is a ladies' man but in actuality is gay. I enjoyed reading this book because it brought a lot of teen issues to light: fitting in, drugs, sexual orientation, conformity, etc.

Question: Who is Charlie writing to?
Why did Brad have to hide his sexuality from the others?

"Bait and Switch" by Barbara Ehrenreich (Chunk Two)

Barbara Ehnrenreich is still on the hunt for a job. She has enlisted yet another job coach and has attended a few job fairs and conventions. Some of the people she has encountered have been looking for jobs for over nine months! This makes Barbara feel a little defeated because she expected to have a job within two to three months, but it has already been four months. One of her coaches is mad at her because she has only networked with unemployed people. So she gave Barbara an assignment to network with everyone: relatives, the secretary at the doctor's office, etc. Both Barbara Ehnrenreich and her alias Barbara Alexander are exhausted from all of these job searches and revisions of resumes. She has already spent a couple thousand dollars but yet has ssen any results of her getting a job. At this point she is very desperate for a job and is not willing to quit.

Tone: Determined
Allusion: " For a moment I reeled, feeling like a character in an early Pynchon novel who has just been handed a major clue in a plot that will never be resolved..." page 123
Imagery: "Larry's choices: a mound of lettuce, covred with canned fruit salad, topped by a desiccated gray hamburger patty and dripping with Thousand Island dressing." page 125
Question: Why is networking a good strategy for finding a job?

"Bait and Switch" by Barbara Ehrenreich (Chunk One)

Barabara Ehrenreich's novel, Bait and Switch, describes the harship people face in the middle class word. In the first chunk (page 1-82), Barabara is figuring out her first steps in finding the perfect job for her. She decides that a job coach will aid her in her search. As she begins to research for coaches she finds some interesting facts about them. One job coach charges $4oo a month or $200 an hour for their services. The other coach, she has a meeting with, brings transparencies of information they want her to learn. One of the transparencies describes charaters in the Wizard of Oz and how they relate to individuals in the workforce. Then the coach tells her to take a test online, that cost $60, to see what the perfect job is for her. Barabara decides to take test but did not realize it would be a lot of questions! Even though all of these things sound strange this is what people go through to find well-paying jobs. Barabara thinks this process is important to some people in finding their perfect job.


Tone: Informative
Imagery: "...turned out to resemble Micahel Douglas...well tailored suit, emerald green silk ties, har slicked back to a curly fringe brushing against his collar."
Simile: "But in networking, as in prostitution, there is no time for fascination." page 62
Question: Why does Barabara feel she needs a job coach?

Runway Russian roulette

Ted W. Lieu's 2007 article, Runway Russian roulette, from the LA Times identifies a serious problem happening at airports, incursions. A runway incursion is planes almost running into each other. Lieu almost experienced this while on a flight to LAX. In fact this is not the first time that happened at the LAX in 2007. In 2007, there have been eight runway "close calls" at the LAX. There are many possible reasons why incursions happen. Air Traffic employes believe it is a staffing problem, while the FAA believes it is a "problem of runway configuration." Lieu believes there is a simple solution to this problem. According to the GAO, a perfect solution would be reducing flight volume and increasing space between flights. At the LAX flight landings and takeoffs are seperated by two minutes. Lieu believes five minutes would would make a dramatic difference in whether two planes will crash into each other or not. Some speculate this solution; believing it will cause more delays, but a delay is better than the death of passengers.

Tone: Urgent, Informative

Question: Would an increase in takeoff and landing times really reduce "runway incursions?"