Page 1-71 of The Namesake due Friday 

Be ready to discuss the following 

The Namesake Chapters 1­ through 4 

A. The title of the novel indicates the importance of Gogol’s name.  Briefly explain the significance of Gogol’s name to Ashoke, Gogol as he begins grade school, Gogol as a teenager, and Ashima. 

B. The significance of Place comes to play for both Ashima and Gogol.  Explain what Calcutta represents to Ashima and then to Gogol by the end of Chapter 4.  Then explain what Boston (Pemberton Road) means to Ashima and then to Gogol.

C. To this point we have seen Ashima and Ashoke assimilate to America as immigrants and Gogol living the life as a multi­cultural kid.  In your opinion, which is the harder life to live? Provide anecdotal evidence from the novel.

D. Trains and books both show up as motifs in the novel.  Trace either the role of trains or the role of books so far in chapters 1 ­ 4.

My name is Bernard Quiambao Berkenkotter the Fifth. But my friends and family members call me Benny. I was given the name Bernard from my dad and grandfather, who are also named Bernard. I’m not exactly sure why this lineage of Bernard’s actually started but I’m stuck in it now and I feel obligated to keep going with it. The name Bernard comes from the West Germanic word “Bern-hard” meaning hardy, brave and strong as a bear. Although I wish I am what my name describes me as, but I’m not. Which is one of the reasons why I’m not a fan of my own name. To me, my name means “responsibility” because I feel that responsibility of passing down the name to the next generation has been passed on to me by my dad. So in a small way I’m scared of the name as well, “What if I don’t have a son?, What if I don’t have children?” these were the thoughts flowing through my mind as I grew up. However, over the years I have begun to worry less about my own name, I guess it’s just me getting used to it. But I’m still not a fan of it. It also doesn’t help that there are 3 other Bernard’s in my family that I speak to which is why my parents gave me the nickname Benny. The name Benny comes from the Hebrew baby name meaning “Son of my right hand”. I have mixed feelings about my nickname. It reminds me of a little kid and not a muscular type of name, which honestly describes me a lot better than the meaning of Bernard.  

My last name Berkenkotter comes from Germany. It doesn’t necessarily mean anything but I still like the name. It’s no ordinary name, it’s a unique name that I don’t think any other family has. But in the same time it’s annoying when new people ask me about my last name. I don’t know a lot about my ancestry in German other than one guy who became a doctor and moved to the Philippines. The German ancestry was a long time ago and is pretty much no longer existent but I still feel a special connection towards that country because of my name. Which lets me appreciate my name a lot more. To me my last name represents culture, the culture of the family who I have now and the family who I had then. And it helps me remember where I come from. Both from the Philippines and Germany.

It means brave and strong,

But that doesn’t really describe me

I’m not really a big fan of it

Now, why, why is it so bad?

Well, it really doesn’t speak to me

There are five other Bernards in my family

2 of which I speak to almost daily

So it’s not special, not special at all

My nickname is Benny,

It sounds like a baby name,

Turns out it is

But I like it better than my first name

I don’t know any other Benny

Other than myself

That’s why I like it better

It differentiates me from everyone else

My last name is Berkenkotter,

A unique one this is,

It has no meaning,

Other than the meaning that it gives me

People always come up to me and ask where it’s from,

But really I don’t even know,

The only thing I know that it’s German

But my dad says there’s no more German in me

So even he doesn’t know

My name is a kinda special

It contains many different stories

My first name being the fifth in my family

My nickname being the one that keeps me different from the others

And my last name being of a family that I don’t even know

But still,

That’s my name

Bernard Berkenkotter the Fifth

But you can call me Benny