Though I have just recently found out that Gogol and Maxine's relationship has been ended, I have wondered if Gogol actually loved Maxine or just her family. Almost halfway through the book The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, we are introduced to Maxine Ratliff, a wealthy, shopping-lover, and confident girl. Gogol instantaneously falls in love with Maxine and even moves into her parent's mansion, where Maxine has her own floor. "'Oh Nikhil, it's too awful,' she eventually says on one of these occasions, barely three moths after they've met. 'I won't let you live here.'". (Lahiri 139). Though Maxine is insanely wealthy, what Gogol says he falls in love with is her confidence in her own skin. "She has the gift of accepting her life; as he comes to know her, he realizes that she has never wished she were anyone other than herself, raised in any other place, in any other way. This, in his opinion, is the biggest difference between them, a thing far more foreign to him than the beautiful house she'd grown up in, her education at private schools.". (Lahiri 138). But did Gogol really love Maxine? Or did Gogol just love that Maxine's family is so different from his? Gogol loves that Maxine's parents don't pressure her to become something in the future, like how Ashima and Ashoke both expected Gogol to be a lawyer or engineer. Though I feel Gogol did love Maxine, it seems as if he loved the idea of Maxine more.

    Throughout the book The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, Lahiri shows Gogul's struggle to find an identity because of his two names. In the beginning of the book, Gogul is introduced to his "good name" when he is beginning kindergarten. "He is afraid to be Nikhil, someone he doesn't know. Who doesn't know him." (Lahiri 27). Eventually, the school insists on Gogul using his real name instead of his good name. As his school career continues, he begins hate the uniqueness of his name. Once he goes to college, he decides to change it to Nikhil. Of course with his new name, he also reinvents his personality. Now that he is Nikhil, he doesn't bother answering his parent's phone calls or their concerns. Though Gogul has requested for his parents to call him Nikhil, he finds it strange when they do because it makes him feel as if he is no longer related to his mother or father.
    Though Gogul first began to consistently call himself Nikhil in college, he referred to himself as Nikhil when introducing himself to all of his love interests. When he had his first kiss, he lies multiple times to the college girl, one of them being that his name is Nikhil.
    Gogul is also embarrassed of his name because so many people would ask what it meant "in Indian". If he were to be called Nikhil, he would at least be able to identify with his Bengali culture, rather than the Russian lastname given to him at birth

       From the first two chapters of The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, it is obvious how different American culture is from Indian culture. What first stood out to me that showed the two different cultures was when Ashima Gangul went into labor."Like a kiss or a caress in a Hindu movie, a husband's name is something intimate and therefore unspoken, cleverly patched over." (Lahiri 2). This shows the difference between the two cultures because Americans typically say their husband's names when calling for them. Another difference is when Ashima is in labor and is listening to the other women who are also giving birth. "'Goddamnit, goddamn you, this is hell,' she hears one of them say. And then a man's voice: 'I love you, sweetheart." Words Ashima has neither heard nor expects to hear from her own husband; this is not how they are." (Lahiri 3). During this time, Ashima's hesband has left the hospital to go work. Ahima also says she does not expect her husband to say "I love you", which contrasts with American couples's constant PDA. Throughout the rest of the second chapter, we are introduced to a wild and typical American fanily, who happen to Ashima's neighbors. "Judy always wears blue jeans, torn up into shorts once summer comes, and a necklace of small seashells around her throat." (Lahiri 31). I was surprised when she mentioned that Judy always wears jeans because people wears jeans constantly.

    Since I first started reading "Notes From Underground" by Fyodor Dostoevsky, I have noticed that it is extremely similar to "Catcher in the Rye" by J.D Sallinger. Not only is the writing style the same, but the main characters, the underground man and Holden Caulfield, both act and speak a similar way in the books. These two characters both create their version of reality, the underground man with how he feels about the normal man and how Holden imagines a life where time is completely frozen.
    Another similarity between the two, is that they both constantly contradict what they have previously said sentences before and they are both incredibly self-conscious. The Underground Man mentions a mouse, that clearly represents himself. "There, in its nasty, stinking, underground home our insulted, crushed, and ridiculed mouse promptly becomes absorbed in cold, malignant and, above all, everlasting spite. For forty years together it will remember its injury down to the smallest, most shameful detail, and every time will add, of itself,  details still more shameful, spitefully teasing and irritating itself with its own imagination." (Dostoevesky 11). The Underground man clearly is putting his own past experiences in to the isolated and self- conscious mouse that he describes.
    Both the UM and Holden are similar because they isolate themselves by stating that they are in some way above other people. While Holden uses that everyone else is fake and phony to avoid people, the UM says that his cleverness and logic set him apart from normal conscious men. "The worst of it is,no matter how I tried, it still turned out that I was always the most to blame in everything, and what is most humiliating of all, to blame for no fault of my own but, so to say, through the laws of nature. In the first place, to blame because I am cleverer than any of the people surrounding me." (Dostoevesky 9).

    Chinua Achebe and Kasey Varner both fill in the single story of poor Africa and ditsy cheerleaders by presenting the strengths and weaknesses of lesser-known sides of Africa and cheerleading. Since Africa is[HP1]  heavily publicized as poor, helpless, and unstructured, it has been widely accepted as the single story of Africa[HP2] . Achebe uses the wealth-oriented Nigerian village, Umofia, to show the structured village that heavily revolves around social ranking to fill in the missing side of the story. High school cheer squads have become associated with the word cheerleading. Because of this, people do not consider the difficult and competitive side of cheering, and the single story of cheer has become all about short skirts, pom-poms and cliques. To challenge the single story of cheerleading, Kasey Varner uses her own knowledge to fill in the missing information of the complex and strenuous sport. Chinua Achebe and Kasey Varner both try to educate people on the more complete story of Africa and cheerleading by using their own knowledge and experience.
    In “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, Achebe fills in the blanks of the single story of Africa by presenting a wealthy community. The media publicizes Africa as helpless and poor, but Achebe challenges that single story by using a wealthy and self-made man, named Okonkwo, to fill in the complete the single story. “Okonkwo’s prosperity was visible in his household. He had a large compound enclosed by a thick wall of red earth” (Achebe 14). By showing a man who was obviously wealthy, Achebe is able to present a man who does not fit into the typical African stereotype as a social norm. Achebe also uses Okonkwo’s ability to support his large family to challenge the helpless stereotype that Africans can’t support themselves and need to be saved. “He worshipped them with sacrifices of kola nut, food and palm-wine, and offered prayers to them on behalf of himself, his three wives and eight children” (Achebe 14).  Because of Okonkwo’s ability to support his large family with three wives and eight children, it is obvious that the single story that all Africans are helpless and poor is not true. Chinua also shows that the white missionaries came into the village thought the people of the tribe desperately needed saving and salvation. “(The osu) needs Christ more than you and I,’ said Mr. Kiaga”. (Achebe 156).
    Kasey Varner fills in the missing information that most people don’t know about cheerleading by showing the difficult and athletic side of cheer. Varner shows that there is a difference between the two different types of cheer, the high school cheer and the lesser-know all-star cheer. “Competitive cheerleaders spend countless hours training and perfecting every aspect of a routine and the components that make it up such as tumbling, stunting and dancing. It is much more physically demanding than most people imagine.” Varner challenges the stereotype of typical cheerleaders that are usually associated with pom-poms and short skirts, by giving the missing information about the difficult part of the sport. Deanna Harvey, a former cheerleader also helps complete the story, and challenges those who believe cheerleading is not a sport. “My message to the judge who ruled that cheerleading is not a sport is to try one stunt, perform a backflip while you soar into the air, and wait for two petite girls to catch you. And then get back to me.” By using her knowledge and experiences with cheer, Harvey is able to add contrast of single story to prove that cheerleading is difficult [HP3] and requires a huge amount of physical exertion.
    To further complete the single story of Africa, Achebe disproves the idea that the communities have no social order or ranking. Achebe shows the use of titles used in the village and war accomplishments to show social ranking between the men in the village. “ To crown it all (Okonkwo) had taken two titles and had shown incredible prowess in two inter-tribal wars.” (Achebe 8). Since Okonkwo had gained titles and was successful in war, he had earned a lot of respect and numerous titles.  Achebe shows that a social ranking system does exist.
    An additional, stereotype that Kasey Varner challenges is that cheerleading is only cheering for other sport teams. Varner shows that cheerleading has been greatly changed since it first began, and that it is evolving to be similar to gymnastics. “More gymnastic-type skills are now required such as back tucks, twisting back handsprings and lifting and catching other girls about your weight.“ By showing the difficult skills the cheerleaders must learn, Varner fills in missing information of cheerleading and how strenuous it is.
    Chinua Achebe and Kasey Varner both challenge the easily believed stereotypes of a poor and uncivilized Africa and ditsy cheerleaders by presenting the strengths and weaknesses of lesser-known yet accurate sides of Africa and cheerleading. Both authors use their knowledge of their topic and passion to fill in the missing information to help educate people on what they may not know. These single stories have been adopted through the media and widely believed that many people do not know the whole story.[HP4] 

Varner, Kasey. "Forget the Old Stereotypes, Cheerleading Today Is a Sport." The
Patriot-News. N.p., 5 Feb. 2011. Web. 21 Jan. 2014. <http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/index.ssf/2011/02/forget_the_old_stereotypes_che.html>.
 

    As I have continued to read "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe, I have noticed that one of the characters, Okonkwo, starts to show his more compassionate side as I get farther into the book. In the beginning, Okonkwo is introduced as a man who gain wealth and fame by his hard work and winning a wrestling match. He is also known to use his fists instead of his words and is violent to his wives when they step out of line. Okonkwo is also a very tribe-oriented man but breaks the peace week and beats his wife anyways, which may have upset the gods. Okonkwo also favors masculinity traits over femininity traits, caring more about the harvest and hardwork more than cooking and caring. Achebe shows that boys are more favored than girls, because Okonkwo wishes that his daughter Ezinma would be better if she were a boy. Okonkwo begins to show that he does have a compassionate side once Ikemefuna, a boy Okonkwo's family cared for for three years, gets sacrifed because his father killed a woman. Okonkwo deeply cared for the boy because Ikemefuna was able to remove the laziness from Nwoye, Okonkwo's real son. Okonkwo mourns for Ikemefuna's death for a few days, and even refuses to eat.

    Because we live in a world that is so heavily influenced by money, fame, beauty, and social media, Lizzie Velasquez asks people how they define themselves. Velasquez was labeled the "World's Ugliest Woman" because of her condition in which she cannot gain any weight, while she was only in high school. Through the hateful comments, Velasquez realized that her life was in her own hands and she could chose whether to make the situation positive or negative. Velasquez did not allow the hateful people to define who she is and she decided to focus on the positive aspects of her life. Velasquez also speaks about how only we can control our own life and that, "You are the one who decides whether your car goes down a bad path or a good path." and that your life is only in your hands.
    Velasquez has really helped me "define myself" and I feel that other people should also follow her outlook on life. I believe that Velasquez went down the "good path", by not allowing the negative comments  to define who she is. I also think that Velasquez is incredibly strong, because I don't know what path i would've chosen if I was placed in her position. 

     I believe that another way to see the play "Hamlet" by Shakespeare is through the setting of the children's cartoon, Spongebob Squarepants. I would truly enjoy to see all the characters of my old favorite show to act out act 3 scene 4. Because Squidward is gloomy and angry, he would play Hamlet. Squidward and Hamlet are also similar because both desperately want to get rid of their problems; Squidward's being Spongebob and Hamlet's problem being the choice whether to kill his uncle or not for his grotesque murder. Mr. Krabs would play King Claudius because both of them crave power. Polonius would be played by Patrick, because they both feel as if they know everything. Spongebob would play Laertes because both of them both just want to have fun and a good time, though it may cause some trouble for others. Gertrude would be played by Mrs. Puff because they are both slightly oblivious, but they are both intelligent. And finally, I think Old Hamlet would be played by Larry the Lobster because they are both fearless and highly looked up to by many. I think by having the setting of "Hamlet" in Bikini Bottom, it could result in a new yet childish perspective.

           Imagine the scene beings with Queen Puff and Patrick waiting in the Krusty Krab for Squidward to come and talk to his mother. Right before Squidward walks in, Patrick tells Puff to yell at Squidward for offending the King by choosing a play involving murder. Patrick quickly hides in a nearby box, and then Squidward walks in. Puff begins by telling Squidward that he was offensive, and Squidward childishly repeats her statement. Squidward finally begins to answer, and tells her that he wishes she wasn't his mom. Squidward then thrusts his sword in the box where Patrick is hiding. After Squidward kills Patrick, he asks with hope if it was Krabs. Puff is obviously offended, but Squidward tells her murder is better than marrying your husbands brother. The Queen is obviously confused, and asks what she did to make Squidward crazy. Squidward answers her by saying she makes marriage and religion fake and meaningless because of her unnatural marriage. He also explains how King Larry was a god but King Krabs is ugly and doesn't compare to Larry. Queen Puff demands that Squidwards stop speaking about her decisions, and then the ghost of King Larry comes in. Unfortunately, Queen Puff can't see the ghost, so she believes Squidward has gone even crazier. Once the Ghost leaves, Squidward drags Patrick's body off and says he is done doing business with Puff.

"To be or not to be--that is the question". Most people who haven't even read Shakespeare's famous play, Hamlet, know this quote. That line from Hamlet's most famous soliloquy has been quoted by many people all over the world. Out of the three videos above, my favorite version of Hamlet's "To be or not to be" speech has to be the first one. The actor who portrayed Hamlet in Oliver's version really emphasized the difficult decision that Hamlet had to make; to live or to die. Though the second video of Hamlet also gets the idea across that Hamlet is struggling between life or death, I feel like it is less convincing. The actor portraying Hamlet in the second video did not seem to show how difficult of a decision that was for Hamlet. Even though my favorite video was the first one, both remakes of the famous speech shows how Hamlet was really struggling to make the choice between living or dying.

    When the story first began, Marquez introduces an angelic old man, quickly taken in by a man named Pelayo and his family. Marquez also shows how quickly the angel’s life is threatened by being an outcast. “’He’s an angel,’ she told them. ‘He must have been coming from the child, but the poor fellow is so old that the rain knocked him down.’” (Marquez  352). By presenting the angel as a weak old man, Marquez is able to show how Pelayo and his wife does not expect a mythological being to be so human. Even so early in the story, Marquez shows how quickly the angel is rejected for being different. “On the following day everyone knew that a flesh-and-blood angel was held captive in Pelayo’s house. Against the judgment of the wise neighbor woman, for whom angels in those times were fugitive survivors of a celestial conspiracy, they did not have the heart to club him to death.” (Marquez  325). Because Marquez depicts his angel as different from the expected and holy being with wings, Marquez shows how quickly the people are to judge.

    When the story first begins, Marquez introduces an angelic old man who does not necessarily fit the usual description of an angel . Marquez also shows how quickly the angel’s life is threatened by being an outcast. “’He’s an angel,’ she told them. ‘He must have been coming from the child, but the poor fellow is so old that the rain knocked him down.’” (Marquez  352). By presenting the angel as a weak old man, Marquez is able to show how Pelayo and his wife does not expect a mythological being to be so human-like and old. Even so early in the story, Marquez shows how quickly the angel is rejected for being different. “On the following day everyone knew that a flesh-and-blood angel was held captive in Pelayo’s house. Against the judgment of the wise neighbor woman, for whom angels in those times were fugitive survivors of a celestial conspiracy, they did not have the heart to club him to death.” (Marquez  325). Though the neighbor is described as "wise" multiple times, she assumes the angel should be killed when she does not know much about him. Because Marquez depicts his angel as different than as expected, Marquez shows how quick the people judge.