Student Samples

An individuals perception of belonging evolves in response to the passage of time and interaction with their world. "His afraid to be Nikhil someone his not." This quote shows Gogol fear of changing his "pet name" to a real name. It is tradition for each person to have a pet name and an real name. However Gogol feels that if his name is not "Gogol" for both, he loses his identity as a person. This view changes over time as Gogol starts to realise that he was named after a writer. In Gogol culture family and belonging is important in the quote "Besides visiting relatives theres nothing to do" shows the close bonds Gogol has with his family.

An individuals perception of belonging can change overtime in relation to their interaction with their world. This is shown in "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri. The book is about a struggling Indian family who is finding it hard to adapt to the American lifestyle. "They all come from Calcutta, and for this reason alone they are friends." This show that there is automattically a connection between them. This connection between them also demonstrates a sense of identity. The quote also shows that they don't have to know each other to have a mutual relationship. "It's part of growing up, they tell him, of being a Bengali". This shows us that overtime being part of a culture enables us to feel aspects of belong through our interaction with the world.  

An individuals perceptions of belonging evolve due to time & interaction with their world. This view of belonging is represented in the book "The Namesake", a story about a the events that occur in the boy Gogol's life & how his sense of belonging is changed as he grows up. One example of time evolving an individuals sense of belonging is through the quote about Gogol's little sisters infant ceramonie. "She plays with the dirt dug up  from the yard & threatens to put the dollar bill in her mouth. This one! One of the quest remarks. This one is the true American." This quote states that as his sister will grow older she will change over time from the traditional Indian to a "True" American lifestyle when she grows older this showing how an individuals sense of belonging evolves over time. Another example of time changing and perception of belonging is when Gogol's parents speak about Christmas time. "Gogol & Sonia celebrate with increasing fanfare the birth of Christ with more enthusiasm than the worship of Dunga & Sarsawati". The element of time & belonging is shown through Gogol & Sonia adapting & changing as they grow from infants to suit the American lifestyle to feel as if they too belong to America. This book & the examples provides clearly show how an individuals sense of belonging evolves over time.

An individuals perception of belonging evolves over time with the change in relationships between people and place. The "Namesake" by Jhumpi is a story of a boy named Gogol whose family migrated from India to a state in America called Cambridge. Ashoke the boys (Gogols) father was a University teacher at Cambridge, Ashima Gogols mother who stayed home and Gogol the boy whose name was difficult to give to him at birth as well as hard to pronounce. The author uses quotes to show the relationships link between identity, people and place. This is evident through the quote "For being a Foreigner Ashima is beginning to realise is sort of a life long pregnancy" The mother Ashima still feels the sense of not belonging to America as she always think back to her home in India. The connection to her culture makes her not belong even to America, as America has different cultures as compared to India. Another example that then shows how time changes our sense of acceptance and belonging is "Somehow this small miracle causes Ashima to feel connected to Cambridge." This is when Ashima begins to feel as if she belongs after one of the American citizens exercised their moral and culture and returned the lost goods which belonged to Ashima. However ones link to belong to a place is enforced through relationships and culture towards the place as this is evident throughout the Namesake. 

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