Question 1

Weigh up the significance of how Lahiri presents and describes food in The Namesake.

Accepted Answer

Low

Question 2

Lahiri was born in London in the 1960s. Despite this, how did her parents want her to be brought up?

Accepted Answer

As an Indian child with traditional values and customs.

Answer

Appreciating the future, future Lady: Carol Ann Duffy

Answer

To always have a home in India and and in London.

Answer

Learning to appreciate the future Lady: Margaret Thatcher

Question 3

What genre is The Namesake?

Accepted Answer

diasporic

Question 4

Why is it a diasporic novel?

Accepted Answer

All of the other options

Answer

Transculturalism and transnationalism form part of the themes.

Answer

It deals with the intersection between American and Indian cultures.

Answer

The plot raises awareness of cultural displacement.

Question 5

Categorise the 7 features of diasporic and non-diasporic literature.

Question 6

What is unique about the dialogues in The Namesake.

Unjumble the the words to form the answer.

Accepted Answer

cultural, and, linguistic, dialogues, are, embedded, throughout, the, narrative

Question 7

Why does Lahiri use culture and language is powerfully in the dialogues?

Accepted Answer

To depict the differences between American and Indian customs, food and clothes.

Answer

Because isn't better to be a witty fool than a foolish wit?

Answer

To show how food is hot and spicy in Indian whereas in America it is dull and turgid.

Answer

To convey powerful images and effects.

Question 8

Through dialogues, Lahiri exemplifies which difference between Indians and Americans?

Accepted Answer

Indians are more hospital

Answer

Indians are less welcoming

Answer

Americans have American traditions

Answer

Americans live for Disneyland Florida

Question 9

Food and clothes drive the diasporic narrative forward. There are examples of symbolism.

Accepted Answer

false

Answer

true

Question 10

Place these typical food items in their categories. They are presented in the novel to demarcate the cultural differences.

Question 11

Focalisation is a technique used in the novel to add meaning.

Accepted Answer

true

Answer

false

Question 12

If focalisation is a technique used to show how the events are seen and interpreted, which of the following are examples in The Namesake?

Accepted Answer

Marriage, love and devotion

Answer

Marijuana, sex and partying

Answer

Dancing, singing and being funny

Answer

Giving birth in an American hospital

Question 13

Another example of focalisation in The Namesake is...

Accepted Answer

motherhood in a foreign land and being a good, devoted Indian wife

Answer

being a parent responsible for cooking curry

Answer

being an American widow and an Indian wife

Answer

sisterhood and being a good, devoted Indian wife

Question 14

Lahiri uses a type of external focalisation in the novel. How?

Accepted Answer

The descriptions of Gogol as he develops and grows physically, mentally and spiritually along with the passing of time.

Answer

The way Moushimi desperately wants to get married and have Indian children.

Answer

Through Ashima's desire to bring belly dancing to America.

Answer

Because the novel begins in an American kitchen in the centre of a big American city.

Question 15

Gogol is described as inheriting Ashima's large, penetrating eyes and elegant brows with a slight bump on his nose like Ashoke (around p.30).

Accepted Answer

Lahiri brings the reader's attention back to Gogol's identity crisis - an intersection between first generation parents and looking like an American boy growing up.

Answer

The descriptions that Lahiri uses are intended to evoke a sense of nostalgia.

Answer

The physical descriptions of Gogol allow us to see how much he is growing up in America.

Answer

Lahiri uses a lot of physical description to make the narrative seem interesting and give importance to Gogol.

Question 16

The novel has a unique narrative structure because...

Accepted Answer

it is like scattered pieces of jigsaw puzzles.

Answer

the plot is like a box of chocolates since you never know what you are going to get next.

Answer

the constant flashbacks to India are not part of a linear narrative.

Answer

the train crash makes the reader think that Lahiri is trying to derail our minds.

Question 17

Which technique does Lahiri use to demonstrate how all elements of the narrative (plot, characters and themes) are connected, even though at times they may seem disconnected from one another.

Accepted Answer

Fragmentation

Answer

Dissection

Answer

Juxtaposition

Answer

Oxymoron

Question 18

Lahiri fragments the narrative in The Namesake through her use of...

Accepted Answer

flashbacks and proplepsis

Answer

metaphors and similes

Answer

Acts and Scenes

Answer

geographical settings

Question 19

An example of flashbacks and/or prolepsis....

Question 20

Another narrative technique used in The Namesake is called... (begins with the letter A).

Accepted Answer

allusion

Question 21

Allusion, in literature, an explicit or direct reference to a person, event, or thing or to a part of another text.

Accepted Answer

false

Answer

true

Question 22

A typical allusion that Lahiri makes is...

Accepted Answer

referring to famous books and writers

Answer

referring to how smooth Ashoke's legs are

Answer

referring to Indian politicians

Answer

referring to famous American singers

Question 23

The Namesake's narrative runs parallel to an allusion to a story about a Russian man who, at first is content with his life, and then begins to question his identity.

Accepted Answer

The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol

Answer

Twelfth Night by Shakespeare

Answer

The War Photographer by Carol Ann Duffy

Answer

The Overcoat by Gogol Nikolai

Question 24

Why is The Overcoat so symbolic in The Namesake?

Accepted Answer

Each name, object and feeling is an 'overcoat' of identity.

Answer

Ashima gets cold in America.

Answer

Ashoke liked the name.

Answer

It represents protecting you from the warmth.

Question 25

"With a slight quiver of recognition, as if he'd known it all along, the perfect pet name for his son occurs to Ashoke... 'Gogol' he repeats, satisfied"

Accepted Answer

The Russian writer's name saved Ashoke's life.

Answer

Ashoke was cold (quivering) when he thought of the name.

Answer

Ashoke had divine intervention from the Hindi gods after the train crash.

Answer

The name was so strange that Ashoke wanted his son to be unique.

Question 26

"He thought that the sin might perhaps lie with the overcoat". This quote refers to Gogol. What is its significance?

Accepted Answer

Gogol's life resembles the main character from The Overcoat - Gogol feels ashamed of being Gogol just like the character from The Overcoat feels embarrassed wearing an ugly overcoat.

Answer

There is always the possibility of going against God's wishes but you must wear and overcoat to protect you from evil (sins).

Answer

The Overcoat was a lie.

Answer

The Overcoat went to hell and so did Gogol.

Question 27

Metonymic objects are not used in The Namesake to create associations with Gogol's identity.

Accepted Answer

false

Answer

true

Question 28

The metonymic objects in The Namesake help Gogol feels connected to his Indian origins. Categorise the following according to whether they are metonymic or non-metonymic in the novel.

Question 29

A basic narrative device which is used in The Namesake is...

Accepted Answer

Parallelism

Answer

Deus Ex Machina

Answer

Anthropomorphism

Answer

Denouement

Question 30

Categorise the following into examples of parallelism and not parallelism in The Namesake.

Question 31

How are Gogol and Moushumi demonstrating paralellism?

Accepted Answer

Whilst they are dating each other, they try to adopt the American lifestyle and try to escape finding their identity.

Answer

Whilst they are dating each other, they realise that Disneyland Florida is magical.

Answer

They both love the American way of living and have no intentions of feeling Indian.

Answer

Moushumi wants to be a mother and Gogol wants to be a father. Match made in heaven.

Question 32

How does parallelism help the reader to make deeper sense of the narrative in terms of Ashima's significance?

Accepted Answer

The reader makes connections between Moushumi and Ashima who both follow traditional Indian customs in pursuit of happiness.

Answer

It is easy for the reader to understand two events happening at the same time.

Answer

The train crash and Ashoke's death highlights the story's twist.

Answer

The reader makes connections between Maxine and Ashima, both strong women.

Question 33

What makes The Namesake one of the most successful diasporic novels?

Accepted Answer

The way Lahiri mingles all the different techniques (as studied in this quizz).

Answer

The flavours of Indian culture are tasted everywhere.

Answer

Lahiri is a clever writer with many ways to create powerful effects.

Answer

True love always goes off the train tracks.

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