The Namesake Quizzes

The Namesake Quiz 1

1 What city do Ashoke and Ashima first move to in the United States?
Cambridge

Los Angeles

New York

Chicago
2 What does Ashima do secretly before meeting Ashoke for the first time?
Whispers his name

Smells his cologne

Reads the book he wrote

Slips her feet into his shoes
3 Who gives Ashoke the hardbound book of short stories by Nikolai Gogol?
Ghosh

His grandfather

His son

Ashima
4 Who does Ashoke talk to on the train before it crashes in 1961?
Ashima

His grandfather

Gogol

Ghosh
5 Who was supposed to choose Gogol's name?
Ashima's grandmother

Ashoke's grandfather

Ashima

The doctor at the hospital
6 Who lives above the Gangulis in their apartment in Cambridge?
Mrs. Lapidus

The Montgomerys

Their parents

Moushumi's parents
7 What ceremony do Gogol and Sonia partake in at the age of six months?
Baptism

The rice ceremony

Marriage arrangement

A bris
8 Who calls to inform Ashima of her father's death?
Her mother

Ashoke's father

Rana

Her grandmother
9 When does Ashima learn Ashoke's name?
Before she meets him

While Gogol is being conceived

After they are betrothed

During their marriage ceremony
10 Why does Ashima feel alienated in the hospital before giving birth to Gogol?
Because there are no other patients on her floor

Because the nurse isolates her from the other patients

Because she thinks she is the only Bengali there

Because Ashoke refuses to come
11 What does Ashima accidentally forget on the train?
New clothes for Gogol

Presents for their family in India

The stroller

A book
12 What does Ashoke do for work?
He is an author of novels.

He is a postman.

He is a doctor.

He is a professor at a university.
13 On what street is the home that Ashoke and Ashima purchase?
Pemberton Road

Maverick Street

D Street

Bengali Lane
14 How old is Gogol when Ashima becomes pregnant with Sonia?
He is still an infant

Eleven

Eight

Five
15 Who decides that Gogol will not be called Nikhil in kindergarten?
Ashoke

The librarian

Ashima

The principal, Mrs. Lapidus
16 When does Gogol first become self conscious about his name?
In college

When he sees it written for the first time

When he learns to speak

On a school fieldtrip to a cemetery
17 What does Ashoke give to Gogol for his fourteenth birthday?
A copy of I[The Short Stories of Nikolai Gogol]

A car

A huge birthday party

A jacket
18 Where do the Gangulis live for six months while Gogol is in tenth grade?
Italy

Paris

Calcutta

California
19 What does Mr. Lawson do that disturbs Gogol?
He has no idea who Nikolai Gogol is

He assigns the class to read "The Overcoat" by Nikolai Gogol

He yells at him in front of the entire class

He forgets his name
20 With whom does Gogol share his first kiss?
Kim, at a college party while he is in high school

Moushumi, on his fourteenth birthday

Bridget, while her husband is away

Maxine, at her parents' house
21 When does Gogol legally change his name to Nikhil?
Before marrying Moushumi

After graduating from Yale

The summer before college

As soon as he learns to speak
22 Where does Gogol meet Ruth?
At Oxford

At a party at his parents' house

At a coffee shop near Yale

On the train ride home from college
23 What leads to Gogol's breakup with Ruth?
She has an affair

His parents' interference

Her time studying abroad at Oxford

He meets another woman he prefers
24 What does Ashoke tell Gogol after picking him up at the train station before Thanksgiving break?
The story of the train wreck that led to his name being Gogol

That he doesn't approve of Ruth

That Gogol must get married

That he can no longer attend Yale
25 What does Gogol do as a profession after college?
He is an architect

He is a waiter at a restaurant

He is a lawyer

He is a banker

Sonia is shocked and upset but is better deal with the death than others in the family. When Ashoke dies, she moves home to be with Ashima, leaving behind her life in San Francisco with little regret.

Asked by Javier H #1300684

Answered by Aslan on 4/13/2023 8:12 PM

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Why does Gogol only feel guilt as the train is leaving after breaking up with Bridget?

I think Gogol thinks of the husband that Bridget is going back to, the husband that they both betrayed.

Asked by Javier H #1300684

Answered by Aslan on 4/13/2023 7:59 PM

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THE AUTHOR USES THE WORD NIKHIL IS INCLUSIVE OF TWO CULTURES

You've provided all the necessary details... thank you! Nice work!

"Not only is it a perfectly respectable Bengali good name, meaning "he who is entire, encompassing all," but it also bears a satisfying resemblance to Nikolai, the first name of...

Asked by Matthew S #1287324

Answered by jill d #170087 on 2/1/2023 3:41 PM

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The Namesake

by Jhumpa Lahiri

The Namesake Quiz 1

The Namesake Questions and Answers

Study Guide for The Namesake

Essays for The Namesake

Lesson Plan for The Namesake

Wikipedia Entries for The Namesake