How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
For a few days, in Agra, which is as foreign to Ashima and Ashoke as it is to Gogol and Sonia, they are tourists, staying at a hotel with a swimming pool, sipping bottled water, eating in restaurants with forks and spoons, paying by credit card. (4.37)
In Agra, the Gangulis are all tourists. Even though Ashima and Ashoke are at home in India, they are acting like westerners by staying in hotels and using credit. This also reminds us of the way that Gogol often has a tourist-like appreciation for the American homes he visits.
Quote #8
Upon returning to Calcutta, Gogol and Sonia both get terribly ill. It is the air, the rice, the wind, their relatives casually remark; they were not made to survive in a poor country, they say. (4.39)
Even their bodies can't adjust to India. They don't feel at home there, physically and emotionally. Their relatives seem to think it's a result of their privilege. They get sick because they live in a rich country, and can't handle the food of a poor one.
Quote #9
Living with a pet name and a good name, in a place where such distinctions do not exist – surely that was emblematic of the greatest confusion of all. (5.64)
Even if Gogol manages to fit in in the states, and totally assimilate into American culture (and he comes close with Maxine, don't you think?), his name will always stand in the way. Or at least that's what he seems to think. Maybe if he just stopped worrying about it, it wouldn't be such a big deal.