Quote 7
They've even gone so far as to point out examples of Bengali men they know who've married Americans, marriages that have ended in divorce. It only makes things worse when he says that marriage is the last thing on his mind. (5.61)
Ashima and Ashoke have a completely different notion of love and marriage than Gogol. They see love as something tied to marriage and families; Gogol admits that he is more interested in sex. That has to make for some awkward parental powwows.
Quote 8
Ashima regrets that they can't go earlier, in time for Durga pujo, but it will be years before Ashoke is eligible for a sabbatical, and three weeks in December is all they can manage. "It is like going home a few months after your Christmas," Ashima explains to Judy one day over the clothesline. (2.72)
Not only is India geographically distant, but it also has a different sense of time, with different holidays. It's hard to live on an Indian calendar in America, where people have never even heard of things like Durga pujo.
Quote 9
Having been deprived of the company of her own parents upon moving to America, her children's independence, their need to keep their distance from her, is something she will never understand. (7.25)
Another source of unhappiness for Ashima is her children's desire for independence, particularly since she comes from a culture in which extended families are part of your everyday life. The more independent they become, the farther away they grow from their Bengali roots.