#22 Synthesis Matrix

Concept Related to Theme	TEWWG	Snapping Beans	Identity Card	Hamlet	The Namesake
Separation between mind and soul, how growing and changing may not affect inner beliefs (body is a prison that can be corrupted)	“she had an inside and an outside now and suddenly she knew how not to mix them.” (Hurston 72) -Janie struggles to make a happy combination of her cultural identity and relationship values	Repetition of “I wanted to tell her…” “…how I was tearing, splitting myself apart…” (Parker 20) -separate spheres of home and school causes an inner battle over balance between the two settings and their different lifestyles	“I have a name without a title.” (Darwish 19) -importance of family name and background over a “title” (superficial)	“When we have shuffled off this mortal coil…” (Act III, scene I, 66) -Hamlet views the body more as a prison-vulnerable to corruption of society. -belief that death may be the only escape from the struggle between outer and inner.
Age=thought to be symbolic of loss of power, but really gaining of wisdom	“It was time for sitting on porches beside the road.” (1) -Contrast of start and end of her journey/age “Combing road dust out of her hair.” (192) -the conclusion of her long journey along the “road of life” made her wiser than at the start	“She reached the leather of her hand over the bowl and cupped my quivering chin.” (26) -Contrast of the power of ancient wisdom and the uncertainty of youth.	“…my roots were entrenched before the birth of time.” (22) -this very deep-rooted culture leads to more stable beliefs-not so easily knocked down by societal values.	Bildungsroman-coming of age tale “You are the most immediate to our throne; and with no less nobility of love than that which dearest father bears his son, do I impart toward you.” (Act I,scene ii, 109)
Wisdom over knowledge		“It’s funny how things blow loose like that.” (46) “…the evening star was a planet…” (31) -Although she wants to tell her grandmother the truths about life (book truth), her grandmother already knows more about life than school could ever teach the girl. (there’s a different kind of power that comes with wisdom than with knowledge.)	“…teaches me the pride of the sun before teaching me how to read.”(30) -emphasizes the power of a more ancient kind of knowledge. Whatever is trying to destroy their family’s lifestyle doesn’t and will never understand this.		“Ashoke was saddened, as he place the empty suitcase under his seat […] regretful of the circumstances that would cause it, upon his return, to be full.” (13) -Not aware that it will not be full with books, but with the wisdom of his grandfather (will shape the remainder of his life and onto Gogol’s.)
Characters have the need to confront the fear of their past in order to move up in achieving self-actualization		“…how my stomach burned acidic holes at the thought of speaking in class, speaking in an accent…” (35) -separate spheres of school and home -fear of their combination and what will result (society’s ridicule)-makes it hard for her to grow.		“The undiscover’d country from whose bourn no traveler returns, puzzles the will...” (Act III, scene 1, 78) -not culture, but to where we all come from before we live and where we go when we die. -knowing and accepting this fear allows him to move on.	“All those trips to Calcutta he’s once resented-how could they have been enough? They were not enough.” (281) -towards end of his journey, one of the last steps in finally achieving self-knowledge (resentment)
Societal values (over cultural) corrupt the individual		“…that my friends wore nose rings and wrote poetry about sex, about alcoholism, about Buddha.” (32) -she is proud of the new things she’s learned but is unaware that they will do more harm than good in her journey.	“You have stolen the orchards of my ancestors and the land which I cultivated along with my children.” (39) -society is tearing up the “roots” of his family and culture.	“Their virtues else-be they as pure as grace […] shall in the general censure take corruption from that particular fault…” (Act I, scene iv, 34) -Although experience and relationship may shape people’s virtues, there is corruption that no matter what, will negatively affect them in the end. (inevitable).	“What is the reason you wish to change your name, Mr. Ganguli? […] He wonders whether to tell the judge the whole convoluted story […] about what had happened on the first day of kindergarten.” (101) -A major legal and life decision of Gogol’s comes from the view that society holds about his name, really his past and his parents’ pasts.
Characters’ pasts lay a blueprint for their future (although they go through a journey, their pasts and cultures already determine the outcome/their potential).	“Ah was born back due in slavery so it wasn’t for me to fulfill my dreams of what a woman oughta be and to do.” (16) -Her grandmother’s past not only determined the life she lived, but prompted her to live her life through Janie.			“As, in their birth-wherein they are not guilty, since nature cannot choose his origin-“ (Act I, scene iv, 24) -concedes that an individuals’ origin does not make him guilty of his character, but does determine it.	“’Hello Gogol. […] Ashima approves, aware that the name stands not only for her son’s life, but her husband’s.” (28) -train incident- similar to Janie’s grandmother- shaped Ashoke’s life and indirectly, Gogol’s namesake.