In Chapter 8, Gogol describes how him and Moushumi bond over the fact that they are both routinely assumed to be Greek, Egyptian, or Mexican.
Many times during the book, even early on when making a comparison between Gogol and Ashima, it is alluded to that Gogol has very fair skin. This bothered me a bit because I felt that it wasn't a necessary detail to the plot line and overall theme of immigration, belonging, and assimilation in a new country.
While I was able to relate to Gogol on many fronts, knowing that he didn't visually appear "brown" to those he met lessened the intensity of this struggle for me, as someone who does have a darker complexion and has seen and experienced first hand the different interactions that darker skinned Indians have in comparison to our lighter skinned counterparts.
Do you agree or disagree? What has been your experience in the US?
Many times during the book, even early on when making a comparison between Gogol and Ashima, it is alluded to that Gogol has very fair skin. This bothered me a bit because I felt that it wasn't a necessary detail to the plot line and overall theme of immigration, belonging, and assimilation in a new country.
While I was able to relate to Gogol on many fronts, knowing that he didn't visually appear "brown" to those he met lessened the intensity of this struggle for me, as someone who does have a darker complexion and has seen and experienced first hand the different interactions that darker skinned Indians have in comparison to our lighter skinned counterparts.
Do you agree or disagree? What has been your experience in the US?