In class the other day we discussed how negative events tend to hold a more prominent place in our memories than positive ones. Though I do not want to, I find that I have to agree with this. I can recall in great detail bad things that have happened to me i.e. the death of my grandfather or the loss of a friend. But, I find myself struggling more to remember positive things in great detail. This is not to say that I cannot remember anything positive ever happening to me. I just feel that I take these positive moments for granted and I do not reflect on them as much as negative ones. I find this rather odd; I mean personally, I want to think about positive things not the negative. So then why is it that these negative memories seem to occupy my mind? Is it possible that negative experiences have more of an effect on people than positive ones? I think that when people have a negative experience, they want to change it. So they go out of their way to make sure that they change something about themselves. I believe that this holds true in The Namesake as well. It seems that almost every major change in a character happens after something negative. For example, Gogol begins to spend more time with his family after the death of his father. Also, Ashima becomes more independent and begins to adapt to America after the death of Ashoke. So I think that it is safe to say that a negative experience can easily be used a motive to improve oneself, but what about a positive? I think that it is more than possible for a positive experience to drive an improvement, but I also think that it takes more will power. Now you don’t have quite as strong of a reason to change, things are already positive.
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