In what ways do Ashok and Priya cope differently with their family's crisis?

In what ways do Ashok and Priya cope differently with their family's crisis? Which response do you think would be closer to your own way of dealing with a similar situation?

Ashok didn't want to "rock the boat"; didn't want to be seen as "less than". Therefore he tended to feel that their family crisis was attributed to something they had done or not done right. He and Maya were very similar. He didn't want to lose the "standing" he thought he had in the professional community. On the other hand, Priya was very perceptive and saw things more objectively. Although her naivety was clear when she believed that because they were good people bad things shouldn't happen to them, her continued questioning of why things were happening eventually led to a positive outcome. It also helped that she had the best friend anyone could hope for in Archie.

Ashok wanted to show that his family was an upstanding American family that couldn't have possibly done anything wrong, certainly nothing worth being on the news. If the family just kept on with work and school, it would have to work out. Priya wanted to attack the news and let them know that the story they were seeking and speaking was not a true story. She believed the truth would be an asset to the family...not quite how the world works anymore.

Ashok tried to focus on work and hoped that everything would be soon back to normal. He wanted so much to live the American dream and just keep succeeding without drawing attention to his family. It took Priya a minute to see the bigger picture, but once she realized that her son was at risk due to his skin color, and lack of appropriate responses to stressful situations she saw the need for change. she wanted to bring attention to their situation.

Joyce summed this up to succinctly- I totally agree. In some ways I think this was easier to cope with because she had Archie's moral support. I think harder for
Ashok because men in general have difficulty talking about their feelings. He also was starting to question the viability of Vikram's friendship.

I think Ashok is dealing with a lot of denial both with his son and the community. Priya wants to believe that everything will work out but she recognizes that her son has been harmed. It was difficult I think for her to get past the brick wall that was her husband

Ashok has a narrower view of the world - if he just focusses on work and family nothing can go wrong - until it does. He hen feels lost. Priya has a wider view, but still feels they must have done something wrong to have Jay arrested. ASs others have said, she has a strong emotional supporter in Archie, while Ashok's friends are much less of a help emotionally.

I think Priya copes by doing what she has to do to protect her children. Ashok is unwilling to admit he could possibly be wrong about anything. He seems more distanced in dealing with things as for him it brings up memories of things from living in India that he would rather forget.