How To Write An Essay About Gogol's Identity

Who doesn’t know him. His parents tell him that they each have two names, too,as do all their Bengali friends in America, and all their relatives in Calcutta. It’s part of growing up, they tell him, part of being a Bengali...”(Lahiri,57). Consequently, this makes Gogol even more confused about the real identity of himself. Later on in the story, Gogol has to decide about the future of his pet name of “Gogol”. Gogol explains this thinking in this quote, “ without people in the world to call him Gogol, no matter how long he himself lives,Gogol Ganguli will, once and for all, vanish from the lips of loved ones, and so, cease to exist. Yet the thought of this eventual demise provides no sense of victory, no solace. It provides no solace at all.”(Lahiri,289). Gogol thinks

After his divorce, which is a second difficult experience in his life, Gogol spends time with his family, specifically at a party his mother is hosting before she leaves for India, which again influences him to accept his Bengali culture. At this party, Gogol explores his old house and finds the copy of The Overcoat that his father once gave to him, which makes him realize that “without people in the world to call him Gogol, no matter how long he himself lives, Gogol Ganguli will, once and for all, vanish from the lips of loved ones, and so, cease to exist” (Lahiri 433). In college and when he was Maxine, going by Nikhil gives Gogol a newfound perspective in his life, one where being shameful of his name does not really exist. However, after going through both his father’s death and his divorce, Gogol feels upset when thinking about how he changed his name, which “provides no solace at all” (433). With most of his family and Moushumi gone, few people are left to call him Gogol, reminding him who he once was. Gogol’s sadness shows how he has become comfortable with his birth name, which he originally hated. Through his reading of The Overcoat and his reflection on the possible nonexistence of his life as Gogol, Gogol accepts both his name and his culture, which ultimately shows how he becomes comfortable with

He felt courageous, brave, and more importantly, he felt like himself with the name Nikhil. He loses his virginity with the name Nikhil, and that name has led him to meet and have relationships with multiple women (Ruth, Maxine, Bridget and Moushumi). Even after making all determinations to erase his past, his failure to state his identity can be seen through his relationships with women. He lawfully changes his name to Nikhil before he leaves for college. The name Nikhil goes on to represent his individuality and separation from his parents. It also signifies him accepting American culture and distancing away from Indian culture. The change comes into play when people starting calling him Nikhil, it startles him. He likes the name Nikhil better, but he does not feel like Nikhil. On the inside, he feels like Gogol, no matter how much he dislikes the name. This adds to the controversy of his identity: is he Gogol or Nikhil. On the other hand, he is a mix of both: Gogol by day and Nikhil by night.

In the beginning of the novel, Gogol’s struggle with his identity begins with his name. The first issue was when he was first born. His mother, Ashima, and his father, Ashoke, had planned on waiting for a letter containing the chosen names for their child from Ashima’s grandmother in India, to arrive. But the hospital would not let them be discharged until the baby had a name. Soon enough Ashoke had come up with a name. When Lahiri writes, “But for the first time he thinks of that moment not with terror, but with gratitude” (Lahiri 28), it is evident that after the train accident Ashoke does not remember the

Many second generation minorities from immigrant parents are driven subconsciously to conform to new culture and social norms. For foreign born parents and native born children integrating the two cultures they inhabit brings about different obstacles and experiences. In Jhumpa’s “The Namesake” the protagonist Gogol is a native born American with foreign born parents. The difference with birth location plays an important role in assimilating to a new society in a new geography. The difficulty for parents is the fact that they’ve spent a decent amount of time accustomed to a new geography, language, culture and society which makes it difficult to feel comfortable when all of that changes. For Gogol the difficulty only lies with the cultural norms imposed by his parent’s and the culture and social norms that are constantly presented in the new society.

Scene: Gogol Ganguli rejects his parents’ choosing of his name when he was first born. Before going to college, Gogol formally changes his name to “Nikhil” so that everyone would recognize him as

Gogol was displease with the name because it didn 't sound American at all, so he decided to change it to Nick. The more he realized his name, Gogol, sounded strange the more he developed a hatred towards the name eventually never owning that title again. In the novel the author writes, “ He hates that his name is both absurd and obscure, that it has nothing to do with who he is, that it is neither Indian nor American but of all things Russian” (Lahiri 40). As a young boy he is stuck with this name until he becomes the legal age to legally change his name to Nikhil. This is his first process of transforming more into being American. Not only that but this is the beginning of the process

As identity becomes the core issue, Gogol’s name becomes quite significant. As a child, Gogol is used to the name Gogol so that when his parents ask his good name ‘Nikhil’ to be his official name when he starts schooling, he is reluctant to accept the new name. Lahiri states that “he

He decides that instead of being called Gogol he rather be called Nikhil, an “alternative” name his parent gave him years before. Also displayed in the novel, Gogol, also known as Nikhil, learns more about the origin of his name and it is safe to say he is not a fan of his who he is named after. Despite learning about the origin of his name, Gogol is still not aware of the traumatic experience his dad encountered that eventually led to him naming his son after the famous Russian author. Years pass and Gogol goes off to school, later revealed as Yale. The reader is able to see how Gogol lives life as a young male in a promising country. Gogol falls in love, continues to further his education, and experiences the many joys life has to present. Until the family is astounded by the news that Ashoke passes away from a myocardial infarction. This was a major turning point in the story and huge blunder to the Gangulis

In the novel, “ The Namesake ” by Jhumpa Lahiri, on pages 183-227 she talks about how Gogol’s life changed after his father’s death. He was still living in New York but his relationship with Maxine has ended. Ashima called him about her friend’s daughter, Moushumi. Gogol was not interesting because he knew that his mother was trying to marry him with Moushumi. Gogol was trying to focus on his exam in architecture. However, his mother was pressuring him about Moushumi so he decided to meet his mother friend's daughter. On the first meeting, Gogol was astonished to find himself attracted to Moushmi and he wanted to spend more time with her. After that meeting, Gogol began to remember all the time he met Moushumi at family reunions. When they

Gogol was trying to mock the readers in his two short stories. A monk orthodox influenced Gogol, the way it was illustrated counterculture. Criticism of where he was has been. This book has influenced had a character who was doing the same thing almost over and over again every single day, Gogol used him to awaken the low people class in Russia to realize what they were doing. Overcoat is a symbol of the soul or the lower Russian people class who is reading his book. The less you have in life now, the more you will have after death. He represents his beliefs and teachings in this book to give the people new hope; instead of holding and fixing what they are doing they should change.

Lahiri elaborates on this by saying, “Within Bengali families, individual names are sacred, inalienable. They are not meant to be inherited or shared” (Lahiri 28). Many Bengalis have “pet names” as well as their real names and are often called by different names depending on the atmosphere, occasion, and to whom they are talking to. However, Gogol does not have a real name until he enters school due to health problems hindering his grandmother from sending his birth name in the mail from Calcutta to American. Therefore, Gogol is called by his “pet name” that was given to him by his father who named him after a famous Russian author named Nikolai Gogol. Gogol’s father, Ashoke, believes that Nikolai Gogol’s book, The OverCoat, is sacred due to the fact that the pages of book fluttered in the wind and captured the attention of the police after a train accident and saved his life. However, Gogol is not told of this story until he is much older and feels ashamed of the identity that is attached to his name. Gogol absolutely detests his name and feels betrayed by it not representing who he truly is. The fact that his name is not even a true Indian name, but a Russian name makes Gogol feel even more infuriated and is emotionally

their son’s nickname, Gogol, becomes his official birth name, an event that will shape many aspects of his life in years to come.

Gogol’s visits to Calcutta, his first day of school, and the field-trip to the cemetery leaves Gogol questioning how his name ties to his identity. For example, the author writes, “He is afraid to be Nikhil, someone he doesn’t know,” (57). This describes the scenario where Gogol does not understand the reason why he has and must go by a second name and refuses to be called to anything else but Gogol. Also, the book mentions that, “Until now it has not occurred to Gogol that names die over time, that they perish just as people do,” (70). The witness of the unique names carved into the graves causes Gogol leaves him in wonder to reflect over his own.

The name could also illustrate that even though his parents named him through their culture as the Bengali way, he does not really feel as though connected to the culture he was raised in due to his name belonging to a Russian writer. “’It’s our way, Gogol,’ his mother maintained. “‘It’s what Bengalis do.’ ’But it’s not even a Bengali name.’” (Lahiri 99). Signifying the wants and desires of Gogol to change his name to a name more connected to him as a person. Illustrating that he does not feel comfortable with the name given to him, feeling separated from his family due to his name not even a name from his culture. The desire to change his name shows his want to find out who he is a person, with no strings attached. Another reason he may have