Sense Of Responsibility In Maxine's Death

The major reason that causes Gogol to rethink his relationships and his identity is the meaning of his name. When he was younger, he wanted to be called Nick and went by this name after high school. As he used the name, Nick, he severed ties with his traditions which showed from when he did not visit his parents and completely forgot his life before becoming Nick. Flashbacks were utilized several times in this film to portray Gogol growing up and the train crash which inspired Ashoke to name his son Gogol. In the scene where Ashoke drives with Gogol, he finally discloses how Gogol’s name really came to be. We see a flashback to the train collision when Ashoke was found

They have never been on a date in their lives and therefore they see no reason to encourage Gogol, certainly not at his age." Both of Gogol's parents grew up learning the Bengali culture. They know that living in another country may change some of their traditions, but they still want to withhold the culture as much as possible. Nevertheless, Gogol doesn't so much care for his Bengali culture because it is now affecting his life. Gogol's relationships have been affected by his cultural collision, "His relationship with her is one accomplishment in his life about which they are not in the least bit proud or pleased... He wishes his parents could simply accept her as her family accepts him, without pressure of any kind." Both Gogol and his parents have been brought up differently about things. Because they don't see eye to eye their relationship isn't like it used to be. Now that Gogol is growing up, his diverse traditions are affecting his life with his girlfriend and his family. All of Gogol's life is not being afflicted because Gogol has stopped continuing the Bengali culture. It is just grasping the American culture more than he did in the past.

The reader is convinced that Gogol has had many experiences of his name being said with hesitation and lack of ease that normal American names are pronounced with. Gogol must often compare himself to his peers via how teachers and other authorities handle his unique name. Furthermore, Gogol himself is consumed with doubt in regards to his name, what it means, and how it ties him to his heritage in a way he in unsure how to accept. However pleased Gogol may have been with Mr. Lawson’s approach, everything changes when the class reads “The Overcoat” by Nikolai Gogol. “With growing dread and a feeling of slight nausea, he watches as Mr. Lawson distributes the books...the sight of it [“Gogol”] printed in capital letters on the crinkly page upsets him viscerally” (89). Gogol wants nothing to do with his name at this point, even the book it is printed in is “particularly battered, the corner blunted, the cover spotted as if by a whitish mold,” (89). The confusion Gogol associates with his own name infects him and things around him, just like the “warmth [that] spreads from the back of Gogol’s neck to his cheeks and his ears,” (91). The rest of his classmates, “begin to moan in unison,” (92), and Gogol “feels betrayed,” (91). Gogol takes the class’s negative reaction to the Russian author’s biographical information as a personal assault. It reinforces his rejection to his own name as “each time the name

After becoming Nikhil to the outside world, Gogol struggles to find his identity after rejecting the one his parents gave him. On the weekend trip home, he meets a girl named Ruth, whom he then begins a relationship with. While he likes Ruth a lot, he never introduces her to his parents. This is most likely because he knows they would not approve of her, nor is he sure of himself because of his identity creation through Ruth. As Song writes, “His first girlfriend Ruth...suggests a particular version of American identity, one forged in the progressive counter-culture formations of the 1960s, into which Gogol might merge” (357). Furthermore, Ruth represents an American identity that Gogol lays hold of and seeks to embrace. After dating for a while, Ruth goes to study abroad at Oxford and after returning, their relationship begins to fall apart and they breakup. His head-over-heels style in which he forms relationships leaves him very open to becoming disheartened after his relationships

. The relationship between Moushumi and Gogol is driven by Moushumi’s desire which is greater even than Gogol’s own, to confirm to a certain image of a modern American. She and Gogol never seem to relax into the idea that they might find their identity in one another and visit to dinner parties with her friends in Brooklyn where Gogol feels awkward and uncomfortable. And this signal a division between them. Moushomi’s dissatisfaction with the marriage eventually leads to her unfaithfulness towards her husband which later leads to divorce and separation between them. Their need of independence and satisfaction is much greater than their sense of loyalty or commitment to each other and find their identity.

Yet Moushumi is the only one who is involved with his family and can fully understand Gogol. He looks for ways to escape the pieces in his life that he dislikes which makes him seem eccentric to the rest of the society he lives in. While Moushumis relationship is imperative with Gogol, Maxine gives him closure, the ability to experience the life he may actually have wanted to grow up in America, while it lasts, ”Quickly, he falls in love with Maxine, the house, and Gerald and Lydia's manner of living, for to know her and love her is to know and love all these things. He loves the mess that surrounds her Maxine, her hundreds of things always covering her floor and her bedside table, her habit when they are alone on the fifth floor, of not shutting the door when she goes to the bathroom. Her unkempt ways, a challenge to his increasingly minimalist taste, charm him”(137). The author utilizes an ample amount of detail in this passage to describe what he loves about his relationship and what lured him to Maxine even more; however, I feel Gogol admires this part about his relationship with Maxine because her lifestyle is not as strict as his or Moushumi’s. This girl had a great amount of freedom and he embraced what he didn’t and couldn’t like he does with her and her family have in his

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

""is Gogol your first name or your last?" Brandon wants to know…. "actually, that's my middle name," Gogol says by way of explanation, sitting with them in the common room to their suite. "Nikhil is my first name. It got left out for some reason." (p.103)

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

Maxine was very confused when she first saw Gogol, or as she knows him, Nick. There was a transition that was performed on Gogol after the death of his father which made him more connected and bonded back to his origins of life. Maxine was not able to comprehend the changes he went through and could not handle the social normalities of his own culture, compared to her own. In America, there are numerous television shows about dating and matchmaking, no one really questions these types of television shows. However, if someone of Indian origins were to see these television shows, they would be appalled by it and question the logistics of the operation.

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

Gogol’s very first interaction with a girl was at a college party before he had graduated high school. Gogol was not really looking for anything in Kim. He was young and had never even been kissed before. The idea of an older, pretty girl wanting to talk to him and even kiss him was enough to attract him to

The author Jhumpa Lahiri shows how much Gogol has developed and matured throughout the course of the novel. From the the beginning of The Namesake to the end, Gogol is shown developing intellectually. Gogol intellectually improves himself by allowing himself to be more acquainted with his name and identity which gogol prefers to be referred to as. In the third chapter of The Namesake, Gogol takes on one of his first challenges when Gogol is introduced to his first year school. Gogol is perturbed when he finds out that Ashok and Ashima were allowing the other children to call Gogol by his “good name,” Nikhil instead of Original name Gogol. Although, Gogol had never had someone refer to him by anything other than Gogol throughout his entire life, Gogol is perplexed as to why he is being referred to by two names. The Principal of the school refers to him as “Nikhil” in a conversation, Gogol chooses not to respond. As Gogol is in the office with Mrs.Lapidus Ashok says “Go on Gogol”. In doing so Ashoke bagans to worry that by doing so Mrs.lapidus would began to catch on, however,

The important themes of name and identity are very evident in Chapter 3. The chapter contains when Gogol firsts starts kindergarten. Ashima and Ashoke wanted him to go by "Gogol" at home but "Nikhil" at school. However this then leads to confusing him and he has no interest in another name. He considers that depending on where he is he may need to be two different people then leading to him having two different names. "He is afraid to be Nikhil, someone he doesn't know. Who doesn't know him." (Lahiri ). During his adolescent years Gogol connects a new identity with having a new name. His unusual name does not bother him until he turns eleven and he attends a class trip to a cemetery which is when he uncovers that his name is special. Some of the other gravestones have names he has never heard before so he makes rubbings of them because he

After Gogol leaves home, he meets Maxine who is American in every sense of the word. She is in the upper social class, and Gogol is attracted to her family because they are American. They call Gogol, Nick short for Nikhil. He distances himself from his parents by not returning phones calls, and upsets Ashima when he would rather visit Maxine’s parents than his own. Gogol does decide to stop at his parents on the way to visit Maxine’s, out of possible guilt for not keeping in touch. Gogol introduces Maxine, and she calls Ashima by her first name. It’s apparent that is not the respectful introduction Ashima would have preferred. Again, a clash in cultures, and what’s considered appropriate. Gogol and Maxine leave, and Maxine states she would’ve never guessed those were his parents. Gogol celebrates his birthday with Maxine’s family and his mother cannot get in