The Namesake

When Gogol’s father attempts to register him under a “good name” the boy makes a scene, distressed at this separation of his home and public selves. Gogol’s principle decides to honor the boy’s wishes rather than continue causing him distress and rips up the registration form with his “good” name. This is the first time in Gogol’s life that American and Bengali custom first butt heads in regards to his up-bringing, and in this match American culture wins out. Gogol is left with both public and private identities merged and, for a few more years, his sense of “home” and “self” remain

The makeup of our everyday lives is influenced immensely by the culture we are a part of. In Bengali culture, a person is usually given two names, a pet name and a proper name. Families who move from Calcutta often struggle to assimilate to American life and maintain their cultural heritage. In the novel, The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, Gogol’s changing of his name along with his romantic relationships with Ruth and Maxine show his initial rejection of Bengali identity and culture. This essay will give an explanation into the ways in which Gogol rejected his culture, first by changing his name, but also through his close relationships with American girls.

The film The Namesake started out while Ashoke Ganguli was traveling on a train to visit his grandfather. On the train Ashoke meets fellow traveler, Ghosh, who impresses upon him to start traveling. The train crashes and Ashoke almost dies but is found and survives. After the crash, Ashoke relocates to America for school. In 1977, Ashoke returns home to India to be arranged to marry Ashima. When Ashima accepts Ashoke’s marriage proposal, she has to move to New York with him where their residence becomes permanent. Ashima has to adapt and adjust to American culture, which is very hard for her because she has never been out of India and she misses her family. Shortly after, they become parents of a boy, who they name Nikhil, with the

As Gogol grows, he begins to hate his name as Gogol, and requests to change his name to Nikhil. ""What is the reason you want to change your name, Mr. Ganguli?" the judge asks. … "I hate the name Gogol," he says. "I always hated it."" (p.101-102) as Gogol brings up this topic to discuss during dinner befor he changes his name in the summer, Gogol claims that because he is an Indian with a Russian name in America, nobody is taking him seriously, thrust requesting to change his name into Nikhil, even if it makes a huge hassle to change his legal documents. With out the question of his rare name and confusion of the choice, Gogol accepts himself more easier and believes that he has become more Americanized. Gogol sees himself more Americanized as people do while he attends parties and other group activities in his social circle.

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

As a boy, he was aware of “cashiers smirking at his parents’ accents, and of salesmen who prefer to direct their conversation to Gogol, as though his parents were either incompetent or deaf” (68, Lahiri). As he grows older, he came to “hate questions pertaining to his name, hates having constantly to explain. He hates having to tell people that it doesn’t mean anything ‘in Indian’” (75-76, Lahiri). Gogol’s drastic change in how he feels towards the culture difference grows from a simple irritation to an immense hatred of having anything related to his background. However, the fact that the author starts the resentment from his early childhood portrays how blameless and innocent he was and could not help but to agree how being different was unacceptable. In conclusion, the author intends the audience to react with grief and guilt towards Gogol, as if they were the ones who inflicted direct pain onto

Gogol was raised by Bengali parents who came to America as immigrants. They strongly fondle their Bengali culture and hope to raise their son and daughter to do the same. However, both Gogol and his sister, Ashima, are raised in America and forced to reconcile American influences with their parent’s Bengali culture. Bengali culture for Gogol’s parents is rich in Hindu traditions such as the annaprasan. They

Gogol Ganguli, the main character of The Namesake is a boy stuck in between two worlds. Born in America but is the son of two Bengali parents, he does not know which culture to associate himself with. But as the novel progresses, Gogol starts to portray acts of betrayal not only to his family but also to his heritage and values which his parents hold so dear. One case is when Gogol changes his name just because he had greatly disliked it and he felt that it had caused him great torment. He occasionally questions the meaning of his name only to find out that it is not a Bengali name but a Russian name.

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.

Throughout the novel “ The Namesake” by Jhumpa Lahiri, Gogol develops an identity that he did not believe was truly possible within his three relationships. Evidently, each of his three relationships had taken him on different paths. Ruth allowed him to feel more Americanized, and provided him with the confidence to actualize his altered identity. Throughout his relationship with Maxine, he attempted to move to a more identified Americanized lifestyle. He felt the need to expand and experience a departure from his usual Bengali lifestyle, and she learned to accept him for who he desired to be. Suddenly, when his father passed away, he realized he wanted to return to his traditional cultural beliefs. This relationship led him toward his familiar

When it was time to give me my name, my parents decided to give me my name, my parents decided to give me three first names: Joelle Czarisse Mae. From what I was told, my father and mother wanted to give me a name they thought of themselves and a name they thought of together. The name ‘Joelle’ was from my father, after his own name ‘Joel’. The name ‘Mae’ was from my mother, using the available letters in her own full name. The name ‘Czarisse’ was the name both of my parents thought of together. In all honesty, I feel no animosity towards any of my three names. Having three names can be convenient during certain situations, but sometimes, my name could be an adversary for me whenever the school mistakes me for my sister because we share one

The Namesake is written by Jhumpa Lahiri. It is about the story of an Indian immigrant family who has been building a new life in the United States for over 30 years, and it is also the spiritual journey that they have taken in the foreign lands. The Main character is Gogol who is with an Indian immigrant's diligence, and the personality of an American child simultaneously. Gogol does not want to listen to his parents, He had secretly smoked marijuana. After his father's death and emotional frustration, Gogol finally understood the meaning of what his father had said and found his place in the world. This is not just a story related to the name, is also a about family, marriage, love, growth, death, and the story of the cultural conflict, includes

The Namesake written, by Jhumpa Lahiri, contains many significant representations, images, and symbols, although one sticks out in particular. The name Gogol is a significant symbol from the novel the Namesake that plays a prevalent rule in the story as a representation of his Indian culture. In the story this name is his casual pet name, and is only used throughout his schooling and by his close family. In grad school till later in his life Gogol feels uncomfortable with his name and feels it is childish so soon goes to court to legally change his name, showing him conform to American culture. This symbolizes the inner struggle of culture and whether Gogol will follow his Indian roots or American.

From the beginning, the question of names and identity is presented. As Ashima water breaks she calls Ashoke. However, she does not use his name, because it would not be appropriate. According Ashima, “is not the kind of thing Bengali wives do - the name of a spouse is something intimate and therefore unspoken, cleverly patched over” (2). From this statement shows the importance of privacy and feelings are of Bengali families. He explained that the members of this culture are given two names: one is a pet name (used only by close friends and family) and one that is used by the rest of society. Gogol birth is given a pet name as its official name because its official name of his grandmother was lost in the mail. As a child, Gogol is told by his family to be named Nikhil (a good name) for teachers and other children at

The identity crisis in this novel is indeed emphasized in the title, the Namesake. Changing name here is quite important for Gogol in seeking his true identity, since name symbolizes how he sees himself and how he wants to be seen by others. Later, Gogol changes his name to Nikhil, since he feels it reflects his dual identity, both being Indian and also American, better. Nikhil is indeed a Bengali name but it can also be shortened to an American nickname, Nick. Therefore, it is a hybrid name in which it will be easier for him to deal better with his dual