The Namesake Essay

reinforces to Gogol that his name is a factor in his identity and how others perceive him.

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

Difficult choices come and go from our life. Like trying to understand who you are as a person and where you come from. In the book The Namesake, a boy named Gogol grows up in a cultural Bengali family while living in a different country with different customs. Gogol is special because he is trying to balance the two cultures. Gogol tries to understand and learn his family's culture but tends to pick and choose things from each culture to fit his lifestyle. His response to his cultural collision is very unique. From this cultural collision Gogol question himself and his life decisions.

On Gogol’s first day of school, he gets his first taste of the cultural tension that his name and “good name” generate in

After the initial rejection of his name at a party, Gogol has decided to legally change his name. This change is driven by the character’s disgust at the name his parents had given him, although it is he that had rejected being called Nikhil in kindergarten. The name Gogol comes to represent two very different things to his father Ashoke, and Gogol. To Ashoke, the name represents his life being saved the fateful night of the train derailment. As Caesar writes, “To Ashoke, the name Gogol is...a reminder of the way in which the reading of [Nikolai] Gogol’s short story saved his life…” (108). To Gogol Ganguli, the name simply reminds him of a strange and sad writer he learned about in English class, with no meaningful representation in his own life. Gogol is frustrated that his parents named him something so silly, especially since it is not even a Bengali name. As Gogol stands before the judge, he is asked why he wishes to change his name, to which he responds, “I hate the name Gogol...I’ve always hated it ” (Lahiri 102) His rejection of the name Gogol allows him to escape the identity placed upon him by his parents. Although Nikhil is an Indian name, it enables him to try on a new and more sophisticated identity. The one by which he has his first kiss, his admissions to college, and subsequently the relationships that

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

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.

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

Difficult choices come and go from our life. Like trying to understand who you are as a person and where you come from. In the book The Namesake, a boy named Gogol grows up in a cultural Bengali family while living in a different country with different customs. Gogol is special because he is trying to balance the two cultures. Gogol tries to understand and learn his family's culture but tends to pick and choose things from each culture to fit his lifestyle.

He is bewildered as to why his father named him Gogol as it not Bengali nor a normal American name which leads him to struggle to understand himself and his identity. In Bengali families, "individual names are sacred, inviolable. They are not meant to be inherited or shared" (28). However, Gogol grows up living in America, where children are often ashamed of their differences from others. As a teenager, Gogol desires to blend in and to live unnoticed. This presents a struggle between two cultures. Ashima and Ashoke want to raise Gogol and his younger sister with Bengali culture and values. On the other hand Gogol grew wanting to belong by relating mostly to peers and the surrounding culture in America. It is only much later in their lives that they begin to truly value their Bengali heritage and that Gogol finds the importance in his name. During high school Gogol struggles to accept his name as he sees it has no real significance not him. When Gogol heads for college he rejects his identity completely and legally changes his name to Nikhil which allows him to somewhat feel a sense of belonging as this name relates to his Bengali roots, even though he had been ashamed of those exact roots in schooling. Gogol dreads having to go visit home and return to a life where he is "Gogol". To him, Gogol is not only his name; it bears all his discomfort and struggles to fit into two different cultures as he grew up. His life at college makes it easy for Gogol to live as

The Namesake, written by Jhumpa Lahira, a famous Indian writer who won the Pulitzer Prize for her story collection Interpreter of Maladies, brilliantly illustrates the immigrant experience and the tangled ties between generations. In this novel, the main characters Ashima and her husband, Ashoke, were first generation immigrants in the United States from India. The whole story begins with Ashima's pregnancy and her nostalgia of her hometown, and a sense of melancholy revealed from the first chapter. While Ashima felt insecure and worried about her new life in the United States, her husband Ashoke, rather wanted to settle in and struggle for a new life. All of uncertainty and reluctance of this new-coming couple faded way when their son,

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 loses his virginity by using the name Nikhil, and that name has lead 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 declare his identity is seen in his relationship 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 twist comes into play when people starting calling him Nikhil and he gets startled. 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.

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