The Namesake Film Analysis

Ashoke chose the name Gogol, because it was the name of the author whose stories he was reading before the train accident. When Gogol turns 6 months old Ashoke throws him a rice ceremony which is similar to a birthday party. When he turns 1 years old they plan to take a trip to India. Unfortunately the brother of Ashima calls and says that her father had recently passed from a severe heart attack. Late on in the story it tells that her mother has also passed away and now she has to take another trip to Calcutta to plan for her funeral. She learned about the death of both her mother and her father as her brother calls again to tell her bad news. As a result of this Ashima goes to Calcutta six weeks earlier than planned to plan the funeral. Ashima and Ashoke decides to move to Boston in Harvard Square which they finally buy a home in. They move to a new house on Pemberton Road the new neighbors are nothing like the neighbors from Cambridge, Massachusetts who was nice and caring known as the Bengali

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.

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

Ashoke teaches Gogol how to eat cultural food with his hands and speak Bengali. He also shows Gogol what it was like to live in India. One example of this is soon after Ashima learns she is pregnant with Sonia, Ashoke and Gogol are eating dinner together. Acting as a typical five year old, Gogol does not desire to finish his food and instead begins playing with it. “Ashoke shakes his head at Gogol, disapproving, unyielding. Each day Ashoke is pained by the half eaten sandwiches people toss into garbage cans on campus, apples abandoned after one or two bites. ‘Finish it, Gogol. At your age I ate tin.”(Lahin, 55). This exchange teaches Gogol about the poverty his relatives face in India. Ashoke also brings his family on frequent trips to Calcutta to visit their extended family. These trips show Gogol a different culture then the one he is used to. Gogol lives in a very in-between state, he does not consider himself completely Indian, nor does he consider himself a true American. This conflict, caused in part by his father, causes Gogol many grievances throughout his

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

While Gogol deals with his origin, and conflicts with his American and Indian cultures. These characters are in the hands of fate and its forgiveness. “The Secret

Ashoke Ganguli: caring, patient, understanding Ashoke Ganguli is the father of Gogol Ganguli. Ashoke longs to retain his traditional culture, but understands the importance of adopting American culture. Ashoke also attempts to guide Gogol throughout his life to retain some of the latter’s Indian culture. Although Ashoke may disprove of some of Gogol’s actions, he never overly admonishes his son. Instead, Ashoke gives Gogol time to understand some things.

He first clings to enchanting white women, hoping to adopt their identities so he can escape the perplexity of his own, but the cultural clashes pervade both relationships. While dating Maxine, a wealthy New Yorker, Gogol notes, “She has the gift of accepting her life…he realizes that she never wished she were anyone other than her herself…This, in his opinion, is the biggest difference between them,” highlighting his personal struggle with accepting his heritage (138). Gogol’s glamorous romance with Maxine is juxtaposed to the humiliation he feels for his family to stress his longing to cast-off his Bengali identity. Judith Ceaser observes, “[Gogol and Maxine’s relationship] is a lovely, expensive, comfortable identity, given to him as a love-token…to him it seems a rejection of [his parents] …He hasn’t yet realized that instead of being an identity imposed on him from outside, they are a part of the pattern of key relationships in his life through which he can define himself,” provoking the idea that Gogol’s stubborn naïveté is the source of his unhappiness (Ceasar). When Maxine’s unwillingness to adapt to Bengali culture drives them apart, Gogol searches for a more ordinary love. Moushimi, the daughter of Bengali family friends, should be mundane and comfortable to Gogol, yet their relationship is plagued by complexities. Both view each other as

To begin, both of their parents travel to the unfamiliar country of America. Starting anew, they build a steady life in the United States; however, they come to America for different reasons. Gogol’s parents move due to privilege, with Ashoke being invited to attend a prestigious university—M.I.T. On the flip side, Lourdes travels up North to provide for her family: an absolute necessity for their survival. The same is seen with the two boys; while Gogol simply struggles to find himself, Enrique fights for his life and that of his family. In the end, Gogol starts to come to terms with his identity and name, and accepts his divorce and the death of his father as events that “formed him, shaped him, determined who he is” (Lahiri 287). Enrique’s journey ends on a high note as well; with his addictions conquered and his outbursts subdued, he becomes closer with his reunited family. In this way, the men are similar, as they both accept something they rejected for most of their lives, and they slowly come to terms with the way events have played

Obviously Ashima and Ashoke also faced lots of problems when they first lived in a new country; they were forced to leave their “comfort zone”. They spoke a different language, grew up with Indian tradition, and even had to raise a child. They did not have any friends, not to say the economic base to provide the best resources for the whole family. Their foremost goal was to adapt to the new environment and become a real part of their community. But being out of their comfort zone is the crucial step that they must not skip. They have to be confident to make new friends, speak the language that they have not even get used to yet, and “abandon” the tradition in their hometown. Life is like a cliff, and only those who have guts and faith can climb up to the peak of the mountain to see the twilight. They had to try to understand, communicate and even to compromise with each other, and after Gogol's birth, they soon were inundated with daily work. It also has some similarity with my Gateway scholar life at Brandeis.

She was a second generation Bengali like himself. At first Gogol was timid but ended up falling for her. The two of them got married and expected life to be perfect and full of lust. But after getting to know each other better they see how different their personalities are. Moushumi ends up cheating on Gogol, ending their marriage. Throughout the whole movie, Gogol is struggling to find himself and where he belongs. After his failed marriage Gogol realizes that he must be alone to embrace who he really is. Gogol chooses stays in the U.S. when Ashima makes the decision to return to her homeland. She offers to stay and help him but Gogol refuses. He insists she return to India while he lives happier then ever in the U.S. by himself.

Firstly, the protagonist, Gogol is faced with the challenge of finding his identity, a major theme present

Gogol is infatuated with Maxine’s family. He finds it easy to move in with them and forget his own past. He does not call home often, skipping Thanksgiving with his mother and father and instead staying with Maxine. He loves that Gerald

In Bengali tradition children are given two names, a “good name”, which is an officially recognized name used by teachers and new acquaintances, and a pet name, which is used by loved ones. In the confusion surrounding Ashima’s grandmother’s letter and the hospital’s regulation, Gogol was given his legal name hastily, resulting in a single name that was both his “good name” and his pet name. As a result Gogol does not fit into Indian cultural tradition; however, he does not fit into the tradition of American names either, as he has no American peers with the same name and his name cannot be shortened into a nickname like theirs. Furthermore, though many Bengali families in America ended the tradition of having two names Gogol still does not fit into the Indian or American name tradition because the name Gogol is Russian, not Bengali or

This is shown when Gogol’s family move to Calcutta for eight months and how the describe the first night, “sleeping under mosquito net, bathing by pouring tin cups of water over their heads…hoping to keep with cross-country training, it is impossible, on these cracked, congested, chock-a-block streets, to run… It’s easier to surrender to confinement.” (Lahiri, 83). This shows that American life is different from Bengali life by describing life in Calcutta showing that sleeping in mosquito nets, bathing is hard, and he cannot get out of the house too much, because the roads are too confusing. This shows the conflict between cultures because the setting shows how poor life is in Calcutta, which us conflicting against an American life style which is shown when they move because Gogol has to drop what he is used to do when he is living in Calcutta. Setting is also showed when Gogol visits Maxine’s house “ the biggest difference between them, a thing far more foreign than the beautiful house she’d grown up in, her education at private schools…Gerald’s head resting on Lydia’s shoulder, Gogol is reminded that all his life he has never witnessed a single moment of physical affection between his parents.” (Lahiri, 138). This shows that the setting of life in Maxine’s house hold is very different from his own by Maxine’s life style and Gerald and Lydia love, because