The Namesake Lahiri Analysis

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.

When adapting to a new culture, many find it hard to assimilate into their new world while still holding on to their past life. Finding yourself in a new place with a new language and unfamiliar faces is challenging for immigrants. Jhumpa Lahiri, an immigrant herself, sheds some light on the Indian culture in her book, Interpreter of Maladies. She conveys many challenges that immigrants face when moving away from their homeland in a myriad of short stories. These short stories introduce similar themes of immigration and adaptation through different experiences. Two of Lahiri’s short stories, “A Temporary Matter” and “Mrs. Sens”, do a great job in showing similar challenges of cultural differences in two different ways. They introduce characters

For thousands of years, waves of immigrants continue joining the developed countries in the world, bringing with them the unique cultures, languages, and ideas. Over time, those unique values might be faded away with each generation because of the new culture exposition. The second-generation immigrants experience a cultural conflict between that of their parents and that of host society. Most of them are unable to preserve and empower their origin cultures. Many differences between the first-generation and the second-generation immigrants arise. Through the analysis of the mother in “Death of a Young Son by Drowning” and the Das family in “Interpreter of Maladies”, I would like to demonstrate the differences between the first-generation immigrants, who travel from other countries, and the second-generation immigrants, who were born and raised on the immigrated land. These differences include the purpose of being in the foreign land, the connections to their homelands, society’s view, and the culture differences.

Forming a new identity in a foreign country is not an easy task. Immigrants usually face challenges to identify themselves. Identity formation is the development of one’s distinctive personality due to particular reasons such as new environment, new culture and conflicts. During the process, some characters from Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake either create or deny the bond with their own culture; some undergo conflicts among generations. Those processes reflect significantly in Ashima and Gogol throughout the book. The degree of assimilations determines to what extent the characters have formed the new identity in the new culture.

This book depicts the national and cultural status of the immigrant mother, who is able to preserve the traditions of her Indian heritage that connect her to her homeland. Ensuring a successful future for her American-born children is coordinated with the privilege of being an American citizen. Ashima yearns for her homeland and her family that she left behind when

Through interviewing my roommate Linda Wang, I have gotten the opportunity of hearing a first-hand account of what it is like being a young immigrant living in the United States. At the age of eight, Linda, along with her father, mother, and aunt, emigrated to America. Linda’s family currently resides in Bayside, Queens and she is a student-athlete on the St. John’s women’s golf team. Linda was kind enough to share her immigration story with me so that I may use it as a manifestation of what life as an immigrant, and the immigration process itself, entails.

Culture is an invisible bond that connects people together. The literature, art, religion, food, and language of a community represent its culture. Navigating between cultures is not something impossible to do, but there are a lot of limitations and sacrifices to make in order to blend in with other cultures. To respond about the cultural navigation issues and benefits, Manuel Munoz, the author of “Leave your Name at the Border”, talks about the importance of the non-Americans’ names, especially Mexican Americans’ names, to their identities. Munoz wants readers (Americans) to give everyone the respect they deserved as human beings, starting with accepting and using people’s real names. However, Andrew Marantz, the author of “My Summer at the

Since the establishment of the colonies, America has been viewed as the “land of opportunity.” It is thought to be a safe haven for immigrants, and a chance at a new beginning for others. “The Clemency of the Court” by Willa Cather published in 1893, tells the story of Serge, a Russian immigrant, who overcame the struggles of a tough childhood and fled to America to receive protection from the state. “Clothes” by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni published in 1995, tells the story of Sumita, a Indian immigrant, who is moving to America so that she can marry her husband that her family has arranged for her. Both “The Clemency of the Court” and “Clothes” show the evolution of the American immigrant experience.

Like many Americans today, a successful life is something every family endeavors to achieve. Whether you are native to this land or an immigrant, everyone is pursuing their idea of the American dream. Whereas every dream may be different, the journey to each dream is both trying and straining. In both articles written by Hogan and Shteyngart, we find two families striving for a better life as they encounter their own struggles along the way. Although Native Americans and immigrants are different as Native Americans are indigenous, while immigrants are foreigners, the authors illustrate they are also similar as they both have adversities, pervading family influences, and are strangers in a world they attempt to call home.

This characterization gives a bigger meaning to the dangerous journey taken by immigrants to cross these socially constructed borders and brings meaning to immigrants as people, and not just as objects. The film shows the landscape of Honduras, people working in the fields, how children learn in school, soccer playing as a pastime and other visual occurrences that expose the viewer to the daily life of a Honduran citizen. The personification of Yohan being from Honduras, being father of three kids, a husband, a son, and a worker in his community, shows that his identity does not just amount to one negative connotation that is perceived out of ignorance and xenophobic principles. With Yohan as a real-life example, it motivates individuals to see that migrants expose themselves to dangers because of their family and goals. Yohan is not just a number or a name, but a person with a dream and a background—which provides a further representation of immigrants as people. This depiction gives immigrants a contextual background, gives them an identity through their “homeland.”

Immigration is building block to the United States culture. For decades, the United States was viewed as a land of opportunity, a land of hope for those seeking a better life. In the ethnography Nuer Journeys, Nuer Lives written by Jon Hertzman describes the Nuer’s journey and acclimation to the United States. In the preface of his ethnography, Hertzman recognizes that the immigration of these peoples took place over decades and as an anthropologist he studies how the Nuer adapt to the way of life in the United States. Throughout Nuer Journeys, Nuer Lives, Hertzman encounters the concepts of Marriage, Family, and Kinship and Gender as they are outlined in Essential of Cultural Anthropology.

All around the world people struggle with a sense of self-individualization, which is the internal battle each person has to face in order to discover ones true identity. The quest to find oneself is a difficult and lengthy endevor that can take a lifetime to accomplish. Some if not most people never reach a point where they can truly face who they truly are. In the Novel The Namesake by Lahiri, identity is illustrated by intensely examining the importance of ones background, name and culture. The main characters in the story try to uncover the reasoning behind their lineage, which they belive will lead to discovering the answer destiny in life. Playing on this belief the Ganguli’s sustain the element of traditions with them and practices

The arrival of immigrants into developed nations has been a common trend for centuries, but so has the wave of resentment from natives of the land towards those who are migrants. Adichie illustries this migrant struggle through Americanah, which explores the hardships migrants must face with trying to be accepted into the new society. With her portrayal of the immigrant tendency to assimilate, Adichie skillfully highlights the pain associated with losing essential parts of one’s true identity.

The immigrant experience affects families in a unique manner wherein ethnicity, and therefore, identity becomes something continuously negotiated. Jhumpa Lahiri’s contemporary novel, “The Namesake,” beautifully illustrates the complexities of generational culture clashes and the process of self-individualization over the course of this experience. Lahiri challenges the often-one-dimensional approach to ethnic identity by allowing readers an intimate and omnipresent look into the internal struggles of the Gangulis, a first-and-second-generation Bengali family, following their relocation to America. The novel incorporates a heavy presence of reading, and the abundant representation of books and documents throughout it are vital to its

Exploring the themes of identity and immigration, this essay will focus on one short story and two case studies. Caterina Edwards’ Island of the Nightingales, follows Teresa Pomoronzola, a second-generation Italian immigrant living in Edmonton, who is sent to her mother’s homeland, the island of Lussino, in order to think clearly and gain perspective. Primarily, Teresa faces the internal conflict of choosing between her two lovers, yet she is also conflicted about her identity. Through the juxtaposition of divergent lifestyles and cultural values, Edwards’ Island of the Nightingales, suggests that a second-generation immigrant’s return to their family’s homeland is the ideal method for reconciling a conflicted identity and effectively understanding one’s background.