Analyzing The Characters In Elie Wiesel's 'Night'

In the novel, “ The Namesake ” by Jhumpa Lahiri, on pages 183-227 she talks about how Gogol’s life changed after his father’s death. He was still living in New York but his relationship with Maxine has ended. Ashima called him about her friend’s daughter, Moushumi. Gogol was not interesting because he knew that his mother was trying to marry him with Moushumi. Gogol was trying to focus on his exam in architecture. However, his mother was pressuring him about Moushumi so he decided to meet his mother friend's daughter. On the first meeting, Gogol was astonished to find himself attracted to Moushmi and he wanted to spend more time with her. After that meeting, Gogol began to remember all the time he met Moushumi at family reunions. When they

People can change very much in bad situations like the people in the Holocaust, more specifically, Elie Wiesel, a 15 year old who got sent to a concentration camp in Auschwitz. In the book “Night” by Elie Wiesel, the main character, Elie, changed in many ways throughout the book because of the different experiences and sights he had to go through in Auschwitz.

In his younger years Gogol was always extremely insecure about his Bengali culture. After one of Gogol’s field trips to the cemetery, he had drawn a picture of the cemetery to give to his mom, but she forced him to throw them away. She made him do this because in Bengali culture, cemeteries are supposed to be sacred and not used for art. So as a

He loves their lifestyle and living with them brings him so much joy he doesn’t stop to remember those back at home. One day, Gogol tells his parents he will be spending a couple of weeks in New Hampshire with Maxine and her family and not long after they were off on their adventure. As they are leaving the house, Ashima call out, ‘“Call to let us know you’ve arrived there safely.” But he waves and drives off, pretending not to hear” (150). According to this quote, it is easy to see that as the story goes on, Gogol becomes less and less family oriented and cares less and less. This makes the readers wonder if Gogol will actually call to check in or if he will keep in touch with his family at all. Continuing in the book it is shown that unfortunately, Gogol does not call, he does not even give his parents the number of the house they are staying at in case they wanted to contact him. Gogol is too caught up with Maxine to remember his family. He has a great time on the trip spending time with Maxine and living life as a full American while his family is back at home, isolated from him life, wondering if he is

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

He decides that instead of being called Gogol he rather be called Nikhil, an “alternative” name his parent gave him years before. Also displayed in the novel, Gogol, also known as Nikhil, learns more about the origin of his name and it is safe to say he is not a fan of his who he is named after. Despite learning about the origin of his name, Gogol is still not aware of the traumatic experience his dad encountered that eventually led to him naming his son after the famous Russian author. Years pass and Gogol goes off to school, later revealed as Yale. The reader is able to see how Gogol lives life as a young male in a promising country. Gogol falls in love, continues to further his education, and experiences the many joys life has to present. Until the family is astounded by the news that Ashoke passes away from a myocardial infarction. This was a major turning point in the story and huge blunder to the Gangulis

Gogol’s Parents, Ashima and Ashoke, gave him a name to add meaning and purpose to his life. The meaning is shown through Ashoke giving his son a name that represents hope for a better life and second chances yet it also represents tragedy. Nikolai Gogol, at the scene of Ashoke’s train wreck has passed away and this has a connection with Gogol’s life. When looking at his life it seems to be filled with confusion, disappointments, and dead-ends (Such as?) as he struggles to figure out whom he is and where he believes the curse of his namesake will lead him next.

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.

Since birth, Gogol learned both American and Bengali culture but felt more in touch with the American side due to living there for the majority of his live and only occasionally visiting Calcutta. Gogol’s parents try to raise him in the Bengali culture, but not living there or being active in the culture has made it a struggle for him to do, causing Gogol to never really consider Calcutta his home. Living in America, Gogol still goes through conflicting situations throughout his professional and social life where by the end of the novel he does not know where he truly feels at

Traumatic and scarring events occur on a daily basis; from house fires to war, these memories are almost impossible to forget. The Holocaust is only one of the millions of traumas that have occurred, yet it is known worldwide for sourcing millions of deaths. Elie Wiesel was among the many victims of the Holocaust, and one of the few survivors. In the memoir, “Night”, by Elie Wiesel, Elie, the main character, is forever changed because of his traumatic experiences in the Auschwitz concentration camps.

He still feels delight when people complement his new name as Moushumi had done when she said “She’d liked that he’d changed his name from Gogol to Nikhil; though she’d known him all those years, it was a thing that made him somehow new, not the person her mother had mentioned” (248) and that was what Gogol was trying to accomplish. Even though he knows the real meaning of his name now he still does not embrace it. And it is only after his father had died and after his divorce with Moushumi that he finally realizes something “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” (289). He now understands what makes him Gogol; it’s his cultural roots, his family, everyone that he’s known that helped shape him. By the end Gogol is able to overcome his ignorance and finally embraced the name that his father gave

After finishing reading the book and seeing that Gogol has reconnected with his Bengali roots, it seems to me that he will visit his mother often in Calcutta and will keep in touch with the Bengali friends that, for so long, have been like family to him. I imagine him becoming a renowned architect and an associate in the New York architecture firm he works at. Although his name, Nikkhil, will be included in the firm’s name, he will no longer reject the name Gogol, but will miss it since being called like that will remind him of his father. I imagine Gogol travelling the world, learning about other cultures and, eventually, meeting a girl that will make him happy.

His father on the other hand thinks of the near death experience he had and the connection he has with the name. The name is another struggle that Gogol has to go through in his life. When his father dies later in the book, he begins to hate the name because of the connection it has with his father’s near death experience. But he doesn’t really want to let go of it, for he thinks that he will totally leave the culture that he grew up in behind. He also thinks he will just totally forget his father if he changes his name. The struggles he has with his father are the fact that he totally can’t decide where he wants to go. He doesn’t even go to the same university as his father, which really causes a lot of problems with his father. When things get bad for Gogol, they get really worse. His wife even cheats on him with another man. This causes an even greater struggle and internal pain for Gogol. He decides that they weren’t right for each other and the two split up. This again is another strain on Gogol’s life that he must

Hence, having a name that was not rooted in either the American or Indian culture, but instead holding importance for coming from a pivotal moment in Ashoke's life, was sure to be confusing, Ashoke making sure to comfort his son when his good name Nikhil was introduced by saying, “Don't worry… To me and your mother, you will never be anyone but Gogol” (Lahiri 57). These words are especially important once Ashoke reveals how Gogol received his name, waiting just until his son would be leaving to college, as it made him realize that he did not want to be anyone other than Gogol. This discovery would also serve to make Gogol regret how much he wanted to delve into character Nikhil, as he represented a more courageous, confident side of himself in which he could put aside his culture, past, and oddness of his own name. Even after his death, character Ashoke continues to influence Gogol's thoughts and allow him to carry himself into acceptance of the name and himself, because only after his death does his son realize, “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”

Imagine living your life smack dab in the middle of two different lives, two different cultures, and two different identities. As a person who really hasn’t had any issues with her identity, I don’t really know how to relate to Gogol that well. Throughout out Gogol’s life, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, Gogol’s view of his home changes many times.