The Namesake By Jhumpa Lahiri

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.

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

Gogol grapples with his name throughout the majority of the novel, yet this tension was in the makings even before his birth. Ashoke and Ashima being immigrants set Gogol up to live in two different cultures, American and Bengali. Many children of immigrants may feel like Gogol, having one foot in each world. Gogol framed his struggle with cultural identity through something tangible, his name. In Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel, The Namesake, Gogol’s struggle with cultural identity is exposed most greatly by the name others call him and his reaction to it.

When Gogol is eleven and on a class trip to a cemetery, he realizes that his name is unique. He makes rubbings of the other gravestones with names he has never heard before because he relates to them. By his fourteenth birthday, Gogol has come to hate his name and resents being asked about it: “He hates having to tell people that it doesn’t mean anything in ‘”Indian”…He hates that his name is both absurd and obscure, that it has nothing to do with who he is, that it is neither Indian or American but of all things Russian”(76). We see this hatred further at the college party in a more passive way at the end of chapter four when Gogol is reluctant to introduce himself to Kim as "Gogol". Instead, he says his name is Nikhil. It gives him the confidence to kiss her, "It hadn't been Gogol who had kissed Kim... Gogol had nothing to do with

Some may call it purely ludicrous; however, I believe that Gogol’s internal struggle with his name serves as an important learning and growth period which shows how names can help in understanding one’s identity. When he was younger, Gogol was “afraid to be Nikhil, someone he didn’t know. Who didn’t know him[...] It was part of growing up, they told him, of being Bengali” (Ch.3, 57). Initially Gogol refused to go along with the idea of having a second name as he felt like having a different name meant having a new identity, a person who he was not. To Gogol, a new name meant more than changing a “a bunch of letters or sounds” as Julie Kagawa calls it, it meant a change in his identity. In the view of Gogol’s parents, Ashoke and Ashima, a second name for Gogol or any Bengali for that matter was viewed as the norm as Bengali culture itself held a practice of having a person keep a pet name at home and a second name in public. Gogol’s internal struggle between having a second name also represented a conflict he had with his Bengali-American identity. Beyond his cultural struggles, Gogol’s name change later on in his life sparked a period of reflection as “after eighteen years of Gogol, two months of Nikhil felt scant, inconsequential. At times he feels as if he’s cast himself in a play, acting the part of twins, indistinguishable to the naked eye yet fundamentally different” (Ch.5, 105). After having turned 18, Gogol changed his

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

The Namesake is a fictional novel written by Jhumpa Lahiri. Lahiri’s purpose of the book was to demonstrate a family's hardships moving to a new country, and then their children’s lives as Americanized Bengalis. The audience, in my opinion, was written particularly for an established Americanized American. These Americans are intended to realize little details that newcomers to America worry about, and the life differences that the average American wouldn’t think twice about. She wrote regarding certain factors, specifically the strong Bengali culture, versus the ordinary American culture, and the day to day worries of an immigrant new to America. The author focused on themes regarding family and hardship, but she also incorporates a large

The name could also illustrate that even though his parents named him through their culture as the Bengali way, he does not really feel as though connected to the culture he was raised in due to his name belonging to a Russian writer. “’It’s our way, Gogol,’ his mother maintained. “‘It’s what Bengalis do.’ ’But it’s not even a Bengali name.’” (Lahiri 99). Signifying the wants and desires of Gogol to change his name to a name more connected to him as a person. Illustrating that he does not feel comfortable with the name given to him, feeling separated from his family due to his name not even a name from his culture. The desire to change his name shows his want to find out who he is a person, with no strings attached. Another reason he may have

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

The Namesake, a winner of the Pulitzer prize, is a novel by Jhumpa Lahiri published in the year 2003. In the year 2007, The Namesake became a significant motion picture. The novel and film, both convey the theme of culture clash between American and Indian tradition. As the story transitions, the theme is exhibit by the struggles the Ganguli family went through in America such as Gogol’s name, influence Indian traditions into the Gangulis lives of the children, and the failures in the love affairs Gogol faced. The novel and film The Namesake both do one excellent job portraying the growth in culture of two traditions expanding within society in the American and Indian traditions.

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

In the social jungle of human existence, there is no feeling of being alive without a sense of identity. Everyone's aspirations, values and habits influence their identity, however a quality one can not change nor ignore is their cultural background. Our culture consists of our behaviors and beliefs, making it our most impressionable factor throughout our development. Culture gives meaning to the word identity and may even distinguish groups. Jhumpa Lahiri explores the effects of a cultural clash in her novel The Namesake, in which Ashima Ganguli is torn between her origins as a Bengali women and the American Culture she is forced to adapt to. This forced change compromises her character, leaving her identity up to the culture she choses.

As sentient beings, having a unique identity tied to oneself is a vital part of what becomes our entire life. No matter what one goes through, having their identity and knowing who they are is so very important to keep them going. However, identity is not always an easy thing to discover, and it is forever changing and growing. The search for one’s identity is not a painless journey, but it is often worth it in the end. As is the case for Gogol Ganguli, one of the main protagonists in the novel The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri. Throughout the novel, Gogol is in search for his identity and for meaning behind his name. Names were a large struggle for Gogol, who spent about half of the novel under the name Nikhil. He even ended up developing a bit of a split personality and identity at a young age for both of his names. He traded in Gogol for Nikhil once he was of age, and lived his life as Nikhil according to that created identity.

This novel shows how literature constrains one’s values to mold themselves into their identity. As Vishva said in book club two, “Gogol has become an independent new person as Nikhil after he changed his name.” The nature of the two distinct names led to two well defined personalities. Nikhil held different values than Gogol. Nikhil would party and date while Gogol was nearly the opposite. This contrast has urged Gogol to transform from following his parent’s set values to newer ‘Anglo-American’ values. When Gogol started high school, he was questioned about the meaning of his name ‘Gogol’ “He’s come to hate questions pertaining to his name, hates having constantly to explain. He hates having to tell people that it does not mean anything ‘in Indian’” (Lahiri 76). Gogol is self-conscious about his name and how it marks him "different”. Gogol's name does not tie him to any specific culture, which brings uncertainty to his image. In society, if you do not belong to a culture, how do you handle society as a whole? People live according to morals and beliefs, one cannot live with an uncertainty of morals among themselves. Through this novel, literature built towards my credence of coping with my values and my identity as a

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