Gogol as the Perfect Namesake In Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel The Namesake‚ Indian parents bestow a Russian name to their first born baby boy; the name is Gogol Ganguli which is after the famous Russian writer‚ Nikolai V. Gogol. In Lahiri’s novel‚ the main character fights an identity crisis because of his highly unusual name. Gogol carries uncertainty about himself throughout the novel because of his name‚ “He hates his name . . . that is has nothing to do with who he is‚ that it is neither Indian nor
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The character Gogol in the book The Namesake is a dynamic character. Gogol is a dynamic because of many reasons‚ the most evident being his attitude to his family. Gogol’s attitude and feeling toward his family is a great example of Gogol being a dynamic character because he is always having thoughts of how embarrassing his family is as well as just disregarding his parents’ concern and love for him‚ but sadly his father passes away and he becomes more appreciative of his family and more home
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The Namesake has a connection to belonging as if deals with the disconnection of the Ganguli’s. The theme of alienation and the search for belonging between the two cultures is represented through the shifts between the two countries; where Ashoke and Ashima move to America growing their children up in an American society but teaching them Bengali traditions. Lahiri uses techniques such as symbols to illustrate the sense of belonging and not belonging. Throughout the novel‚ the composer of the
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something that you already are. Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake (2004) emphasizes the essence of that. It is being characterized by the protagonist of the book‚ Gogol Ganguli‚ a second-generation immigrant that is trying to find his own identity. This paper is build upon the thesis that the problem of alternating two cultures can only be solved by constantly evolving your identity‚ and that the borders of a country do not limit this process. Gogol Ganguli has an internal conflict regarding his identity;
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To Be or Not To Be Throughout the novel‚ The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri‚ the character Gogol changes in many different ways. One of the most apparent changes was in his "Indian ness". By "Indian ness" I mean the amount of his parents Bengali ways and traditions that he retained. While growing up he did everything in his power while growing up to stray away from his parents’ Bengali ways. Gogol spent most of his life trying to differ from his parents‚ however in the end he ends up obeying their
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novel The Namesake is the fictional narrative of Gogol Ganguli‚ a second generation immigrant in America‚ and his haunting feeling of not being able to identify with his name. Gogol feels that his name “has nothing to do with who he is‚ that it is neither Indian nor American but of all things Russian.” (Lahiri 70) This essay will argue that Gogol’s problematic relationship to his name stems from a need for a sense of belonging. Coming from a family that values their heritage‚ Gogol’s name distances
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1B 08 March 2013 Gogol Versus Nikhil 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
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of both name and identity is evident in “The Namesake” as it is applicable to all characters throughout the book. In particular‚ the character‚ Gogol Ganguli‚ which the book is based around‚ is born in America to Bengali parents‚ who immigrated from India. Gogol’s confusion over his cultural identity impacts his life choices‚ consequently‚ impacting the connection he has with his family. Bengali culture dictates that every new born should be given two names‚ a pet name‚ and a good name. The pet
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Gogol moves to his childhood house and takes care of his Ashima and Sonia. While Gogol’s mother tries her best to tolerate and accept the girlfriends he brings home‚ but Ashima is not satisfied until she successfully unites Gogol and Moushoumi‚ a Bengali woman‚ in a traditional Indian wedding. Even after Ashima persistently pushes the couple into meeting “as friends‚” Gogol and Moushoumi willingly fall in love and after 1 year of their relationship they gets marry. Coming from the same culture makes
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novel‚ The Namesake‚ the reader is thrust into the daily life of Gogol Ganguli. Gogol is a promising young man from a Bengali family‚ which the reader gets the pleasure of knowing since his birth. Ever since Gogol’s childhood all he ever wanted was to find a place where he could truly fit in‚ whether it be in his own culture‚ or in the American one in which he lives. During his life‚ Gogol searches everywhere to find out who he is and where he belongs. During his long search‚ young Gogol meets a beautiful
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