Identity In The Namesake By Jhumpa Lahiri

Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel, The Namesake, follows the journey of a Bengali-American man named Gogol Ganguli and his struggle to find his identity. Lahiri prefaced the novel with the quotation: "The reader should realize himself that it could not have happened otherwise, and that to give him any other name was quite out of the question," by author Nikolai Gogol. The quote itself foreshadows the basis of the novel as Gogol discovers his true identity through his family and himself.
Gogol was brought into the world without an intended identity. His mother, Ashima and his father, Ashoke planned for his maternal great grandmother to choose his “pet name,” as it is a tradition in their family. The letter was sent a month before Gogol’s birth and it is

Not understanding that its Bengali culture for one to have both a “pet” and “good” name Gogol is convinced that he has only one identity- Gogol. A child cannot comprehend the distinction between a name and the characteristics of one's self. Upon arrival to his first day of school, Gogol is upset that both his peers and teachers will refer to him as Nikhil. “He is afraid to be Nikhil, someone he doesn't know. Who doesn't know him,” and despite his parents wishes, the principal introduces him to everyone as Gogol Ganguli. The name “Gogol,” satisfied him up until sixth grade when a field trip to the cemetery causes him to believe his name is “peculiar.” The trip ignites a flame and Gogol begins to resent the name he was given. By the time he reaches college he has decided to legally change it. He tells his father that “no one takes [him] seriously,” although the truth was that Gogol himself was the only one who didn't take him seriously. When faced with the question “why,” Gogol replies “I hate the name Gogol, I’ve always hated it” (Lahiri 102). Gogol couldn't accept himself internally and therefore though changing the external factors, such as his name, would aid in reinventing