The imagination of a homeland,the loss or recovery of it ,various disruptions and political positions within the post colonial nation states have been formidable diasporic conditions and Salman Rushdie's works can be taken as one site where the imagination of homelands are expressed and critiqued.His "Midnight's Children" offers a critique of the 'nation as integrated' concept through its metaphors of fragmentation . It is in a sense an interstitial text standing between the political and cultural,between the desired and the feared ,questioning the choice of the imaginary national home and the centrifugal impulses. As the members of the diasporic community live in an 'imaginary homeland' away from their native country, they encounter …show more content…
In "The Namesake" the most irritating knot that jolts one's individual self is that of Gogol.In Gogol the East and the West meet together,but it also creates conflicts in her.He is shocked to discover that his beloved Maxine has a totally different way of living in her family that forbids the mingling of the two.Ultimately, Gogol becomes a victim of the prejudices of her mother.He sacrifices his love and individuality by marrying Moushumi to please her mother.He acts fatalistically as he allows Moushumi go her own way and is betrayed by her.The only consolation that Gogol has is that Sonia is getting married to Ben- the boy of her own
Jhumpa Lahiri in The Namesake illustrates the assimilation of Gogol as a second generation American immigrant, where Gogol faces the assimilation of becoming an American. Throughout the novel, Gogol has been struggling with his name. From kindergarten to college, Gogol has questioned the reason why he was called Nikhil when he was a child, to the reason why he was called Gogol when he was in college. Having a Russian name, Gogol often encounters questions from people around him, asking the reason of his name. Gogol was not given an Indian name from his Indian family or an American name from the fact that he was born in America, to emphasize that how hard an individual try to assimilate into a different culture, he is still bonded to his roots as the person he ethnically is.
Chercover, Alena. ““His paper family knew their place”: Diasporic Space in Wayson Choy’s All That Matters”. Postcolonial Text 6.3 (2011): n. page. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
There he makes this identity of himself to try to totally forget his parents’ cultural identity. He changes his name to Nikhil and later ends up moving to New York with a girl by the name of Maxine. “He is overly aware that they are not used to passing things around the table, or to chewing food with their mouths completely closed. They avert their eyes when Maxine accidentally leans over to run her hand through her hair” (Lahiri 277). This quote is describing Maxine and Gogol having a meal with his parents. This whole scene is very awkward for both because Gogol’s parents aren’t used to doing things the American way. When the two are leaving his parents’ house Gogol’s father says to him “Drive safely, Gogol” (Lahiri 279). This confuses Maxine because she is not familiar with his real name. He doesn’t want to be reminded of who he was before. By chapter 8 Maxine and Gogol are no longer together due to
He feels relief and confident. No one knows him as Gogol, but Nikhil. His life with a new name also gets changed. His transformation starts here. He starts doing many activities which he could not dare to do as Gogol.
[… The] only person who didn’t take Gogol seriously… who tormented him, the only person chronically aware of and afflicted by the embarrassment of his name, the only person who constantly questioned it and wished it were otherwise, was Gogol. (99-100)
The negation of the Diaspora has a mythical character, which functions to legitimize social and political practices and mobilize action and identification with a cause. Gordon establishes this myth of identity through anchoring of the present in the diasporic past and actualization of the diasporic past in the present in the Yishuv.
Knott , Kim, and Seán McLoughlin, eds. Diasporas Concepts, Intersections, Identities. New York : Zed Books, 2010. Print.
Critics have already begun a heated debate over the success of the book that has addressed both its strengths and weaknesses. The debate may rage for a few years but it will eventually fizzle out as the success of the novel sustains. The characters, plot, emotional appeal, and easily relatable situations are too strong for this book to crumble. The internal characteristics have provided a strong base to withstand the petty attacks on underdeveloped metaphors and transparent descriptions. The novel does not need confrontations with the Middle East to remain a staple in modern reading, it can hold its own based on its life lessons that anyone can use.
Until I travelled I saw my grandparents as migrants from another country, living in a country that wasn’t their own, I witnessed the lives they would have had if they remained. I expected ‘Greece Greeks’ to be exactly like my parents, but it was very different. I didn’t feel the same connection that I felt back when I was home. Here I was in a country I spoke the language, where my grand parents were born and where my culture’ came from, yet I saw myself as the
...el to Calcutta that summer to see their relatives and scatter Ashoke’s ashes in the Ganges” (Lahiri 188). Gogol seemed to need so much distance that it was worth parting from Maxine for. Tragedy can change our identities in a heartbeat, whether it’s to our true identity or someone we’re not.
Salman Rushdie’s novel Midnight’s Children employs strategies which engage in an exploration of History, Nationalism and Hybridity. This essay will examine three passages from the novel which demonstrate these issues. Furthermore, it will explore why each passage is a good demonstration of these issues, how these issues apply to India in the novel, and how the novel critiques these concepts.
Now knowing what his actions would lead to, he would go out of his way to familiarize himself with the American traditions leaving his upbringing in the past. A new dislike for his name arises as he “hates signing his name at the bottom...Nothing to do with who he is (76).” Feeling emerge and suddenly Gogol feels as if he has no connections to his name. Only to make these feelings worse he feels humiliated by his classmates for having the name he has but in reality his name isn’t a topic of discussion to his peers. Through this phase the author emphasizes how other people 's opinion are more important to Gogol than what he thinks of himself. The opinions of others have consumed his thoughts so horribly that Gogol becomes viewing himself through the eyes of others. At this point in Gogol’s life it would be a great time for his father to tell him why he chose to give him his birth name but his dad decides to simply give his son the book that at one point saved his life. Not even remotely interested in what he now has in his possession Gogol, “puts the book away on his shelve (77).” On this shelve the book lingers for years to come. As an independent individual Gogol makes little to no effort to remain in contact with his family. Never does he question the book given to him nor does he attempt making small talk with his father about why the book was so important to him and how it influenced him to name his son after the
Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient shows characters whose concept of identity is one that is based on personality and individuality instead of race and religion. The four characters all of different national backgrounds, come from different places and have wounds to heal from the war, but together they interact and form relations similar to those of a family. Similar to Ondaatje, who found a new home in Canada, the characters are in search for a home for themselves in a distant place which is also damaged by war. Ondaatje’s criticism of nationalism is shown by the effects of war and by using the desert as a metaphor of transience in that it cannot be claimed or defined, to underscore that all concepts of difference, borders and places on maps are all artificial and are in essence destructive.
The question of the racial, religious, and socioeconomic identity of Shahid becomes a central question posed as Shahid undergoes translation from his Pakistani ancestry to his desired identity as a Briton. Shahid's translation parallels the translations of the former Asian colonies of Britain into their new postcolonial identities. Unfortunately for Shahid, the struggle over The Satanic Verses catches him as he is translating himself, presenting him with a series of tough choices.
In Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel, The Namesake, the protagonist, Gogol, struggles with his cultural identity. He is an American-born Bengali struggling to define himself. He wants to fit into the typical American-lifestyle, a lifestyle his parents do not understand. This causes him tension through his adolescence and adult life, he has trouble finding a balance between America and Bengali culture. This is exemplified with his romantic relationships. These relationships directly reflect where he is in his life, what he is going through and his relationship with his parents. Each woman indicates a particular moment in time where he is trying to figure out his cultural identity. Ruth represents an initial break away from Bengali culture; Maxine represents