The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri 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. In the conversation between Gogol, his kindergarten teacher, and Gogol's father, Gogol is confused and refuses his name as Nikhil. "She bends down so that her face is level with his, and extends a hand to his shoulder: "Can you tell me how old you are, Nikhil?" When the question is repeated and there is no response, "According to these documents, your son's legal name is Gogol," "that you want us to call him Nikhil?" "That is correct." "Are you happy to be entering elementary school, Gogol?" "my parents want me to have another name in school," "and how about you, Gogol? Do you want to be called by another name?" after a pause he shakes his head. "is that a no?" he nodes. "Yes." "(p.58-59). During his childhood, Gogol's parents want him to assimilate into the society faster, through requesting his name in school to be Nikhil. By changing his name to Nikhil, people can easily refer him as "Nik" or "Nick", a name easier for him... ... middle of paper ... ...o assimilate into the society by entering school with a more acceptable name, but Gogol refuses. The acceptance of the society has pressured him to change his name in college, and to hide Gogol from the society. Till the day Gogol understands the reason why his father chose to name him Gogol instead of an Indian or American name, Gogol experienced a lot of changes, as a second generation American immigrant. Gogol has been assimilated to different culture than he ethnically is. At the end, through family, Gogol has come back to his roots. Gogol was not given an Indian name from his Indian family or an American name as he was born in America, to emphasize an individual try to assimilate into a different culture, but in the end, he is still bonded to his roots as the person he ethnically is. Works Cited Lahari, Jhumpa. The Namesake Boston, New York. Mariner Books, 2004
In Anh Do’s autobiography, ‘The Happiest Refugee,’ includes a prologue at the beginning of the text in order to capture the reader’s attention and hook them into reading further. It focuses on Anh’s emotional meeting with his estranged father whom he hasn’t met since his childhood. This event serves as a central point for the story. Subsequently, the rest of the story explains his early life with his father, why he became estranged and also the events following his reunion with his father. At the end of the prologue Anh asks what his fathers new son is called and his father replies, ‘his name is Anh. I named him after you’ (page VII) This makes the reader want to know if Anh meant so much to him why did he leave. After that sentence the story goes back into the past to before Anh’s birth and his childhood and the story is focused on building up to the event in the prologue, explaining all the background and troubles that caused his father to leave.
The role of the Gogolian narrator is an unassuming revealer of what is hidden in the world. Revelations can be the world’s evils, morality, or a nation’s ultimate purpose. Gogol’s narrator is merely a puppet of his imagination and is kept within certain boundaries. Sometimes the narrator’s lack of transparency can make a story seem like a parable or folk tale like in “The Nose” and “Nevsky Prospect.” We can see this in what limited information the narrator is allowed to reveal to the reader and I will examine this theme in Gogol’s “Nevsky Prospect,” “The Nose,” and Dead Souls.
The fact that this character is the main protagonist, the long timespan throughout the book, the different meanings impounded in the book, and mainly the plot the book is anchored on, obviously states that the main character, Gogol is a round character. Beginning off, Gogol is an oblivious and stubborn youngster because he constantly refuses the names (Gogol and Nikhil) his parents cast upon him. The reason for this is because he simply doesn’t understand the point/meaning behind his names. As time advances to his future years, not only does his character worsen from just being childlike, it goes downhill to culturally and socially unacceptable actions like losing his virginity (early) and partying in secret. In addition, he goes
Naeem Murr's novel, The Boy, is a story about a boy that is put into foster homes all of his life. This boy is exposed to all different kinds of influences that affects his life in a negative way. These are the things that cause the argument in the story; is the boy evil or not?
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 stranger remarks as to how he has had numerous problems at sea, and had afterwards been held captive by some Indians. He thinks it is wrong that the father of the child has not been named or come forward.
Over the course of the novel, The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri, Gogol is constantly moving, and by the time he is in his late twenties, he has already lived in five different homes, while his mother, Ashima has lived in only five houses her entire life. Each time Gogol moves, he travels farther away from his childhood home on Pemberton Road, symbolizing his search for identity and his desire to further himself from his family and Bengali culture. Alternatively, Ashima’s change of homes happens in order to become closer to family, representing her kinship with Bengali culture. Ashima has always had difficulty with doing things on her own, but by the end of the story she ultimately decides to travel around both India and the States without a real home as a result of the evolution of her independence and the breaking of her boundaries; in contrast, Gogol finally realizes that he has always stayed close to home, despite his yearning for escape, and settles into his newly discovered identity - the one that he possessed all along.
The Admiral talks with the Prime Minister about some plan that I want to know more about.“This matter is above and beyond top secret, for your eyes only.” (pg. 12) The Admiral wants the girl to help him with something very dangerous that I don’t know about that I want to figure out. The girl learns that the Admiral wants her and the boy to rescue a child. “Important but very dangerous. She’s just a girl, Admiral,” added her mother, sighing heavily. (pg. 36) The Admiral doesn’t give them details about the child. Leni wanted to know more about the child she was rescuing. “Who is this child?” she asked. McPherson pursed his lips and held up his hand. “I don’t know, Leni. I have not been told her identity.”
In “My Two Lives” Jhumpa Lahiri talks about her hardship growing up in America coming from two different cultures. At home she spoke Bengali with her parents, ate with her hands. According to Jhumpa’s parents she was not American and would never be. This led her to become ashamed of her background. She felt like she did not have to hide her culture anymore. When Jhumpa got married in Calcutta she invited her American friends that never visited India. Jhumpa thought her friends would judge from being part of the Indian culture and isolate her.However her friends were intrigued by her culture and fascinated. She felt like her culture should not be hidden from her friends anymore, and that coming from an Indian-American culture is unique. Jhumpa believes that her upbringing is the reason why she is still involved with her Bengali culture. Jhumpa says“While I am American by virtue of the fact that I was raised in this country, I am Indian thanks to the efforts of two individuals.” Jhumpa means that she is Indian, because she lived most of her life and was raised here. In the story Lahiri explains that her parents shaped her into the person she is. Growing up coming from two different cultures can be difficult, but it can also be beneficial.
How different are families compared to the past? Lately there has been some major changes in relationships, weather female dominance, or even just having no relationships at all. We also see that relationships are based only on a basis of reproduction and sometimes the child of the relationship is rather irrelevant. In a Temporary matter by Jhumpa Lahiri, the reader can see how relationships have developed with the rest of the world into failing, no relationship, and feminist relationships.
He does this in order for him to hide his culture and in order to show he is more American. As the story progresses, Nikhil begins living the life that he thought was meant for him. This name changed helped Gogol get through college. He felt Nikhil was the person he wanted to be while hiding Gogol from the world. Nikhil now felt no connections with Gogol, he just wanted to enjoy being American. Now that he is Nikhil, “it 's easier to ignore his parents... [to] type his name at the top of his freshman papers (105).” He no longer feels that he needs to be Bengali. This new freedom that he got by changing his name changed Gogol completely. He now lives his life hiding his past self, a life where he is eccedentesiast without
to America with grace and compassion. This story by Jhumpa Lahiri, is an allegory establishing an identity with using symbolic meaning between two cultures that intersect. The themes throughout the story refer to immigrant experiences, the conflict of cultures, the contrast of assimilation and the connection between generations. The Namesake, opens the worlds of emotions Ashima experiences, while straddling her two worlds. This story of identity allows readers to travel with Ashima on an intimate journey through her life as an immigrant.
Urvashi Butalia in her book, The Other Side of Silence, attempts to analyze the partition in Indian society, through an oral history of Indian experiences. The collection of traumatic events from those people who lived through the partition gives insight on how history has enveloped these silences decades later. Furthermore, the movie 1947 Earth reveals the bitterness of partition and its effect of violence on certain characters. The most intriguing character which elucidates the silence of the partition is the child, Lenny. Lenny in particular the narrator of the story, serves as a medium to the intangibility created by the partition. The intangibility being love and violence, how can people who grew up together to love each other hate one another amidst religion? This question is best depicted through the innocence of a child, Lenny. Through her interactions with her friends, the doll, and the Lahore Park, we see silence elucidated as comfort of not knowing, or the pain from the separation of comfort and silence from an unspoken truth.
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala was born in Germany but she moved to England at the age of 12. She then moved to India in the fifties, where she married and settle for the better part of her life.