namesake

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Recommended: American Dream in American literary works

The American Dream is not all it seems. An illusion perhaps that has drawn millions upon millions of immigrants towards Western society. In the novel “The Namesake” by Jhumpa Lahiri, there is a display with one character the chase of the American Dream and a “better life” however upon arrival this character feels nothing but isolation and lost in a new world that she just does not understand. Ashima is isolated in a world she has never seen before because of her marriage with Ashoke. She could not evade this because of her passion for her husband and in turn she has become isolated in a land she does not know. She feels isolated in many ways and it is obvious when the novel is put into context in her own perspective giving the reader insight on her character and the ways she feels isolated whether they may be emotional, physical or the feeling of not fitting in with the society you are with.

Moving to a different country is never easy, especially when you are moving to a society that does not look like the previous one you were in anyway possible. Ashima feels this way when she first moves to America, she does not feel like she will ever fit into American culture and she longs for her family back home. “It’s the consequence: motherhood in a foreign land. For it was one thing to be pregnant, to suffer the queasy mornings in bed, the sleepless nights, the dull throbbing in her back, the countless visits to the bathroom.”(6). This proving the disconnection Ashima is feeling in this new foreign land, it also mentions how she does not care so much about the pain of bearing a child, it is the burden of caring for a child in a foreign land that she does know which emotionally disturbs her. Throughout the beginning of the novel ...

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...n the begining of the story when Ashima has first moved to the land of the free and home of the brave she hated her life, her new country and even her husband. She felt so out of place. However she begins to adapt and not feel so isolated around the middle of the book as through all of her sons relationships with Western women she is forced to accept her new place and identity. As she plans to move back to her homeland at the end of the book she finds herself more lost than ever. The land she once hated has become her home and she feels incredibly saddened that she is leaving it to go back to her homeland India. It breaks her heart to leave the land her husband Ashoke fought to build their lives around. However Ashima parts her new home to her old home and sets the example for all immigrants to just give their new home some time and it the outcome will be worth it.

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