As its title suggests, at its core The
Namesake tackles the question of forming one’s own identity
, and explores the power that a name can carry. Gogol’s decision to change his name to Nikhil before leaving home for college demonstrates his desire to take control over his own identity.
How does Gogol struggle with identity?
Gogol, in particular, is torn between two cultures –
the Indian traditions of his parents and the mainstream American culture in which he grows up
. His struggle is the same one that his sister Sonia goes through, and his wife Moushumi, too. It’s also related to the struggle his parents undergo as immigrants.
What is the message of The Namesake?
Gogol engages in a constant struggle to remain loyal to both worlds. Hence, the major theme portrayed in the novel is
one of identity
. This them is illustrated vividly by examining the importance of one’s culture and background, gender, and name as the definition of patriarchal lineage and destiny in life.
How is Gogol name tied to his identity?
First, his name.
Gogol is Gogol
, of course, because his father and mother needed a name for him before leaving the hospital. The name “Gogol” was an important one to Ashoke, who adored Nikolai Gogol’s work. Ashoke also has traumatic connection to the train-wreck during which he was reading Gogol.
What are the central ideas of The Namesake?
Importance of Names
. The central theme of The Namesake is the importance of names. The Bengali tradition of naming includes the development of a daknam, a pet name or nickname, and a bhalonam, a good name, used in public life and on official documents.
Why are names so important in The Namesake?
As its title suggests, at its core The
Namesake tackles the question of forming one’s own identity
, and explores the power that a name can carry. Gogol’s decision to change his name to Nikhil before leaving home for college demonstrates his desire to take control over his own identity.
Why are names important in The Namesake?
Names are a central theme of The Namesake, and Gogol’s name is one way Lahiri explores
the character’s coming-of-age
and his struggle to reconcile his Indian and American identities. She also explores generational conflict and family relationships through this central issue of naming.
What does Gogol struggle with?
Throughout his life, Gogol struggles
with his identity
. This is mostly due to the feeling that he is caught between his parents’ world and his own. He also dislikes the fact that he was named after Nikolai Gogol. … However, after the death of Ashoke, Gogol starts to appreciate his family and his background more.
Why does Gogol change his name to Nikhil?
Gogol tells his parents that he is changing his name
because he feels that the name Nikhil is more suitable to represent him in adult life
.
Why does Ashima not say her husband’s name?
Ashima never thinks of her husband’s name
when she thinks of her husband, even though she knows perfectly well what it is. She has adopted his surname but refuses, for propriety’s sake, to utter his first. It’s not the type of thing Bengali wives do. … It’s a part of growing up, they tell him, of being a Bengali”.
Who should choose Gogols name?
When Gogol is five, Ashima learns she is pregnant. Now that Gogol is about to begin kindergarten, his parents finally choose a formal name for him,
Nikhil
. This name, too, is chosen in honor of Nikolai Gogol, the author of the short story Ashoke was reading during the accident.
Why is Gogol attracted to Maxine?
At first, she seems like the answer to all Gogol’s troubles, because Maxine fits the type that Gogol seems to be attracted to: she is all-American,
she’s artistic and sexually uninhibited
– in other words, she’s the complete opposite of the nice Bengali girl his parents would love him to marry.
Who did Gogol marry?
Moushumi
and Gogol are attracted to one another and eventually are married.
What are the elements of namesake?
It can be read as a diasporic novel because of three crucial elements: The Gangulis’ transnational move from Calcutta to Massachusetts. The cultural assimilation, or adoption and adaptation to a new culture, which Ashima struggles with.
The search for identity.
What is a symbol in The Namesake?
In The Namesake, Gogol symbolizes his journey through life as Bengali American finding his true identity. Throughout The Namesake, there are many symbols. The first symbol is
trains
. The second is different cultural backgrounds.
What literary devices are used in The Namesake?
Some literary techniques used by Jhumpa Lahiri in The Namesake include
sensory detail, description, imagery
. Literary techniques are a category of the two literary devices from which an author chooses freely to create the details of a novel, play, poem or short story.
