Jhumpa Lahiri’s 2003 novel The Namesake is the fictional narrative of Gogol Ganguli‚ a second generation immigrant in America‚ and his haunting feeling of not being able to identify with his name. Gogol feels that his name “has nothing to do with who he is‚ that it is neither Indian nor American but of all things Russian.” (Lahiri 70) This essay will argue that Gogol’s problematic relationship to his name stems from a need for a sense of belonging. Coming from a family that values their heritage
Premium
individual to mature and grow up in most cases. In other cases‚ such as “Mrs. Sen’s” in‚ Interpreter of Maladies‚ by Jhumpa Lahiri‚ the roles of maturity switch. In “Mrs. Sen’s” a child of eleven years‚ Eliot‚ shows a level of maturity that a boy his age would usually not have yet. From the beginning of the story‚ Lahiri lets the reader know that‚ “Eliot can feed and entertain himself[...]” (Lahiri 111). This sets the bar letting the reader know this is a child who can take care of himself‚ but for social
Premium Parent Childhood Mother
Mina’s Secret In "Interpreter of Maladies‚" Jhumpa Lahiri uses Mina Das’s red outfit as a way to represent an unfaithful woman‚ who is disconnected from her roots‚ and has fallen out of love with life. Her guilt from keeping a secret that one of her children is not from her husband‚ but from an affair‚ has caused her to act in a very distant and uncaring way. Through the family’s visit to the Sun Temple‚ and the hills at Udayagiri and Khandagiri in India‚ accompanied by Mr. Kapasi‚ a Gujarati interpreter
Premium Doctor Walk This Way
Throughout the collection of short stories‚ Interpreter of Maladies‚ by Jhumpa Lahiri‚ many characters have varying levels of success assimilating and accepting American customs. People face adapting to new cultures in various ways‚ which is reflected in the short stories “Mrs. Sen’s” and “When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine”‚ as Mrs. Sen completely isolates herself from society and is unwilling to change her routine to work in America‚ opposed to Lilia’s family‚ that views their new home as a safe place
Premium Short story Jhumpa Lahiri Nathaniel Hawthorne
Interpreter of Maladies depicts the language and cultural barriers many immigrants face upon arriving in America. In “Mrs. Sen’s‚” Jhumpa Lahiri introduces us to Mrs. Sen‚ an Indian woman living in a university apartment with her husband. Lahiri uses a handful of symbolism and foreshadowing from the very beginning‚ giving us the impression that Mrs. Sen does not feel at home. She uses many references to India‚ the refusal for the culture from an anxious mother‚ and the acceptance of the culture in
Premium Family Mother Woman
Jhumpa Lahiri’s remorseful short story “A Temporary Matter” demonstrates a loss of faith as grief exposes differences. In modern Boston‚ a young couple has begun to isolate themselves from each other and lose interest in their well-being. It has been six months after the stillbirth of Shoba and Shukumar’s first child. Shukumar stays at home all day and puts off his dissertation while Shoba‚ who used to be a busy body around their home‚ now stays away from the house as much as possible. The electricity
Premium Family English-language films Short story
location plays a significant role in one’s identity. Imagine just travelling a million miles across the two Easts and the two Wests to reach a perceived notion of bliss. The following texts analyzed: Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri & The House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III‚ explore the pattern of the sociocultural effect(s) of immigration on the livelihood of immigrants. Furthermore‚ the topics explored through this paper tie to the following comparison(s) of themes in both texts. Without
Premium Jhumpa Lahiri Short story Protagonist
Brunn English 201-141 12 July 2011 The Life and Motivation of Jhumpa Lahiri Jhumpa Lahiri was born on 1967 in London‚ UK. Her parents were Indian-Bengalis. Lahiri grew up in Rhode Island‚ USA and she considers herself to be an American. Lahiri is a very educated woman with multiple degrees in English‚ including a Ph.D. in Renaissance Studies. She did a two-year fellowship at Provincetown ’s Fine Arts Work Center. Lahiri lives in Brooklyn‚ NY with her husband‚ Alberto Vourvoulias-Bush‚ a
Premium Short story Jhumpa Lahiri The New Yorker
throughout the majority of the novel‚ yet this tension was in the makings even before his birth. Ashoke and Ashima being immigrants set Gogol up to live in two different cultures‚ American and Bengali. Many children of immigrants may feel like Gogol‚ having one foot in each world. Gogol framed his struggle with cultural identity through something tangible‚ his name. In Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel‚ The Namesake‚ Gogol’s struggle with cultural identity is exposed most greatly by the name others call him and
Premium The Namesake Nikolai Gogol Jhumpa Lahiri
Lahiri’s novel‚ The Namesake‚ it is apparent that she occasionally adopts a particular writing style‚ by which she projects thoughts into future. In other words‚ there are numerous examples in the book‚ where Lahiri chooses to ‘give away’ to the reader additional information about the characters which refers to their future situation and will either appear later in the book‚ or will never be mentioned again. Projecting thoughts into future is a way of writing that Lahiri applies in various
Premium Nikolai Gogol Jhumpa Lahiri Fiction