The title The Namesake reflects the struggle of Gogol Ganguli‚ son of Ashoke and Ashima‚ Indian immigrants to the U.S.A. to get identity in the culture where he is born and brought up with his unusual name. Names do have some meaning in India. A lot of practice is done when a child is named in India. An Indian child generally carries two names‚ a pet name and an official one. Pet names are for the family and neighbours and acquaintances. They carry or may not carry meaning. But official names are
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Aody Rafati Dr. Jodi Melamed Eng 2010 12/11/2014 Cultural Identity in The Namesake The Namesake illustrates several elements of transition that are common to the stories of immigrant families and their children. As shown in the film‚ the first generation connects with their cultural identity and roots to a far greater degree and density than their children do. The second generation exists between two realities of culture including their ethnic heritage and the world they live in presently
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The Namesake showcases a boy named Gogol who culturally different from the rest of society‚ and undergoes numerous life changing situations. A namesake is a person named after another. The namesake in this novel being Gogol and the author of the Overcoat‚ Nikolai Gogol but to why his father chose this name and this namesake is a mystery to Gogol Ganguli. Symbolism‚ something used quite commonly throughout the novel‚ in which it shows two major symbols. These being the name “Gogol” and trains‚ all
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The Namesake is a novel that was written by Lahiri in 2003. “Though substitute teachers at school always pause‚ looking apologetic when they arrive at his name on the roster‚ forcing Gogol to call out‚ before even being summoned‚ “That’s me‚” teachers in the school system not to give it a second thought. After a year or two‚ the students no longer tease….p.66-67” that shows the difficulties that Gogol face with his name at the school and how his teachers and his classmates found that pronouncing
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“Some people claim that a person’s cultural identity is the foundation or groundwork on which every other aspect of their being is built” (No Bullying). That describes exactly what Gogol in the novel‚ The Namesake‚ by Jhumpa Lahiri is trying to discover about himself through his name. Almost every aspect of this novel have to do with Gogol and his journey with his companions and family to find his sense of belonging through his culture. Lahiri uses the manipulation of time in this novel in order
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The Ganguli family in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake has a problem. The mother and father are traditional Bengalese from Calcutta‚ and they are not particularly interested in assimilating into the United States‚ their adopted home. Gogol‚ their son‚ however‚ was born in the United States and is somewhat embarrassed by his parents Bengalese practices. Gogol is also uncomfortable with his name. It is neither a Bengalese nor an American name. No one he knows has a name like his. In school‚ kids make fun
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Introduction In The Namesake‚ Jhumpa Lahiri provides an account of the Ganguli family‚ an Indian American family of educated‚ middle-class Bengali immigrants. Torn between two cultures and two worlds‚ the Ganguli ’s live in Suburban Massachusetts. Ashoke and Ashimi Ganguli have two children‚ Gogol and Sonia. The caste system in India impacts the lives of Ashoke and Ashimi‚ whose marriage is arranged‚ but in suburban Massachusetts such distinctions are undermined through the common ties of class
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BELONGING The concept of Belonging is a multi-layered concept‚ particularly in the novel "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri‚ the news article "Burqas and Fries" by Erika Hayasaki and the play "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare. A person’s sense of belonging is determined by the relationships they share with themselves and other people. Whether it’s family‚ friends or society in general‚ humans have a desire to belong and be an important part of something greater than themselves. The ideology
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The Namesake The movie The Namesake explored many issues with regards to culture and the relationships in which we create within different cultures. Throughout the movie issues with parents‚ partners‚ different cultures and death all play a key role in purveying the messages the director wanted to get across. When the Ganguli family has to move from India to New York we see how relationships change and how Ashima has to change in order to adapt to the American lifestyle. Gogol who is Ashima’s
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In Juhmpa Lahiri’s novel‚ The Namesake‚ the reader is thrust into the daily life of Gogol Ganguli. Gogol is a promising young man from a Bengali family‚ which the reader gets the pleasure of knowing since his birth. Ever since Gogol’s childhood all he ever wanted was to find a place where he could truly fit in‚ whether it be in his own culture‚ or in the American one in which he lives. During his life‚ Gogol searches everywhere to find out who he is and where he belongs. During his long search‚ young
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