An essay on the internal conflict of Gogol Ganguli in The Namesake
To have a cultural identity today is important for a person’s self-esteem and it is equal to having an identity of your own, since it effects a person’s ability to relate to other people. It is something that you grow into, as well as something that you already are. Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake (2004) emphasizes the essence of that. It is being characterized by the protagonist of the book, Gogol Ganguli, a second-generation immigrant that is trying to find his own identity. This paper is build upon the thesis that the problem of alternating two cultures can only be solved by constantly evolving your identity, and that the borders of a country do not limit this process.
Gogol Ganguli has an internal conflict regarding his identity; he is torn between the American society he is currently living in and the Indian heritage that he inherited from his parents. This results in Gogol trying to come up with an identity of his own. His journey sets off as he attempts to step away from his Indian heritage, "I hate the name Gogol," he says. "I 've always hated it" (Lahiri 102). His name becomes a symbol of him feeling like an outcast and ends up changing his first name to Nikhil. Being Nikhil is a lot different from being Gogol, “It is a Nikhil, that first semester, that he grows a goatee, starts smoking Camel Lights at parties and while writing papers and before exams, discovers Brian Eno and Elvis Costello and Charlie Parker” (Lahiri 105). However, there is one problem; Gogol does not feel like Nikhil either.
The resolving of Gogol’s internal conflict is beginning, as his journey through life continues. When Gogol’s father dies he is reminded of his family’s culture. As a result he starts to reconnect with his family, something that is causing him to question his lifestyle. He later starts to date his future wife, Moushumi. He has known Moushumi since he was a little boy and she even knows him as "Gogol", “This is first time he 's been out with a woman who 'd once known
Gogol Ganguli has an internal conflict regarding his identity; he is torn between the American society he is currently living in and the Indian heritage that he inherited from his parents. This results in Gogol trying to come up with an identity of his own. His journey sets off as he attempts to step away from his Indian heritage, "I hate the name Gogol," he says. "I 've always hated it" (Lahiri 102). His name becomes a symbol of him feeling like an outcast and ends up changing his first name to Nikhil. Being Nikhil is a lot different from being Gogol, “It is a Nikhil, that first semester, that he grows a goatee, starts smoking Camel Lights at parties and while writing papers and before exams, discovers Brian Eno and Elvis Costello and Charlie Parker” (Lahiri 105). However, there is one problem; Gogol does not feel like Nikhil either.
The resolving of Gogol’s internal conflict is beginning, as his journey through life continues. When Gogol’s father dies he is reminded of his family’s culture. As a result he starts to reconnect with his family, something that is causing him to question his lifestyle. He later starts to date his future wife, Moushumi. He has known Moushumi since he was a little boy and she even knows him as "Gogol", “This is first time he 's been out with a woman who 'd once known
Cited: Lahiri, Jhumpa. The Namesake. London: Harper Perennial, 2004. Print.