culture. Many of those involved in diasporic situations feel that adapting to the social norms of their new surroundings is an act of betraying their roots in which their heritage and all preexisting traditions will be lost. Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel The Namesake highlights this struggle through the eyes of the Ganguli family. The novel ultimately shows us that one can simultaneously belong to two cultures‚ in this case Indian and American culture. Many scholars are hung up on the fact that protagonist Gogol
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How would you respond to a collision in culture‚ would you completely change your original culture‚ modify it to a certain extent‚ or not make a single altercation to your identity? In The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri‚ Gogol is caught in the midst of colliding cultures and responds by adapting to the host culture‚ the American culture. Throughout Gogol’s life‚ he faces an identification crisis and a crisis in balancing between the Bengali and American culture. Gogol slowly moves to the American culture
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Knowledge and perception are key factors in how things are interpreted. They can be the difference between understanding and being perplexed. In the novel‚ The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri‚ Gogol seems to go through identity issues with his name. He struggles to find meaning in his name but as the years pass‚ he starts to understand his namesake through being able to accept his name himself. Although Ashima and Ashoke move to America‚ they seem to try to raise Gogal in their Indian culture unaware that
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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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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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Moving to a different country is never easy and author Jhumpa Lahiri captures this struggle in the astounding book‚ The Namesake. Her words perfectly emulate the struggles each main character— Ashoke‚ Ashima and Gogol face. This book is written in a third person omniscient view which enables readers to look into the intimate thoughts of each character‚ and how they individually handle their ability to balance the Bengali and American culture. Each character’s journey to conform is unique‚ making
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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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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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