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The author of The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri has a lot in common with the Gangulis whose lives are the main topic of the novel. Just like her protagonist, Gogol, Lahiri grew up in New England with a Bengali family. Although the novel is a work of fiction, it is probable that Lahiri incorporated her own experiences and thoughts on growing up with two very different cultures into her characters’ thoughts.

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Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli are from Calcutta, the capital of Bengal. Bengal is a region in Asia that was split into Banladesh and West Bengal. The Ganguli’s are from West Bengal. In the 1960s, there was a massive number of Asian immigrants to the United States due to the abolishment of the National Origin Quotas by the United States Government.

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Gogol serves as the protagonist of The Namesake. The novel follows Gogol’s life as he transforms from childhood to adulthood. As Gogol grows up, he tries to find the perfect balance of both Bengali and American culture in his life. One of the main ways that Lahiri develops this character through the novel is by defining his relationship with his name. As the novel progresses, Gogol learns more about why he was given that name and slowly begins to forge his own identity.

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Growing up in America and being raised by parents who grew up in a foreign country and with a completely different culture just like Gogol in Sonia, this novel is very relatable for me. For example, at the beginning of the book when Ashima is attempting to make Bengali street foods with the ingredients available in America is something my mom does all the time. Lots of little details throughout the book resonated with my own life and made the whole novel more personal for me.

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One major connection I noticed between The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri and Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison is the importance that roles play in both literature and in people’s lives in general. In Song of Solomon, the character’s, with the exception of Pilate, allowed their names to define them. Milkman, for example, allowed his disturbing name to resonate with his personality and rather than breaking free from the confines of his name, he goes along with it. In the Namesake, Gogol’s name also defines him, but the novel is more about how he tries to escape his roots until he realizes their importance. Both works showcase the significance that names have in one’s life.

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The Namesake connects with Hamlet in that both novels involve the protagonists suffering from a feeling of betrayal. In The Namesake, Gogol’s wife Moushumi cheats on him with another man. In Hamlet, Hamlet feels betrayed when his mother marries his uncle. Both novels, the protagonist go into a sort of spiral after learning of betrayal, however they still react in very different ways. Gogol learns that it is time for him to stop defining himself through his relationships and instead forge his own identity. Hamlet on the other hand continues to spiral into madness and this ultimately ends in his demise.

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The novel's main protagonist, Gogol, was named after Russian author Nikolai Gogol by his father. Throughout the novel, Gogol finds it weird that his father named him after such a strange literary figure. Nikolai Gogol did a number of strange thing during his life including embezzling his mother's money. Gogol wrote a number of short stories that were highly praised for bringing some colloquialism to Russian literature.

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The Namesake and Yann Martel’s Life of Pi are similar in that they discuss Indian culture and the intersection of different cultures and religions. Both novels can be viewed as bildungsroman. The Life of Pi begins with Pi learning about religions including Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. Likewise, Gogol Ganguli is born into Bengali culture and surrounded by American culture. Both novels show how the protagonists go on a journey of self-identification. Pi goes through a traumatic experience while stranded on a boat and Gogol’s journey is more mundane but both learn and grow as a result of their experiences.

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The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri is written in third person. The narrator is limited omniscient and at different parts of the book, the narrator is able to see different characters’ thoughts. This type of narrator allows readers to get a better sense of the character through both their actions and their thoughts. In addition Lahiri uses this type of narration to contrast characters by showing how different characters react to the same occurences.

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In some ways, the narrator in The Namesake is not reliable. Many events in the story are told from a certain character’s perspective and therefore may be biased in some way. For example, Ashoke’s near death experience in the train crash may have been completely different if told from another perspective. However, overall, the narrator seems to be believable. Although the narrator is limited omniscient, the narrator still shares the thoughts of most of the main characters at some point or another.

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Because the book is written in the third person and includes some of the main characters’ thoughts, many events are not presented in chronological order. Rather, Lahiri effectively makes use of flashbacks to expose past memories to the reader and incorporate them into the story. Lahiri’s placement of these flashbacks also helps to characterize both characters and their relationships. When Ashoke is in the hospital waiting room, he has a flashback of his experience in the train wreck that outlines the importance of the event, Nikolai Gogol, and his son in his life.

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One part of the book which I related to a lot dealt with simplifying names so that they were easier to pronounce. Indian names especially are often notorious for being very long, confusing, and impossible to pronounce. Personally, I haven’t had much trouble with this (except for this one bus driver) however, many of my friends and family have dealt with it. My dad for example, who’s name is Vishvas often goes by “Vish” and this person I know who is named Murali Krishna Satish Kumar goes by “Mo”.

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One major conflict in The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri is when Gogol Ganguli decides to change his name to Nikhil. Gogol is tired of having such a weird name that is hard to pronounce. This change in name also marks a change in his identity. Gogol is trying to escape his origins. What he doesn’t realize is how much the name Gogol means to his father. Although Gogol’s decision to change his name doesn’t cause a big conflict with his parents, he is going through an internal conflict.

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Dating Maxine and spending time with her family, Gogol has assimilated into the typical American lifestyle. However, his father’s death reminds him how important his family is to him. Gogol breaks up with Maxine when he realizes that he has completely abandoned his family and Bengali culture. This marks the turning point where Gogol decides to stop being someone he isn’t simply so that he fits in. Through this part of the plot, Lahiri shows that it is in times of sadness that one can see their true character.

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In the conclusion of The Namesake, Gogol finally decides to read Nikolai Gogol’s short stories. This action symbolizes something bigger – Gogol’s chance to get back in touch with his roots so he can forge his own identity. Throughout the novel, Gogol tries to define himself through his relationships. Each relationship he has introduces a new aspect of his personality however, he cannot find balance in any one relationship. This conclusion shows the importance of introspection and defining your identity independently rather than relying on others.

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The plot of the novel seems to be moving fairly slowly, however it is still interesting. I like how Lahiri introduces past memories and flashbacks into the story to give the reader more insight into the characters’ minds. Overall, I like the book so far and Lahiri keeps the novel interesting by slowly revealing ore and more about characters and by adding fascinating details about Bengali culture.

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Another part of the novel that I related to was when Gogol had two separate parties for his fourteenth birthday – one for his American friends and one for the Bengalis. I have also had separate parties like this and I thought it was weird how much I have in common with Gogol. Although it kind of makes sense because both Gogol and I are from an Indian family living in the United states, we also have a lot in different. This goes to show how similar people of a certain culture are.

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Gogol has a drastic transformation through the novel. Lahiri shows this transformation in many ways. One way Lahiri does this is by developing Gogol’s complex relationship with his name. Gogol has a number of different emotions toward his name over the course of the novel. During his childhood, Gogol just thinks his name is kind of weird, however as he gets older, he begins to hate it. Gogol even goes as far as to legally change it to Nikhil. One part that stood out was when he got mad at Moushumi for telling her friends that that was his name.

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Gogol's transformation through his relationships

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Gogol's transformation through his relationships

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Another way that Lahiri illustrates Gogol’s transformation is through his romantic relationships. Lahiri shows the audience different stages of Gogol’s development through three women: Ruth, Maxine, and finally Moushumi. Through these relationships, the reader can see how Gogol’s identity changes. At the end of the novel, when Gogol decides to read Nikolai Gogol’s short stories, Lahiri shows that Gogol has finally decided to develop his relationship with himself rather than with external presences in his life.

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Through the novel, Ashima Ganguli has a major transformation especially in terms of her independence. At the beginning of the novel, Ashima stays at home and takes care of her children and has a very difficult time being away from Ashoke and her children. By the end of the novel, Ashima has a job and is living alone. Lahiri portrays Ashima’s transformation through the use of parallelism. The novel begins with Ashima cooking, missing Calcutta. The novel ends with Ashima cooking but this time she is thankful both for her time in Calcutta and the way America has changed her.

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"He remembers the page crumpled tightly in his fingers, the sudden shock of the lantern’s glare in his eyes. But for the first time he thinks of that moment not with terror, but with gratitude" (Lahiri 28)

This quote is from just before Ashoke names his son Gogol. This is arguably the most important part of the novel because if Gogol had been given a "normal" name, his search for his identity may have gone down a completely different path. The reason this passage stood out to me is because the sentiment it expresses is very powerful. Through the quote, Lahiri shows that humans have the power to take inspiration from difficult times. Rather than feeling depressed, Ashoke takes this experience to his heart and uses it to fuel his future.

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"And then the young woman tells her that the patient, Ashoke Ganguli, her husband, has expired. Expired. A word used for library cards, for magazine subscriptions. A word which, for several seconds, has no effect whatsoever on Ashima" (Lahiri 169)

This was another passage in the novel that was intriguing to me. One of the most impressive things about Lahiri's writing was how human she made her characteristics. Her novel could have been a true story. This quote in particular shows how delicate human life is. Ashima was on the phone with her husband just moments ago and now he is simply gone. Lahiri uses the word "expire" to show the universal difficulty of dealing with death. Humans can understand that inanimate objects can go away, however it is difficult to comprehend that life can disintegrate just as easily.

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"There’s no such thing as a perfect name. I think that human beings should be allowed to name themselves when they turn eighteen,’ he adds. ‘Until then, pronouns.’

This quote illustrates the struggle that not only Gogol, but all humans have with creating an identity for themselves. Gogol has always felt trapped by his name because it does not match his personality. However, as Gogol grows to learn more about himself, he sees that this is the perfect name for him. Lahiri shows here how important it is for a person to learn not only about the world around them, but also about oneself.

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The pace of the story is still pretty slow. It is about the same as the beginning of the book. One thing I’ve noticed about the book is that there are no major occurrences. Although there are many events that develop both the characters and the plot, overall the book is about mundane life and nothing particularly extraordinary happens. Although I love reading fantasy books, this realistic fiction approach is more relatable to real life.

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The pace of the entire book was pretty slow. Lahiri most likely did this to make the novel seem more realistic. Rather than introducing life changing circumstances or extremely rare events, Lahiri shows how normal events that people around the world go through everyday are important in people’s lives. Although the novel wasn’t very fast paced, Lahiri has effectively humanized the Gangulis and made them seem like real people rather than characters in the relatively short novel.

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Ashoke is Gogol’s father. He is characterized as reserved and understanding. Lahiri portrays Ashoke as a good man, good husband, and good father. In some ways, Ashoke represents the American dream. After his expereince in a train wreck, Ashoke is determined to do something bigger with his life and he comes to America with his wife in hopes of fulfilling his aspriations.

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Maxine is Gogol’s second girlfriend who he meets at a party in New York. The Ratliff family is very philosophical, open-minded, and overall very American. Lahiri introduces this character into the novel to give the readers insight into what Gogol viewed as the perfect family. Through his relationship with Maxine, Gogol almost becomes a part of the Ratliff family. At last, he isn’t the one with the weird name or smelly food. Maxine helps Gogol to finally feel normal. However eventually Gogol realizes that he doesn’t want to be normal, he wants to be himself.

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Throughout The Namesake, Lahiri utilizes a number of different devices and techniques to develop her plot, characters, and overall message. For example, throughout the novel, Lahiri uses character’s names to symbolize something larger. The names signify the characters’ identities and culture. In particular, Lahiri puts emphasis on Gogol’s name to show his dynamic relationship with his Bengali roots. Lahiri also uses trains as a symbol throughout the novel. Ashoke’s near-death experience in the train-wreck marks a major plot point of the novel. This event is what gives Gogol’s name its true meaning. Lahiri uses trains as a symbol for Gogol’s connection to his roots. Even when he lives in New York with Moushumi, the train can always bring him back to his family. Through this symbol, Lahiri shows that importance of one’s origins in their identity. Another symbol that Lahiri uses is food. In the novel, food is used to juxtapose different cultures. By showing how the Ganguli’s try to blend their Bengali cuisine with Western ingredients, Lahiri portrays the difficulty of seamlessly combining different cultures. However, although it is not easy, by the end of the novel the Ganguli’s have established a sense of balance between their various cultures. Throughout the novel, an idea that was reappearing was the American Dream. However, this novel takes a different perspective on the American Dream. Rather than glorifying American ideals, the Namesake shows the difficulties of immigrants who are suddenly thrust into a world completely different from where they came. Although Lahiri’s novel does not showcase major obstacles that these immigrants have to face, it illustrates the minor, mundane issues, making the novel more relatable for the common person. Throughout the novel, Lahiri describes how different cultures can be as well as the difficulty of individuals in finding their identity to show the lifelong journey that one must take to identify themselves.