Development of Gogol’s Character in ‘namesake’

Bryam Vasquez

Mr. Lapo

English IV

16 January 2018

Development of Gogol’s Character in ‘Namesake’

"There's no such thing as a perfect name. Human beings should be allowed to name themselves… names are a persistent remnant of childhood, a reminder that life is not always so serious, so formal, so complicated.’’ In Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel ‘’Namesake,’’ the main character Gogol Ganguli goes through several faces and changes in his youth life that start to disorientate who he believes he is, creating an identity crisis as he grows older. In his youth, Gogol doesn’t understand the Bengali culture and is confused with having two names, Gogol and Nikhil, both of which he yet does not relate too deeply. Although he tries to stay away from anything that is Bengali in his teen years, believing he connects more to the American culture, his deeply rooted culture never faded away. Later in his life, Gogol finally realizes and accepts that he does not belong to either culture but instead he comprehends that his identity is made up of both. In his long journey to find his identity, various factors played a huge role in influencing who he believes he is as a person such as his education and experiences in high school and college, the majorly detached relationship he had with his dad Ashoke, and the relationships he had with his past girlfriends Maxine and Moushumi.

Gogol’s identity struggle and loneliness starts from the very moment he enters the world. His mother, feeling forsaken to have given birth in a place she does not relate to, says “She has never known a person entering the world so alone. The baby’s birth, like most everything else in

America, feels only half true” ( Lahiri 24). After his birth, selecting a name becomes a problem since the naming process in America is different than in India. This creates a big chaos as Ashima wants her grandmother to chose the name but her letter doesn’t arrive as she has died of a stroke. The hospital authorities do not allow them to leave without naming the baby, in keeping with the rules, and the parents are now forced to pick one. Finally, Ashoke decides to name him Gogol after his beloved Russian author, Nikolai Gogol, whose book saved his life back in 1961, thinking of it as a pet name only which is a common practice in India. (quote)

Ashoke has great reverence and respect for this author and his name as a result of his book saving his life in the train crash. This event helped Ashoke create a new meaning for his life but this very name is the very first factor that contributes to the problem of identity crisis Gogol goes through. During kindergarten, they tell Gogol to go by his pet name Nikhil only at school but he does not agree, showing his first attempt to reject a dual identity. This rejection left him alone with his old name Gogol as he chose to reject his other name, Gradually, he starts knowing the uncommon nature of his name which problematizes his identity when he grows up. Gogol does not understand the emotional significance of the name, as his father has not told him the significance. He doesn’t like to be known by a name which is neither Indian or American. When he comes to know about his namesake, he becomes desperate to get rid of his name. His name Gogol “sounds ludicrous to his ears, lacking dignity of gravity.” (76) He does not want to read Nikolai because he thinks it “would mean paying tribute to his namesake, accepting it somehow” (92).

The death of his father brings great change in him. He learns that he cannot abandon or diminish the importance of either culture but must learn to mesh the two together. He realizes that his identity is embellished by both cultures. He is made up of both and it should strengthen his pride instead of weakening it. He feels no shame anymore. He has assimilated himself in

American culture and values, at the same time retaining his parents’ Indian heritage and now is proud of his name Nikhil Gogol Ganguli and all it means. After his father’s death, Gogol

gradually returns to his Indian traditions, takes care of his mother and sister, abandons the life he could have with Maxine, then marries a Bengali woman.

In his attempt to stay clear from anything Bengali, Gogol revels in the fact that he could escape from it by way of his new girlfriend Maxine. He is fascinated by every