Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake depicts the development of a man named Nikhil Ganguli, commonly referred to as Gogol. Written in 2003, The Namesake illustrates the toils and internal journey many children of immigrants face in contemporary times. Seeing as they experience a clash between their ethnic culture and American culture, first generation children must seek a balance between the two in order to understand their identity, which is evident in Gogol’s experience. Through three phases of self-awareness in Gogol’s life, Lahiri depicts the development of Gogol’s understanding of his identity to represent the journey of self-perception children of immigrants undergo while reared in America. In doing so, she conveys the necessity of first generation
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In college, Gogol believes he is finally his true self, symbolized by his new name Nikhil. This conveys the false sense of identity many first generation children experience usually when they leave the home. Gogol then begins a relationship with a woman named Ruth and, as this relationship develops, he feels alienated from his parents. When visiting them, “he mopes around the house, restless… He wishes he could simply borrow his parents’ car and drive up to Maine to see Ruth after Christmas” (Lahiri, 115). This symbolizes how dismayed he feels around Bengali culture because he feels as if that is not who he is, and Ruth and his need to be with her represent his attraction to American custom. He instead exhibits dependency on Ruth rather than true self-awareness as an American, which is exemplified when Ruth leaves for Oxford in spring and “he is lost that spring without her” (Lahiri, 117). This is significant as it portrays how the sense of security and true identity is actually dependency on conforming to American culture for contentment, which is again portrayed by Gogol in his relationship Maxine. As he moves in with her, “it seems to him…that they are living together. And yet for some reason it is dependence… he feels” (Lahiri, 142) This is significant as Lahiri further conveys the idea of dependency rather than true social satisfaction that first generation children feel when they are completely immersed in American customs and culture. In doing so, she warns of the downfall of
In college, Gogol believes he is finally his true self, symbolized by his new name Nikhil. This conveys the false sense of identity many first generation children experience usually when they leave the home. Gogol then begins a relationship with a woman named Ruth and, as this relationship develops, he feels alienated from his parents. When visiting them, “he mopes around the house, restless… He wishes he could simply borrow his parents’ car and drive up to Maine to see Ruth after Christmas” (Lahiri, 115). This symbolizes how dismayed he feels around Bengali culture because he feels as if that is not who he is, and Ruth and his need to be with her represent his attraction to American custom. He instead exhibits dependency on Ruth rather than true self-awareness as an American, which is exemplified when Ruth leaves for Oxford in spring and “he is lost that spring without her” (Lahiri, 117). This is significant as it portrays how the sense of security and true identity is actually dependency on conforming to American culture for contentment, which is again portrayed by Gogol in his relationship Maxine. As he moves in with her, “it seems to him…that they are living together. And yet for some reason it is dependence… he feels” (Lahiri, 142) This is significant as Lahiri further conveys the idea of dependency rather than true social satisfaction that first generation children feel when they are completely immersed in American customs and culture. In doing so, she warns of the downfall of