Love, Hate, and Understanding
Often considered both a universal language and a source of the greatest happiness, true love can be incredibly elusive to those that do not understand it. With each relationship that a person engages in, they begin to understand their self worth and identity. The Namesake, written by Jhumpa Lahiri, accounts the life of an Indian boy from his teens to middle age and how he handles these feelings of “love”. Gogol Ganguli, firstborn of a recently immigrated family, chooses to rely on his own devices as he rebels from his parent’s aspirations. Throughout a few decades of his life, we learn of his changes in ideology and beliefs at the hands of the many women whom he loves yet eventually leaves. It is these relationships, …show more content…
However, with this realization comes a deep character flaw that he battles for years to come. He simply wants to be alone, and begin a new life. “And then he remembers that his parents can’t possibly reach him: he has not given them the number, and the Ratliffs are unlisted. That here at Maxine’s side, in this cloistered wilderness, he is free” (Lahiri 158). Gogol seeks liberation; not just from his own actions, but from his family itself. Rather than learning from the mistakes and teachings that he endured throughout his maturity, he simply wants to have them forgotten. Or, to become someone else so that he can fix his life and start …show more content…
All at once, he realizes the source of his parent’s afflictions when he rebelled, and how impactful he had been throughout his life. He gained a sense of empathy and caring that for the years preceding could not even be forced upon him. Instead of being the cold and selfish man seeking only sex and an escape from home, he was aware. He could see that all of his work to make everyone forget “Gogol” entirely was wrongful. “‘It might do you good,’ she says… ‘To get away from all this.’ ‘I don’t want to get away’” (Lahiri 182). Finished with running from his past, Gogol realized the truth in himself. In creating his identity, he tried to forget everything about his life before. And, as he finally discovered, it is not possible to do so. Instead, he had to learn to embrace his past actions wholeheartedly and learn from the mistakes therein, as is required when one tries to discover their
Often considered both a universal language and a source of the greatest happiness, true love can be incredibly elusive to those that do not understand it. With each relationship that a person engages in, they begin to understand their self worth and identity. The Namesake, written by Jhumpa Lahiri, accounts the life of an Indian boy from his teens to middle age and how he handles these feelings of “love”. Gogol Ganguli, firstborn of a recently immigrated family, chooses to rely on his own devices as he rebels from his parent’s aspirations. Throughout a few decades of his life, we learn of his changes in ideology and beliefs at the hands of the many women whom he loves yet eventually leaves. It is these relationships, …show more content…
However, with this realization comes a deep character flaw that he battles for years to come. He simply wants to be alone, and begin a new life. “And then he remembers that his parents can’t possibly reach him: he has not given them the number, and the Ratliffs are unlisted. That here at Maxine’s side, in this cloistered wilderness, he is free” (Lahiri 158). Gogol seeks liberation; not just from his own actions, but from his family itself. Rather than learning from the mistakes and teachings that he endured throughout his maturity, he simply wants to have them forgotten. Or, to become someone else so that he can fix his life and start …show more content…
All at once, he realizes the source of his parent’s afflictions when he rebelled, and how impactful he had been throughout his life. He gained a sense of empathy and caring that for the years preceding could not even be forced upon him. Instead of being the cold and selfish man seeking only sex and an escape from home, he was aware. He could see that all of his work to make everyone forget “Gogol” entirely was wrongful. “‘It might do you good,’ she says… ‘To get away from all this.’ ‘I don’t want to get away’” (Lahiri 182). Finished with running from his past, Gogol realized the truth in himself. In creating his identity, he tried to forget everything about his life before. And, as he finally discovered, it is not possible to do so. Instead, he had to learn to embrace his past actions wholeheartedly and learn from the mistakes therein, as is required when one tries to discover their