The Namesake Response

The Namesake Response

            Jhumpa Lahiri’s book The Namesake follows the life of Gogol Ganguli, a man born to Indian immigrants, from birth to age thirty two.  In this way, her book is unlike the others we have read so far since other narratives began after the main character was already partially or fully grown.  I believe this trait of the story is especially helpful since the reader is given the opportunity to see how parts of Gogol’s earlier life, the lives of his parents, and the lives of different women with whom he forms relationships mold him and help him to discover who he is. 

            Gogol’s parents play the most important role in his life when they choose his name.  Nikolai Gogol is the author of a book Gogol Ganguli’s father Ashoke was reading when he nearly died in a train wreck.  While recovering, Ashoke thought about a conversation he had held with a fellow passenger in which he had been encouraged to “see the world” while he could.  This conversation prompted Ashoke to move to America to continue his education after he had recovered from the accident.   Ashima, Gogol’s mother, immigrated to America after marrying Ashoke, a man she did not know prior to the wedding.  During Gogol’s growing up years, his parents represent his Indian heritage in their expectations of him, their food, their habits, and the trips they take back to India to visit family members.  They are the perpetual influence in his life, a reminder of the part of himself Gogol tries to reject throughout the book.

            Gogol’s relationships with different women between college and age thirty also impact his life.  These women include Ruth, Maxine,  Bridget, and Moushumi.  To them, he is Nikhil, the name he chose for himself when he was a teenager.  Maxine and Moushumi have a more significant role in Gogol’s life out of these four women.  Maxine represents Gogol’s attempts to completely become Nikhil and spurn his Indian heritage.  Gogol often notices that his parents could never conform to Maxine’s world, nor could Maxine be comfortable living like his parents.  In her world, he is free.  However, when his father dies and Gogol experiences Indian family duty, he comes to understand that he could never conform completely to Maxine’s world either.  Moushumi is a blend between Gogol’s heritage and the American personality he strives to adopt.  Although their parents put them together, their relationship is unlike the arranged marriages in India.  Gogol and Moushumi share a living space before their wedding and Moushumi exchanges her traditional sari for an American evening dress at her wedding reception.  In the end, Moushumi leaves Gogol for another man.  Moushumi represents the fact that Gogol has begun to accept his background rather than reject it.  He seeks the permanence the Indian culture offers rather than the temporariness of the American culture. 

            These relationships are nearly as important to the story as Gogol’s name.  They mark turning points of his life’s journey as he struggles to establish his identity.  I have seen this same pattern in my life.  Without these relationships, Gogol would definitely be a different person by the end of the book.