The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
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To Be or Not To Be
Throughout the novel, The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, the character Gogol changes in many different ways. One of the most apparent changes was in his “Indian ness”. By “Indian ness” I mean the amount of his parents Bengali ways and traditions that he retained. While growing up he did everything in his power while growing up to stray away from his parents Bengali ways. Gogol spent most of his life trying to differ from his parents, however in the end he ends up obeying their wishes as to who he marries. As he was growing up Gogol felt only embarrassment and shame because of his background and because his parents did things differently than his other American friends parents. For example, unlike his American friends, while in college Gogol had to return home every other weekend to accompany his parents to their Bengali friends parties. Throughout his life he tried to shed his parents un-American lifestyle but in the end he succumbed to his past and ancestry.
The first thing that separated Gogol from his parents Bengali ways began before he was even born. He was the first child in his parents immediate family to ever be born in America. His parents were poor and unstable and this was the life he was brought into. When he was born, the only people who visited him and his mother in the hospital were new friends of Ashima and Ashoke. While still in the hospital, Ashima thinks to herself, “Without a single grandparent or parent or uncle or aunt at her side, the babys birth, like most everything else in America, feels somehow haphazard, only half trueShe has never known of a person entering the world so alone, so deprived”(Lahiri 24-25). This was very unlike any other birth ever to take place in either Ashima or Ashokes family. I can relate to what Ashima means in the sense that I have two baby siblings and I visited them in the hospital with my other family members many times. Among my visits were trips made by grandmothers, grandfathers, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. It is a celebration in a family and its a time that brings family together. If we had been in another country when my baby siblings were born it wouldnt have felt right, my mom having to sit in the hospital room alone all the time and not having many visitors at all would have been horrible.
Another event that happens in the beginning of Gogols life that makes him less Indian than any of his other relatives is in his naming. Every grandchild in Ashimas family had been given a name by Ashimas grandmother. When Ashima learned she was pregnant, her and Ashoke wrote to her grandmother and requested a name for their first child. The grandmother thought carefully and wrote back with a boys name and a girls name just in case. However, that letter was lost and therefore Gogol came into this world with his parents clueless as to what to name him. They decided to not name him until the letter arrived, then they were informed by the hospital that he could not be discharged until a birth certificate was filled out. If the parents couldnt come up with a name his first name would go down as “Baby Boy”. Ashima and Ashoke held their ground and insisted that they couldnt name their boy yet. That was until the hospital advised them to come up with something for now because to change it later would be a hassle and cost money. After hearing this news, the couple was distraught until Ashoke suggested naming him “Gogol” for now. Nikolai Gogol is a famous author, and Ashokes favorite because not only does he admire his writing abilities, he also attributes his book “The Overcoat” with saving of his life when he was in a train accident years ago. When Ashima hears her husbands name suggestion for their son she “…approves, aware that the name stands not only for her sons life, but her husbands…Besides, its only a pet name, not to be taken seriously, simply something to put on the certificate for now to release them from the hospital” (28-29). In my family, like many other American families, my parents had my name picked out before I was born and my name that is on my birth certificate is what everyone calls me, regardless of who it is. Granted, in America people are often given nicknames they are called by friends and family and not usually strangers only because that person doesnt know them well enough to start shortening their name. In America we have a lesser sense of propriety when it comes to things like that. In India my name would be Heather to people I wasnt related to and I would have a completely different name I was called by my family.
When Gogol began school was the first time that his parents started using his “good name” that they had picked out for him. His “good name”, Nikhil was to be used in public and no where else. However, on the first day of school he refused to answer to Nikhil. Ashoke implored the principal to only refer to him as Nikhil and that eventually he would get used to it. Then as soon as he left, the principal completely went against Ashoke and Ashimas wishes by asking Gogol what he wanted to be called. Naturally he wanted to be called Gogol and that was the end of the “good name” “pet name” battle for now. This part of the story always made me angry because even though this is America and this is a free country, I couldnt imagine a principal going against parents wishes like that. Ashoke explicitly instructed the principal to refer to his son as Nikhil and she ignored him completely. In Calcutta that kind of blatant disrespect would never have happened, the principals and Gogols lack of respect for his parents wishes is another reason why Gogols “Indian ness” was lesser when he was younger.
Another thing that makes Gogol different from his other Indian relatives and there fore less Indian, is that the name picked out for him by his parents is not only his “good name” and his “pet name” but its also not even an Indian name. Nikolai Gogol, the author he was named after, was Russian. An Indian having a Russian name would have been unheard of in Calcutta where his parents are from. In America it isnt like that at all. All kinds of people have all kinds of different names and more often than not parents pick out their childrens name simply because they like it, and not because it has any significance whatsoever. That is not to say that all names have no importance in America. People are often named after relatives or favorite actors or even favorite authors like Gogol. This was just a more American thing to do than an Indian thing and it makes Gogol more American