The Namesake Chapter Summaries
Rachel Wallace
English III
2nd Period
Mrs. Kaplan The Namesake The Namesake, written by Jhumpa Lahiri, has been dubbed one of The New
York Times Bestellers and a follow-up of Lahiri’s Pulitzer Prize debut, Interpreter of
Maladies. Lahiri’s specific style towards Gogol’s life makes it easy for an audience to understand the troubles of being raised in an Indian household surrounded by an American society. However, would The Namesake still be on The New York
Times Bestseller list if it was written without the emphasis on details? First, to understand Gogol’s background the reader was shown the perspective of not just Gogol, but Ashima and Ashoke. They had to culturally force themselves to satisfy their customs in a place far away …show more content…
from where they were raised. Lahiri writes about how proud Ashima and Ashoke are to be Bengali and they would never give up their heritage.
Comparing the different point of views of
Gogol and his parents gives a better insight on how opposite societies rules are in
Massachusetts and Calcutta. After Ashoke passes away the change in Gogol is significant because he becomes more appreciative towards family life. Sense
Ashima and Ashoke had no one in America they relied on one another to remind them of who they really are, while Gogol wanted to be anyone besides himself. Throughout The Namesake Lahiri give much emphasis on simple details and events. The primal purpose of Ashima and Ashoke not giving their son a “good” name was based from a simple letter that Ashimas grandmother did not send.
Also, while being told the story in Ashoke’s point of view the audience is shown why Gogol’s name, even if it is not a good, Bengali name, is important to Ashoke.
The bond Lahiri creates between Ashoke’s favorite author and the train accident he is in pushes his reasoning further. By not telling Gogol where his name came from, he gives Gogol time to figure out who he really wants to be before being told why he is who he is. Lastly, Jhumpa Lahiri was able to turn a simple wrong name into Gogol’s
life lesson. Gogol liked his name while he was younger but as he got older he hated it so much he had to legally change it. The storyline is based upon a young man unable to be himself because of a label. Gogol lives The Namesake with the struggle of his own self, not capable to be himself in a country that is strict on originality. Could The Namesake still be a New York Times Bestseller if it was written without emphasis on details? Jhumpa Lahiri pushed family life, he little specifics and being one’s own self into a novel about triumphant self-confidence. Just like
The Namesake or Gogol, everyone is who they are because of their family, the almost unnoticeable details that make no one the same and the life lesson everyone on planet Earth is faced to figure out, “Who am I?”.
English III
2nd Period
Mrs. Kaplan The Namesake The Namesake, written by Jhumpa Lahiri, has been dubbed one of The New
York Times Bestellers and a follow-up of Lahiri’s Pulitzer Prize debut, Interpreter of
Maladies. Lahiri’s specific style towards Gogol’s life makes it easy for an audience to understand the troubles of being raised in an Indian household surrounded by an American society. However, would The Namesake still be on The New York
Times Bestseller list if it was written without the emphasis on details? First, to understand Gogol’s background the reader was shown the perspective of not just Gogol, but Ashima and Ashoke. They had to culturally force themselves to satisfy their customs in a place far away …show more content…
from where they were raised. Lahiri writes about how proud Ashima and Ashoke are to be Bengali and they would never give up their heritage.
Comparing the different point of views of
Gogol and his parents gives a better insight on how opposite societies rules are in
Massachusetts and Calcutta. After Ashoke passes away the change in Gogol is significant because he becomes more appreciative towards family life. Sense
Ashima and Ashoke had no one in America they relied on one another to remind them of who they really are, while Gogol wanted to be anyone besides himself. Throughout The Namesake Lahiri give much emphasis on simple details and events. The primal purpose of Ashima and Ashoke not giving their son a “good” name was based from a simple letter that Ashimas grandmother did not send.
Also, while being told the story in Ashoke’s point of view the audience is shown why Gogol’s name, even if it is not a good, Bengali name, is important to Ashoke.
The bond Lahiri creates between Ashoke’s favorite author and the train accident he is in pushes his reasoning further. By not telling Gogol where his name came from, he gives Gogol time to figure out who he really wants to be before being told why he is who he is. Lastly, Jhumpa Lahiri was able to turn a simple wrong name into Gogol’s
life lesson. Gogol liked his name while he was younger but as he got older he hated it so much he had to legally change it. The storyline is based upon a young man unable to be himself because of a label. Gogol lives The Namesake with the struggle of his own self, not capable to be himself in a country that is strict on originality. Could The Namesake still be a New York Times Bestseller if it was written without emphasis on details? Jhumpa Lahiri pushed family life, he little specifics and being one’s own self into a novel about triumphant self-confidence. Just like
The Namesake or Gogol, everyone is who they are because of their family, the almost unnoticeable details that make no one the same and the life lesson everyone on planet Earth is faced to figure out, “Who am I?”.