the Ganguli. Gogol Ganguli‚ the son of Ashima and Ashoke Ganguli‚ struggles with his dual identity due to two different cultures in his life and‚ more importantly‚ his name. Named after his father’s beloved Russian author‚ he sees no identity in his name‚ which is neither Indian nor American nor even Russian
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Tommy Tran English 4 1/6/14 The Namesake Jump Lahiri used woman as a literary device‚ “foil”‚ in her novel The Namesake to help contrast with the protagonist‚ Nikhil “Gogol” Ganguli in order to shape his identity. There were quite a few women that came and went through Gogol’s life span in the novel but three essential women were his mother‚ a woman by the name Maxine‚ and his first wife‚ Moushumi. The literary device that is being used allows the women to either be completely different‚ or
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Jhumpa Lahiri‚ Gogol seems to go through identity issues with his name. He struggles to find meaning in his name but as the years pass‚ he starts to understand his namesake through being able to accept his name himself. Although Ashima and Ashoke move to America‚ they seem to try to raise Gogal in their Indian culture unaware that Gogol will have to blend both being American and Indian. The first instance where Gogol seems to reject his name is in kindergarten. Here Ashoke calls Gogol by his good
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essential to an individual’s identity‚ and plays a significant role throughout one’s life. The significance of both name and identity is evident in “The Namesake” as it is applicable to all characters throughout the book. In particular‚ the character‚ Gogol Ganguli‚ which the book is based around‚ is born in America to Bengali parents‚ who immigrated from India. Gogol’s confusion over his cultural identity impacts his life choices‚ consequently‚ impacting the connection he has with his family. Bengali
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your identity? In The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri‚ Gogol is caught in the midst of colliding cultures and responds by adapting to the host culture‚ the American culture. Throughout Gogol’s life‚ he faces an identification crisis and a crisis in balancing between the Bengali and American culture. Gogol slowly moves to the American culture and erases majority of his Bengali lifestyle and culture. In Gogol’s first few years in the American society‚ Gogol already had trouble with his colliding cultures
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them will always be in the same place. The main character‚ Gogol (aka Nikhil)‚ is a first-generation Indian who seems to only care about his life/future and wants nothing to do with his heritage. We are taken through his life long journey up until the end where he truly finds meaning in his life. Gogol’s definition of home changes throughout The Namesake as he experiences the world when he journeys off on his own. In the beginning Gogol finds himself despising his Indian heritage and doesn’t want
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Namesake‚ by Jhumpa Lahiri‚ Gogol is the son of Bengali parents‚ and has many different experiences trying to fit into American culture. At the beginning‚ Gogol didn’t really care about his name when he was a child. But then in his teenage years all he cared about was being called Nikhil. Towards the end‚ Gogol starts to praise his name. Gogol was born in North America to Bengali parents. His parents try to keep some of the Indian traditions‚ although it’s difficult. Gogol is always trying to fit in
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where Gogol actually chose his life path‚ as an architect‚ not an engineer or a doctor like he was expected to do. Earlier in the movie‚ the kindergarten scene was cut out. That scene‚ in the book‚ was essential part of understanding the name issue‚ which is the main focus of the book. There were come details added‚ too. At the end of the graduation party‚ when Gogol comes home after smoking weed with his friends‚ one of the family Bengali women performs an anti-black magic spell‚ because Gogol had
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name symbolizes the double identity of Gogol. In Lahiri’s novel‚ the main character fights an identity crisis because of his highly unusual name. Gogol struggles between two cultures to try and figure out his own identity and where he belongs. He attempts to create separation between himself and his parents’ worlds‚ but never feels authentic as Nikhil. When Gogol starts kindergarten‚ his parents want him to go by “Nikhil” at school and “Gogol” at home. Gogol is bothered by this because he feels
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status as a “Bildungsroman”. Sympathy and affection is created for Gogol‚ making the tone of this final passage pensive and sentimental. It delivers the climax where Gogol is finally able to find balance in issues that had been bothering him throughout the novel. One of the key concerns dealt with in this passage is the importance of a name.This is the first time following the death of Ashoke that Lahiri zooms into the thoughts of Gogol. The passage opens with a third person limited perspective “The
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