The “namesake” of the title, named after his father’s favorite Russian writer, Nikolai Gogol (1809–1852). A first– generation Indian American whose uneasiness with his name exemplifies his difficulties in fitting in, either to his parents’ expatriate world or to the world inhabited so comfortably by his American peers.

Why is this book called The Namesake?

In the context of Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel The Namesake (2003), a name is not just a label on a person: it is a whole self. Thus, names and namesakes are paramount in the novel, and substituting one for the other is also like throwing off an old self and forging a new one. Therefore, its title: The Namesake.

What is the story namesake about?

The Namesake depicts the struggles of Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli (Irrfan Khan and Tabu), first-generation immigrants from the East Indian state of West Bengal to the United States, and their American-born children Gogol (Kal Penn) and Sonia (Sahira Nair).

Why are names important in the namesake?

As its title suggests, at its core The Namesake tackles the question of forming one’s own identity, and explores the power that a name can carry. Gogol’s decision to change his name to Nikhil before leaving home for college demonstrates his desire to take control over his own identity.

What does Gogol mean in the namesake?

Gogol is Gogol, of course, because his father and mother needed a name for him before leaving the hospital. The name “Gogol” was an important one to Ashoke, who adored Nikolai Gogol’s work. Ashoke also has traumatic connection to the train-wreck during which he was reading Gogol.

Why did Lahiri write the namesake?

Jhumpa Lahiri wrote The Namesake to express her own feelings on this topic. She is a daughter of Indian immigrants. It seems like her life events served as inspiration for her. She wrote the novel because she wanted to share her struggles and feelings of loneliness and alienation she has felt in both India and the US.

What year is the namesake set in?

The novel begins in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1968. Ashima Ganguli, expecting a child, makes a snack for herself in the kitchen of her apartment, which she shares with her husband, Ashoke.

Why did Gogol change his name to Nikhil?

Gogol tells his parents that he is changing his name because he feels that the name Nikhil is more suitable to represent him in adult life.

Why does Ashima not say her husband's name?

Ashima notes that she does not use Ashoke’s given name, because that name, in Bengali, has a special, almost sacred resonance. Both Ashima and Ashoke are lovers of literature, Ashima of English poets, Ashoke of Russian authors, especially Gogol.

What does the train represent in the namesake?

The train represents the proximity between Gogol’s mature life and the Bengali-American context in which he was raised. Although his life with Moushumi in New York broadens, and includes people from different cultural circles, the train always connects him to Boston, and to his childhood home on Pemberton Road.

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In which point of view is the namesake narrated?

Third Person (Limited Omniscient) Although The Namesake is written in the third person, we get the story through the filter of different characters’ points of view, primarily those of Gogol, Ashima, Ashoke, and Moushumi.

What happened at the end of the namesake?

Gogol spends time at the party, taking pictures of Ashima, Sonia, and Ben, setting up the fake tree in the living room for the last time. … He realizes it is his opportunity, finally, to connect more fully with his father’s life, and to learn more deeply what the name “Gogol” meant to Ashoke. The novel ends.

What does Ashima's father do for a living?

Ashima’s father an illustrator in Calcutta. Ashima’s father dies in Chapter 2, as the family is preparing to return to India to visit. His death is very difficult for Ashima, who feels distant from her family.

Why is Ashoke's son named Gogol?

Ashoke suggests the name of Gogol, in honor of the famous Russian author Nikolai Gogol, to be the baby’s pet name, and they use this name on the birth certificate. As a young man, Ashoke survived a train derailment with many fatalities.

What does it mean to be someone's namesake?

Definition of namesake : one that has the same name as another especially : one who is named after another or for whom another is named His grandson and namesake is the spit and image of him … —

What religion are they in the namesake?

Instead of thanking God he tnaks Gogol, the Russian writer who had saved his life (The Namesake, 2003:21). The second is Ashima, Gogol, Sonia and Moushumi. their religion is Hindu. They always do Hindu ceremony.

Why does the letter from Ashima's grandmother never arrive?

When the letter from Ashima’s grandmother doesn’t arrive, they are forced to put “Gogol” on his birth certificate in order to leave the hospital. … If they had been in Calcutta, no birth certificate or passport would have been necessary. They could have left Gogol’s name undetermined for years.

When was the namesake written?

The Namesake is a novel by Jhumpa Lahiri that was first published in 2003.

Who wrote the novel The India I Love?

In this collection of prose and poems written specially for this book, Ruskin Bond looks back on his unique relationship with the country and its people, from the time he turned hi back on the Westand came home, still only a boy, to take up the challenge of being a writer in a changing India.

Why is Ashima terrified to raise her child?

In their entire married life together, Ashima never addressed her husband directly as Ashoke, a reflection of Indian tradition. After her arrival in America, Ashima is extremely homesick; she is afraid to raise her child in America without the support of her family.

How does Gogol accept his name?

“Gogol” makes Gogol feel like a child. Thus Gogol changes his name, officially, not to change how the world sees him, but to help change how he sees himself. He changes his name as part of a larger process of personal transformation and growth.

Why does Ashima sell her house?

The novel began with Ashima leaving home, and it now ends in the same way. America, which once felt so foreign to Ashima, the place that she demanded Ashoke take her away from so she could return “home” to India and raise her children properly, has become her home against all odds.

How does Gogol's family react to his relationship with Ruth?

Gogol is angered by his parents’ disapproval, pitying them for having never been young and in love as he is. That spring Ruth takes a semester abroad in Oxford, and he feels lost, longing for her as his parents once longed for their families.

Who is Ruth the namesake?

Ruth is Gogol’s first serious girlfriend, but their relationship doesn’t last long in terms of pages. Gogol meets Ruth, a white fellow student at Yale when he takes the seat next to her on the train. They strike up a conversation and begin dating.

What do Gogol's parents think of his wanting to change his name?

The summer before he begins college at Yale, Gogol tells his parents that he wants to change his name to “Nikhil”; they object that it is too late. He blames them for giving him a pet name instead of a real name, a name that is Russian instead of Bengali, a name that he thinks cannot be taken seriously.

Why does Ashima feel pity for her son?

Ashima felt pity for her son because she could not spend time with his son. Explanation: She sent her son to Ganguli to take care of him. But she was constantly worried about his son as if they were bathing, or taking proper care of her son.

What is the setting of the namesake?

This novel takes place in two very different parts of the world, at times Gogol is either in his home in Boston, U.S.A or Calcutta, India. Where he visits his extended family. Later in the book the setting shifts to his different apartments in New York depending on the time period.

Where was Ashoke going on the train?

On October 20, 1961, Ashoke was in a train accident between Calcutta and Jamshedpur. Thank goodness he was reading a book by Gogol, because when the rescuers saw a page from the book, they were able to pull him out of the wreckage.

Who is Gogol named after quizlet?

Bengali Gogol is the son of Ashima and Ashoke, named after the Russian author Nikolai Gogol. He changes his name to Nikhil the summer before starting college. He is “just shy of six feet tall, his body slender, his thick brown-black hair slightly in need of a cut.

Is The Namesake third person omniscient?

The point of view of this novel is third person omniscient. The author uses Gogol and Ashima as narrative characters most often.

Which statement best tells how the main conflict in the first excerpt is different from the main conflict in the second excerpt?

Which statement best tells how the main conflict in the first excerpt is different from the main conflict in the second excerpt? The first shows an internal conflict related to Gogol’s feelings, while the second shows an external conflict related to cultural differences in schooling.