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Life For Immigrant Parents

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Life for Immigrant Parents vs. Life for Immigrant Children in The Namesake

Life is a luxury for certain immigrant parents, although a bearer of burden for the descendents who are raised in foreign countries. In Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake, the main character, Gogol, is shown to have gone through the process of assimilation before he realizes the mistakes he made in his early life. While an apparent discrepancy is portrayed specifically between Gogol and his parents, life for the children of immigrants is quite difficult; primarily a result of their parents' decisions, the clash between foreign culture and customary practices from back home, and regretful flashbacks after a tragedy.

Parents’ decisions should compose the majority of our personality, essentially our life …show more content…

Ashoke and Ashima are quite tense as they find out that the letter from Ashima's grandmother hasn't come as of yet "and so [they agree] to put off the decision of what to name the baby until the letter comes, ignoring the forms from the hospital about filing for a birth certificate" (Lahiri 25). If it weren't for the customary duties, Ashoke and Ashima would have put an Indian name on Gogol that he would not regard as strange like he did when he became older. The fact of the matter is that Gogol is too young to understand his parents' circumstances at that time. Not to mention that Gogol doesn't respect his culture and customs in the sense that he doesn't feel that love for it which is very expected from a child who is raised in a foreign country. Like Gogol, Ashoke and Ashima are

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American Culture In Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake

1427 Words | 6 Pages

Many people are exposed to different cultures throughout their lifetime and inherit various traditions and beliefs from these interactions. However, the addition of another culture distances a person from their original identity, one of the most important themes of Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel, The Namesake. This theme is introduced at the very beginning of the novel when Gogol Ganguli is made aware of the American culture at a very young age. In addition, he tries to balance out both cultures without offending or hurting his parents. However, just like many people he struggles to fit into the American culture because he is still holding onto his Bengali past.

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What Is Gogol's Acceptance Of An Indian American Culture

376 Words | 2 Pages

consider it as another country. They celebrate Hallow in or Christmas but because of their children. Their food on such occasions is all the time Indian. But the second generations like Gogol and Sonia are affected psychologically. Gogol’s acceptance of his Indian-American identity is reflected in his gradual acceptance of his name and its history.

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Who Is Gogol's True Identity In The Namesake?

1739 Words | 7 Pages

Throughout the story The Namesake, the protagonist Gogol Ganguli, or otherwise known at Nikhil, has a seriously tough time with finding his true identity. In the beginning of the story, the Ganguli’s give birth to their first child, an exciting moment that could only be celebrated by three of their Bengali friends, due to being living in America. Due to their being no telephone contact with their family in Calcutta, Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli wait in the hospital for three extra days waiting on a letter send from the grandmother, containing the contents of their new born baby’s name. The letter never arrives, so now what? They decide on naming their child “Gogol” after Nikolai Gogol the author of the book that saved Ashoke’s life in a near death

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Gogol In Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake

756 Words | 4 Pages

Gogol’s lack of an ordinary cultural background shapes his view of the word “home” throughout the entire novel, The Namesake. From America to India and all around, he’s never quite sure where he belongs. In one part of his mind, he knows his family ties in India play an important role in his personal and family life. On the other hand, he spent much of his childhood learning and growing accustomed to American traditions. Through internal conflicts and multiple relationships, his definition of ‘home’ can be seen changing with each chapter.

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The Namesake Literary Analysis

434 Words | 2 Pages

In “the namesake”, chapters 3 and 4 show how Gogol develops from a child attached to his family, in particular, his mother, to a teenager that often rejects his parents and their culture. This is most dramatically seen on his first day of Kindergarten, when he rejects his “good name”’ Nikhil, because he wants to be called the name his parents call him at home, and at the end of chapter 4 when he is so fed up with the name Gogol that he lies at the college party, telling Kim his name is Nikhil. Gogol changed a lot over the course of chapters 3 and 4. The major change is his relationship to his name. At the beginning, he hated the name “Nikhil” so much that he doesn’t want to go to kindergarten because he won’t be called Gogol and instead, being called by his new name, Nikhil (Lahiri, 56).

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Being A Child Of Immigrant Parents Essay

433 Words | 2 Pages

Being a child of immigrant parents is not easy. You are constantly living in the fear that one day you’ll wake up and you parents won’t be there with you anymore. Specially now that we have a new president, things are getting more challenging. But don’t get me wrong, I live a happy life. I am proud to call myself a Latina.

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Treatment Of Immigrants

348 Words | 2 Pages

The treatment of immigrants was very hostile. In America there were immigrants who were German Americans, Italian Americans and Japanese Americans whom U.S. official considered dangerous, hostile, and enemies. Many living in the United States were second and older generation Germans, Italians and so forth. Those who fought in World War 2 were seen as friendly. But part of those who stayed home were seen to a degree suspicious.

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The Namesake Conflicts

431 Words | 2 Pages

The Namesake is a fictional novel on an Indian boy's life written by Jhumpa Lahiri. The main character is Gogol Ganguli with his family Ashoke, Ashima, and Sonia Ganguli. Gogol throughout the whole book wanted to figure out his identity in the world. His family wanted him to live the lifestyle of his original heritage with his pet name Gogol, but the world outside of his family wanted him to live like an American with a normal name. His life had many problems including his name, significant relationships with females in and out of his life, as well as, a death in his family.

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The Namesake

189 Words | 1 Pages

The Namesake revolves around the story of Gogol Ganguli, the American-born child of an Indian couple who immigrated to the US in 1968. The novel starts with Gogol’s birth in a New England hospital and follows his life until he is thirty-two years old. The central theme around which the story evolves is Gogol’s rejection of the name his parents gave him. His struggle with coming to terms with his unfortunate name subliminally corrupts his life, even after he has decided to change it. The novel gives not only insight into Gogol’s coming-of-age as a second-generation Bengali, but also features parts of the lives of his parents, Ashima and Ashoke, his sister Sonia and his wife Moushumi who also experience identity issues, mostly

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The Namesake

789 Words | 4 Pages

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri follows the life of Gogol Ganguli from his birth to age thirty-two. Gogol is American born child to Bengali parents, and the novel follows a series of events in his life. Gogol Ganguli, a twenty-seven-year-old man, is living in New York City and working for a large architectural firm. Gogol spends most of his time either at work or with his girlfriend, Maxine. Gogol is a person who has mostly disregarded his traditions and has accepted Maxine’s.

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The Namesake

418 Words | 2 Pages

Gogol, an Indian boy growing up in America, sees different meanings of home all around him. He sees that his mother feels at home back in Calcutta while he feels lost there. In Calcutta, his parents have to explain to friends and family members why their son “lacks a good name”(129). While back in America he “hates having to tell people that [his name] doesn’t mean

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The Migrant Family Analysis

300 Words | 2 Pages

One thing I learned about the Migrant Family is that in paragraph 3, It says that "the primary subject of Migrant Mother,from this perspective,is photography itself" and I chose to right this sentence because I found it important in the text and that is one thing I know about the Migrant Family. After reading the story and analyzing it I agree with Dorothea Lange because here are some reasons I agree with her first is that, She had made five exposures and they were all connecting together with the lady and her three kid 's. Another reason is that Lange did not know the women name,which was Florence Thompson and it was proof on the photographic detachment. Also another reason is that after she did all that to find out if they were them on the

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Racism In The Kite Runner

823 Words | 4 Pages

Kite Runner Being an immigrant is about leaving one’s native country; but it is also, more importantly, about adapting and assimilating to a new culture. Relocating to a new country could sometimes cause a life-transforming moment. In 2003, when Khaled Hosseini published the mainstream fiction story, “The Kite Runner,” he was an extremely successful M.D. (Medical Doctor) who was practicing internal medicine. Throughout his novel, he describes different characters which possess different characteristics and personalities. As illustrated in the book, Baba and his family moved to the United States to get a better life, and they quickly started to assimilate the American culture.

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Jhumpa Lahiri's Namesake

1246 Words | 5 Pages

Namesake: By Jhumpa Lahiri(A comparative analysis of film and novel) From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of another fabulous novel written “Interpreter of Maladies”, Jhumpa Laheri’s critically appraised first novel is a finely wrote, deeply moving Moving family drama that highlights the significant themes: the immigrant experience, the Clash of cultures, the forced and conflicted tie between generations. The storyline of namesake takes the Ganguli family from their tradition- bounded life in Calcutta through their distressed transformation into Americans. On the base of an Arranged marriage, Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli, the protoganist of this film and novel Settle in Cambridge , Massachusetts , where Ashoke give his best to adapt while

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The Namesake

766 Words | 4 Pages

Gogol is a strange name, but that strangeness does not define who he is. “The Namesake” is about a boy who has foreign parents and a peculiar name, but he learns that what he is called is not who he is as a person and that it is okay that his name is out of the ordinary. In “The Namesake,” Jhumpa Lahiri establishes the theme that it is okay to be different through family traditions, relationships with others, and experiences. Gogol and his family have some traditions that explain the peculiarity of his name. This can first be seen when he gets told that he was named after a Russian author.

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