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The Namesake By Jhumpa Lahiri

253 Words2 Pages
After reading Jhumpa Lahiri’s short story, “Gogol” later turned into the novel, The Namesake, one of the motifs I recognize throughout the excerpt is the idea of discontent. Each character displays this theme throughout the story. This unhappiness is often highlighted by the difference in what they long for and what they have. Ashima mentions how her relatives had “admonished Ashima not to eat beef or wear skirts or cut off her hair or forget her family the moment she landed in Boston” (Lahiri 51). Coming to the Western side of the world, Ashoke and Ashima are Bengalis attempting to accustom to the American lifestyle without losing their roots. That struggle to balance both sides of the world is even greater for their son, Gogol. For him,
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