Nikolai Gogol Essays

The Nose by Nikolai Gogol is a short story about making the strange ordinary. Written in 1836, The Nose follows Collegiate Assessor Kovalyov who wakes one day to find his nose missing and masquerading around St. Petersburg as a state counsellor. The characters’ reactions and dialogue, as well as the narrator’s representation, seem to make the strangeness of the story ordinary throughout, with direct statements from the narrator seeming to confirm this. The inherent strangeness of the plot is often

The Namesake a novel by Jhumpa Lahiri, tells the story of a young boy who battles with himself, trying to figure out who he is culturally and in general. The boy’s name is Gogol or Nikhil Gunguli, he was born in Massachusetts, alought born in America his parents come from India. His parents come from India, as they are new to America, Ashima struggles through language and cultural barriers as well as her own fears as she delivers her first child alone. After he is born, his name is still un decided

after the Russian writer Nikolai which Gogol adds more vagueness to his already confused South Asian identity, hybridity, and state of in-between of the South Asian community brought to the fore. In Bengali culture, it is traditional to have two names, a “good” name, which appears on official documents, as well as a “pet” name used only by family and close friends, who is given by Ashima’s grandmother in India, gets lost in the postal void between America and India. Gogol is disordered because unlike

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

relationship between the experiences of children living in American mainstream culture vs. the family culture of a first generation Indian family. Lahiri used the internal conflict of the “namesake” of Gogol vs. Nikhil as the ultimate symbolism of the conflict between the two cultures for the main character Gogol. The significance of names and identity are the underlying force that dictates the decision making in Gogol’s life. His name is the chief cause of his alienation. In the Bengali culture, a “pet

In "The Nose", Gogol satirizes society's obsession with rank, status, and appearance by emphasizing how Kovalyov is consistently in check with other people who have more power than him. Gogol shows Kovalyov's lacking self assurance within his position of his career by writing, "He was wearing a gold-embroidered uniform with a big stand-up collar and doeskin breeches; there was a sword at his side/ From his plumed hat one could infer that he held the rank of a state councilor" the text continues,

“Not at all,” his father says eventually, one hand going in his ribs, a habitual gesture that has baffled Gogol until now. “You remind me of everything that followed.” Chapter 5, page 124. This quote occurs when Gogol is questioning why he was given his name. His father chose his name because of the stories and writings of Nikolai Gogol, it was because of a train accident that occurred before Gogol was born. The author showed Ashoke the new life he put into his son, so the memory of the crash became

that everyone has a cultural identity, whether they ignore or embrace it. Gogol Ganguli initially wants to abandon his family’s traditions and adopt American customs since he was born in America. Soon he learns that his name has a very emotional meaning to his father. Because of his new knowledge of the significance of his name, he begins to enter a transformation where he accepts and loves his culture. Throughout the film, Gogol has an internal conflict with himself when, on one side, he has his Indian

An Examination of the Russian Upper Class Through the Lens of Gogol’s Dead Souls Nikolai Gogol’s Dead Souls is a satirical criticism of the early 19th century Russian character and mentality. In the novel, the reader follows the protagonist, Chichikov, who is attempting to purchase “dead souls” in order to achieve his dream of owning his own estate. However, the focus of the novel is not on the plot, which does not really exist in the traditional sense of a novel, but rather on Gogol’s depiction

male can share similarities. Although, Gogol Ganguli from the film the Namesake and Anthony Shadid from the memoir, The House of Stone share several similarities. Unfamiliar with the Indian culture, Gogol is challenged by both the mainstream America and Indian heritage. In comparison to Gogol, Shadid’s case deals with familiarizing himself into a Lebanese culture while trying to maintain an American identity. Both works are similar in that the protagonists, Gogol Ganguli and Anthony Shadid are faced

closing pages of The Namesake Gogol muses “Without people around him to call him Gogol, no matter how long he himself lives, Gogol Ganguli will, once and for all, vanish from the lips of loved ones, and so, cease to exist.” (Lahiri 289) Taking this thought into account, to what extent is identity contingent upon the perceptions of others? While what Gogol believes may seem like a generalized subjective assumption, this is an opinion that is only specific to Gogol. To Gogol, a name makes an identity

Chuck Norris, a famous American artist, actor, film producer, and screenwriter has found “that anything worth achieving will always have obstacles in the way and you've got to have that drive and determination to overcome those obstacles on route to whatever it is that you want to accomplish” (Chuck Norris Quotes). This quote relates to the two poems, The Odyssey and “The Journey”, which discuss the difficulties of achieving a goal. In both poems, the main characters are faced with many obstacles

The importance of the title “Shiloh”, the short story by Bobbie Ann Mason, signals the story is all about Norma Jean and Leroy’s marriage falling apart after Leroy had an accident on his rig. Although he is almost fully recovered now, he is afraid to drive the rig again. That means that he is no longer the head of the household, and he begins to lose his identity as the provider. Truck drivers work long days and are normally always on the road only coming home for short periods of time. I think

Do you remember stories of the boogeyman from childhood? Well for the kids of Maycomb they have their own sort of boogeyman, he goes by the name of Boo Radley. Not only is he the source of nightmares for the kids of Maycomb, but a source of fascination for every reader. Boo Radley is the most interesting character so far because of all the folklore about him, his motivation for hiding out, and the children's fascination with him. “Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks;

famous work “The Nose”. Both Gogol and Shalamov personalized an object and used the object to satirize the society. Although it seemed like both Gogol and Shalamov satirized the opposite different society (Tsar vs. Communists), they were actually ridiculed the same aspect of Russian ideology, the idea of progress. When talking about deeper implication, Gogal cared about the universal world, whereas Shalamov focused particularly on the society. In “the Nose”, Gogol described Kovalyov’s nose as

family dynamics and the struggle of individual learning to establish and grow into ones identity, even with overwhelming parental influence with opposing beliefs. A situation that displays relationships between parents and children is when Sonia and Gogol did not come home to spend Thanksgiving with Ashima (Lahiri 159). Their need for independence is opposite of the need Ashima

After the tragic death of Ashoke Ganguli, Gogol begins to recall recent and past memories with him. In the past, Gogol did not show much appreciation for his parents, which he now greatly regrets. It is now when Gogol realizes the true connection he had with his father, the true caring and genuine relationship they shared, and how terribly this dramatic occurrence will change his life. Gogol fully recognizes this change when he goes with Ashima to her friends' houses. "At the houses of their friends

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

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. Gogol is wholly immersed in the lifestyle

In the book Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy have a rather odd relationship. There are multiple times during the novel that they show signs of their love for each other but it is somewhat hidden. Elizabeth also goes through many challenges such as Lady Catherine de Bourgh, family issues, and trust of Mr. Darcy. Even when their love seemed destroyed, they found their way back to each other. Throughout the book we notice the delayed relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr