The novel The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri details the life of Gogol Ganguli, following him from birth, through childhood, and into adulthood. Growing up, Gogol struggles with his unusual name because it is a constant reminder that he is different from the American society around him, and eventually changes it to Nikhil. Lahiri also uses the motif of names to craft a message about the theme of marriage in the novel: one must humanize and empathize with their partner in order for a marriage to be successful. Lahiri contrasts the different names the characters use for each other to show how a name can humanize a person and strengthen their relationships. Moushumi has an affair with Dimitri Desjardins as her marriage to Gogol begins to deteriorate.
Jhumpa Lahiri in The Namesake illustrates the assimilation of Gogol as a second generation American immigrant, where Gogol faces the assimilation of becoming an American. Throughout the novel, Gogol has been struggling with his name. From kindergarten to college, Gogol has questioned the reason why he was called Nikhil when he was a child, to the reason why he was called Gogol when he was in college. Having a Russian name, Gogol often encounters questions from people around him, asking the reason of his name. Gogol was not given an Indian name from his Indian family or an American name from the fact that he was born in America, to emphasize that how hard an individual try to assimilate into a different culture, he is still bonded to his roots as the person he ethnically is.
Abstract: In Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, names have great implication. Language is extremely personal and deeply rooted in culture. Names are an integral part of language, and they help to establish identity, define personality, and show ownership through formal and informal usage.
Toni Morrison’s novel, Song of Solomon, is a coming of age story, with the main component of a characters identities being connected to their name. Names reflect a character’s personality, and are what influences a characters life. In Milkman’s case, searching for his story is equivalent to searching out his name. With each story he hears about his ancestors, he moves closer to reclaiming the identity of his forefathers. Compelled to find both his individual and collective identity, he wrestles with the beliefs of the black community and the emptiness that haunts him. Milkman, along with the reader, comes to understands that all names have a story to them, and each story plays a pivotal role in the ancestry of his family.
There he makes this identity of himself to try to totally forget his parents’ cultural identity. He changes his name to Nikhil and later ends up moving to New York with a girl by the name of Maxine. “He is overly aware that they are not used to passing things around the table, or to chewing food with their mouths completely closed. They avert their eyes when Maxine accidentally leans over to run her hand through her hair” (Lahiri 277). This quote is describing Maxine and Gogol having a meal with his parents. This whole scene is very awkward for both because Gogol’s parents aren’t used to doing things the American way. When the two are leaving his parents’ house Gogol’s father says to him “Drive safely, Gogol” (Lahiri 279). This confuses Maxine because she is not familiar with his real name. He doesn’t want to be reminded of who he was before. By chapter 8 Maxine and Gogol are no longer together due to
A foreign stranger that they have never met captivated both Mr. Kapasi and Miranda, and they did not care what stood between them. Mrs. Das being from America already stood out from many of the women that Mr. Kapasi knew but she truly stood out as one of the only people to take an interest in his job. Mrs.Das even describes his job as an interpreter as “romantic” (50 Lahiri) and a “big responsibility”
The divine name certainly falls within the dictionary, lexical and semantic range of Lord/Kurios, and that is why many other versions/translations have seen fit to also include the name in their New Testaments.
In the poem “The Names,” by Billy Collins, the speaker is calmly recalling people’s last names alphabetically as he notices them wherever he goes. At first it seems as though he is playing a game to see how many names he can think of. After reading the whole poem several times, it becomes clear that he is referring to people who died on September 11th. Collins uses imagery, a serious tone, and similes throughout the poem to show appreciation for the memory of the victims that died that tragic day.
Behind the murderous "duty" that lies at the center of the story, O'Connor has chosen a particular set of names to represent his characters who are all humanized in a way that shocks the reader powerfully. Further investigation will show how the use of the particular surnames is possibly significant in O'Connor's "Guests of the Nation."
Gogol is not completely cut off from his roots and identity. He tries to reject his past, but it makes him stranger to himself. He fears to be discovered. With the rejection of Gogol’s name, Lahiri rejects the immigrant identity maintained by his parents. But this outward change fails to give him inner satisfaction.
[… The] only person who didn’t take Gogol seriously… who tormented him, the only person chronically aware of and afflicted by the embarrassment of his name, the only person who constantly questioned it and wished it were otherwise, was Gogol. (99-100)
Over the course of the novel, The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri, Gogol is constantly moving, and by the time he is in his late twenties, he has already lived in five different homes, while his mother, Ashima has lived in only five houses her entire life. Each time Gogol moves, he travels farther away from his childhood home on Pemberton Road, symbolizing his search for identity and his desire to further himself from his family and Bengali culture. Alternatively, Ashima’s change of homes happens in order to become closer to family, representing her kinship with Bengali culture. Ashima has always had difficulty with doing things on her own, but by the end of the story she ultimately decides to travel around both India and the States without a real home as a result of the evolution of her independence and the breaking of her boundaries; in contrast, Gogol finally realizes that he has always stayed close to home, despite his yearning for escape, and settles into his newly discovered identity - the one that he possessed all along.
Throughout the novel Gogol begins to feel more compelled to his Bengali life. Towards the end of the book Gogol becomes more acquainted to his Bengali life and his family, slowly slipping away from the American identity that was once present to him. Truly inside he has a background of Bengali culture there for him when he needs it. As for Gogol’s American identity as Nikhil, something seen as fake to him, was only an experience. It was an experience Gogol, a Bengali child, had grown up to live.
At the beginning of the story M. Lantin is very happy in his relationship with his wife, Madame Lantin. She is portrayed as perfect and “the very ideal of that pure good woman to whom every young man dreams of entrusting his future” and the relationship she and M. Lantin have seems perfect and ideal as well (De Maupassant 67). Because of the author 's initial description, the readers can assume that the Lantins love each other very much and are almost always sweet to each other. Despite not enjoying the same things, they still love each other as much, if not more, than they did at the start of their marriage. M. Lantin seems to be in a
Men have been shown to be the prime cause of competition between the women characters in the novels “The Doctor’s Wife” by Sawako Ariyoshi and “So Long a Letter” by Mariama Bâ. This is strongly evident in “The Doctor’s Wife” from the time Umpei returns home, after completing his education. A major change is also noticed in Otsugi’s behavior towards Kae. The intense tension caused by the competition between the women characters is also shown in “So Long a Letter” when the two men, Modou Fall and Mawdo Bâ, marry their second wives. In this essay I will be discussing how men are shown to be the prime cause of competition between the women characters in the novels “The Doctor’s Wife” and “So Long a Letter” and why the writers use this element.
In Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel, The Namesake, the protagonist, Gogol, struggles with his cultural identity. He is an American-born Bengali struggling to define himself. He wants to fit into the typical American-lifestyle, a lifestyle his parents do not understand. This causes him tension through his adolescence and adult life, he has trouble finding a balance between America and Bengali culture. This is exemplified with his romantic relationships. These relationships directly reflect where he is in his life, what he is going through and his relationship with his parents. Each woman indicates a particular moment in time where he is trying to figure out his cultural identity. Ruth represents an initial break away from Bengali culture; Maxine represents