The Namesake Essay

The Namesake establishes a bond between the reader and the protagonist, Gogol, that Jhumpa Lahiri styles the book by making Gogol much relatable to. When Gogol and Moushumi’s marriage breaks, Lahari narrates “ But fortunately they have not considered it their duty to stay married, as the Bengalis of Ashoke and Ashima's generation do. They are not willing to accept, to adjust…”towards the end, when Gogol is single again (Lahiri 276, full quote at bottom). Jhumpa Lahiri relates Gogol to many people, regarding the selfhood of cultures. Although in a scenario about love, this example of generation to generation cultural change is fairly consistent and accurate. In modern society, terms like “Millennial” and “Generation Z” are derived to describe

She can be given credit, however, for exercising her freedom, for her selfhood and identity, relating to women of today’s real world, when the book says “Only she is not Mrs. Ganguli. Moushumi has kept her last name. She doesn't adopt Ganguli, not even with a hyphen.” when she is married to Gogol. The world has definitely failed at providing gender equality in most countries’ social cultures, as they pressure the women to give up her identity and take her husband’s name. Empathizing with the women, or men in some cultures, who have to give up their identity, would not by anyway be a good feeling. Moushumi is a symbol the readers can relate themselves to, whether they are married, and had to once upon a time give up their identity, or foreshadowing the future of young readers, who feel that one day, they will have to adopt a new name. The strength in Moushumi’s character is later tarnished however as she leaves Gogol, to be with another man, which is not right either, seeing how helpful and genuinely kind Gogol is, once he cleans himself up from past mistakes. The strength Moushumi shows with her identity and selfhood was able to empathize with those women and men, who have to give up their identity when