How Does Gogol Deal With A Cultural Collision

In the novel The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, the main character Gogol struggles with a religious cultural collision. Gogol battled between his parents Indian traditions and the American culture he grows up in this leaves him puzzled. His reaction to the cultural collision is relevant to the novel because every character in this novel struggles with accepting who he is.

The conflict of cultural collision is the struggle of weather Gogol should stay with his Indian roots or move on to the american one. For example when it comes to Ashima and Ashoke to pick a name, Ashoke “leaning over his son’s haugthy face, his tightly bundled body ‘Gogol’”(Chapter 2 Page 28). And this name is what cause most of his issues in life. From changing it to trying

to keep that part of him a secret to everyone.
Gogol's response to the decision of choosing which culture he wanted to stay with was a daze because he never really chose one. But he did want to do more of the american traditions. For example prefer to stay with maxine parents then to to his own “within six month he has key’s to the Ratliffs house”( Chapter 6 Page 140).This show how he would prefer to spend more time with his girlfriends america family and to probably disown his by only going there once in awhile.
Gogol's response to the novel is relevant because he wants to keep his indian culture a secret. For example when he hears Maxine talk about herself he thinks “she has the gift of accepting her life… he realizes that she has never wish she were anyone other than herself” ( Chapter 6 Page 138). This show how Gogol struggle his of who he is and learning how to accept it.