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Sunday Adelaja once said, “Names have a great influence on the destiny of the person, who bears the name”. In Jhumpa Lahir’s novel The Namesake, Lahir tells the story of a Bengali man named Gogol who, throughout his life, has experienced an identity crisis. The name given to him at birth was solely supposed to be used as his dark naam (secret pet name) but his love for it in his childhood went on to haunt him throughout his life as he tried to figure out his sense of identity. Gogol’s identity is greatly impacted by culture, throughout his teenage years Gogol feels more of a connection with American culture rather than his Bengali one, he also is angered at the fact that his name does not tie into who he is culturally, and Gogol does come close to an understanding of who he is.
Firstly, throughout the novel, Gogol feels a closer connection to American Culture than Bengali culture. On a trip to Calcutta where he feels out of place, Gogol gains a sense of relief being on the plane back to America. This is shown on page 87 which states, “But for Gogol, relief quickly replaces any lingering sadness, with relief he peels back the foil covering his breakfast, extracts the silverware… with relief, he puts on his headset to watch The Big Chill and listen to the top-forty songs”. (pg 87). This comes to show that in Calcutta, a place where he is unwilling to embrace his native culture, Gogol’s connection to his American identity is at its peak. He develops a sense of happiness being able to return to his American life where he feels the most at home and enjoys the fact that he can escape from his Bengali roots. At this point in the novel, Gogol does have a good understanding of who he is. He is aware of the fact that he feels no close connection to his Bengali roots and enjoys his American life much more.
Secondly, Gogol becomes angered that his name has no connection to him culturally and, therefore, gives him no sense of identity. In chapter four, Ashoke gifts one of his favorite books to Gogol for his birthday, after his father leaves his room Gogol begins to list the many reasons why he dislikes his name, he states, “He hates that his name is absurd and obscure, that it has nothing to do with who he is, that is it neither Indian nor American but of all things Russian. He hates having to live with it” (pg 76). This quote shows how Gogol feels angered at the fact that his father had to give him a name of Russian origin rather than that of American or Bengali culture. This further negatively impacts his identity as he continues to struggle with understanding who he is and the significance that his name holds.
Lastly, Gogol does come to a close understanding of who he is. The end of the novel marks a point in his life where he begins to gain an interest in finding out who he is. After he stumbles across the book his deceased father gave to him for his birthday, he finds his identity through reading Nikolai Gogol’s novel The Overcoat. In the novel it states, “As the hours of the evening pass, he will grow distracted, anxious to return to his room, to be alone, to read the book he had once forsaken, had abandoned until now… for now, he starts to read” (pg 290, 291). Although Gogol struggles with finding a sense of identity throughout the novel, his picking up the book and having a sudden interest in reading it symbolizes his new interest in learning more about his identity and more about why his father ultimately decided to name him after this author.
To conclude, culture greatly impacts Gogol’s identity throughout the novel. Gogol gravitates more to his American culture rather than his Bengali culture and continues to dislike his name for coming from a Russian origin that has nothing to do with who he is culturally. Although he struggles to come to an understanding of who he is, he does reach this understanding at the end of the novel by reading the book his father once gifted to him.
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