The Namesake

As we watched The Namesake in class today, it struck me how different the first-generation and second-generation groups of Asian Indian Americans were. After Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli immigrate to America and start a family, their son Gogol grows up trapped between two worlds: the culture of his parents and his family, and the culture of modern-day America. One thing that Gogol really struggled with in particular was his own name. Until his father revealed to him the true reason for why he was named the way he was, Gogol was relatively nihilistic toward his family, and wanted to get away from Indian culture. The culmination of his attempts to break free from his family was when he started dating Maxine, a Caucasian woman. During their relationship, Gogol would frequently find excuses to not be around his own family for extended periods of time; he basically assimilated into his girlfriend’s family. After the sudden death of his father, though, Gogol came to realize the importance of reconnecting with his family. He eventually broke up with Maxine, and then rekindled a relationship with a daughter of some family friends. They started dating, and even got married, but later divorced.

Gogol’s story is one of assimilation. Initially, when he was a small child, when he was asked what name he preferred – Nikhil or Gogol – he said he preferred Gogol. As he got older, though, he came to like “Nikhil” better, and even shortened it to the Americanized “Nick.” As soon as he came more in touch with his family, however, after the death of his father, he started to prefer “Gogol” again, showing his shift in preference of sticking to his family’s traditional Indian culture rather than conforming to the American way of life.