THE NAMESAKE - JHUMPA LAHIRI

THE NAMESAKE - JHUMPA LAHIRI
Q1 Do you agree with the title of the novel “ the namesake”?

—----> I believe that the title of the book is very apt. Ashoke and Ashima
named their son Gogol after Ashoke’s favorite writer “ NIKOLAI GOGOL”
Throughout the book we find wars of acceptance and understanding fought
between Gogol and his NAMESAKE.
Gogol’s name made it difficult for him to fit in with his American friends . He
started to despise his name and he would have beads of perspiration on
his face when teachers would discuss the history of Nikolai Gogol as he
went through a very slow and depressing death by starvation and did not
live a very luxurious life . After high school he did change his name to
“Nikhil”.
All his life he thought that the reason he was named gogol was that he was
his father's favorite writer , oh boy was he wrong .
Ashoke told him the actual reason behind his name and he narrates a
story of 19 year old Ashoke returning to his grandfather's place from
jadavpur university via a train . He tells him about the traumatic train wreck
. But that night Ashoke survived and in that moment which could have been
his last breath , he clutched a few pages of “the overcoat” by nickolai gogol
. When gogol Asked “ when you hear my name , do i remind you of that
night baba?” Ashoke replies “no, it reminds me of everything that followed.”
Q2 Did you agree with the decisions of the protagonist ?
—------> Though the protagonist shifts from ashoke to gogol as the story
progresses , Gogol also shifts his personality and identities over the years .
His decisions were always in contrast to his parents . He wanted to live the
ordinary American life where he wasn't judged on the basis or unusual
name . He often didn't feel he belonged anywhere since his name wasn’t
American like most of his friends nor was his name Indian . it was Russian
to be exact . several decisions that were made by him because of his
hatred towards his name and embarrassment of his bengali traditions and
culture . Although his character can be unlikable sometimes , what really
got on my nerves was he'd rather spend time with his partner Maxine and
her parents than spending time with his own parents . It is one of many
decisions I disagreed with . but his character development is what i like
most while reading this book . Acts like willingness to shave his head after
his father’s demise , caring about his parents opinions , a new perspective
towards his name being changed after knowing the backstory all makes it a
protagonist worth carrying the story.
Q3 How was the book different from the movie ?
—------> The Namesake (movie), though not exactly like the book , it's still a
very accurate representation. The book and the film both deal with the
same topic of displacement and cultural differences between successive
generations . It is only incidental that in the film Ashoke and Ashima come
to New York instead of Boston. While the film opens with Ashoke Ganguli's
train accident and progresses linearly with his arranged marriage to Ashima
and their migration to the US, the book opens with the birth of Gogol and
then flashes back to narrate Ashoke's train accident and marriage. Due to a
shortage of time , the movie skips through some vital parts of gogol's
growth . IN the film , ashima is shown to use the laundromat down the
street but in the book they are described to share a washing machine with
the montgomerys upstairs , who were also missing from the script . Some
scenes were skipped over which showed the relationship between the
mother and her newborn . There is no mention of Ruth , his growing up
romance and Maxine was also given a limited screen time . Ashoka's death
was a turning point in gogols like both in the movie and the book . The film
conjures another episode at the end, to show Ashima back in Calcutta
practicing Indian classical vocal . Despite all the differences , Mira Nair is
able to portray the feeling of so-called ABCDs ( American born confused
desis) faithfully . It successfully renders the experiences of immigrants
trying to make a life for themselves in an unknown nation which after years
they call their home. The aesthetic shots of calcutta and its simplicity in its
chaos were a cherry on top . And alas , one needs to appreciate Tabus and
Irfan khan's acting . I'd like to add this book to my list of favorite books . :)

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THE NAMESAKE - JHUMPA LAHIRI

Q1 Do you agree with the title of the novel “ the namesake”?

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