Life after Death

  Chapter 8 of The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri starts off a year after the sudden and tragic death of Gogol's father, Ashoke. Gogol's life is surprisingly different than before; he frequently visits his mother and Sonia, and he's ended his relationship with eccentric Maxine. (Thank God). However, it seems as though Gogol finds himself more lost and nostalgic than he's been throughout the novel. Before his father's death, Gogol strives towards a solid, concrete goal: he wants to detach from Indian culture and his parent's traditions, and he effectively does so. But after Ashoke's death, Gogol no longer feels like he has to separate from Indian culture, or separate from his parents, because he wants to hold on to the culture that represents his father. Gogol works so hard to become "Nikhil" that he doesn't know how to fill that empty void when he no longer wants to be that man.

    Gogol is nostalgic for a life with his father was alive; "He enjoys the passivity of sitting in a classroom again, listening to an instructor, being told what to do. He is reminded of being a student, of a time when his father was still alive," (Lahiri 190). He ignores his father for so long, that when the time to visit him "expires", Gogol finally sees his mistake; he seemed to appreciate Ashoke and the memories they shared only after he dies. 

    Then, Gogol meets Moushumi: a woman he'd known growing up, but had never really bothered to notice. At first Gogol is hesitant to meet with her because his mother Ashima suggests it, but he agrees and has dinner with Moushumi. He is surprisingly intrigued by her honesty and intellect, and admires her beauty. I thought that Gogol would be uninterested in her because of her Bengali background, but instead the similarity has the opposite effect; "He had not expected to enjoy himself, to be attracted to her in the least...He decides that it is her very familiarity that makes him curious about her," (Lahiri 199). Moushumi provides Gogol with comfort, because they share many commonalities. Both Moushumi and Gogol come from Bengali families, they strayed from the paths expected of them, and they even look similar. Gogol feels like Moushumi understands him, because of the similarities in culture. He thinks that it is what connects them. 

    I'm happy for Gogol. Of all the girls that he's been involved with, I like Moushumi the most. She is smart and respectful and witty, and I do think that she understands Gogol on a much more personal level than the girls in his past relationships. I hope that his marriage with Moushumi lasts. 

New Name, New Man?

    While still in high school, Gogol attends a college party with his friends; when a girl asks his name, he says his name is "Nikhil". Gogol takes on a new persona and becomes a boy with confidence. For one night, Gogol is someone else -- someone he feels is better and desirable, all because of the new name. "He feels at once guilty and exhilarated, protected as if by an invisible shield. Because he knows he will never see her again, he is brave that evening...he doesn't tell them that it hadn't been Gogo who'd kissed Kim. That Gogol had nothing to do with it," (Lahiri 96).
    Before heading off to college at Yale, Gogol legally changes his name to Nikhil. There is an instant shift in his personality. However, I think that Gogol so badly wants to become "Nikhil" that he is caught between himself before the name change and the Gogol after the name change. He feels like he needs to live up to the "other" Gogol. "He wonders if this is how it feels for an obese person to become thin, for a prisoner to walk free...There is only one complication: he doesn't feel like Nikhil...At times he still feels his old name, painfully and without warning," (Lahiri 102, 105). It seems like Gogol basically becomes the standard college boy once he arrives at Yale: going to parties, getting drunk, sleeping with girls. I understand that he desperately wants to break away from his parents and their expectations, but I'm annoyed because this isn't the way to do it. I side with Ashima and Ashoke when they say that Gogol has the potential to become very successful; he has a passion for learning, and even continues his studies outside of what he needs to know.
   But it's his time away at college that brings him closer to "Nikhil" and farther away from his parents. Gogol morphs into his new name; he sketches, he smokes, he dates (non-Indian) girls. Ashima and Ashoke don't entirely approve of the change in their son, but the distance between the old Gogol and new Gogol only seems to grow. I hope that Gogol will soon realize it is only natural for his parents to want more for him.

Ashima and Ashoke: The Namesake

Even though I'm only two chapters into The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, I already really enjoy it, and I can tell Lahiri has a gift for storytelling. Lahiri depicts scenes that are vivid and feel very real; as I read, I feel like I'm watching a movie on a big screen. Because of her ability to portray emotion so well through her descriptive writing, I connect with the characters on a personal level. For example, I loved the scene where Ashoke holds Gogol for the first time. "Ashoke has never seen a more perfect thing...Being rescued from that shattered train had been the first miracle of his life. But here, now, reposing in his arms, weighting next to nothing but changing everything, is the second," (Lahiri 24). Before reading that part of the second chapter, I was unsure of how Ashoke would handle becoming a father. He seemed a little distant from Ashima, frightened at the prospect of fatherhood, and too focused on work. But after I read that scene, where Ashoke holds the baby and claims he has "...never seen a more perfect thing" I saw that he would undoubtedly love and care for the child.

    I also like how Lahiri gives insight on the backgrounds of the couple: who they are, where they come from, how they got to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Both Ashima and Ashoke traveled to America from Calcutta, India. They came from traditional Indian families, who paired them together for marriage. Although the marriage was arranged, over time Ashima and Ashoke learned to love each other. 

   They moved to America for Ashoke. This is clear when, after Ashima has the baby, she realizes that she does not want to raise Gogol in a such an unfamiliar place. She wants to raise him in India, where she had grown up, and where he would be surrounded by family and Indian culture. "[Ashoke] looks at Ashima, her face leaner, the features sharper than they had been at their wedding, aware that her life in Cambridge, as his wife, has already taken a toll," (Lahiri 33). Ashoke would do anything for Ashima because he loves her, but is he willing to give up his life in Cambridge just because of her homesickness? Ghosh, the man that Ashoke met on the train years ago - the train that would derail and kill most everyone on board, not counting Ashoke - told him that it was "'...his greatest regret, coming back [to India],'" (Lahiri 33). I don't think Ashoke would want to return to live in India, even for Ashima. 

  I also wonder what they will name Gogol, since it's only a pet name. Will they keep the name or change it? 

   I'm interested to see what will happen in the next few chapters. I can only hope that everything turns out well for Ashima and Ashoke, because as of right now I'm invested in their characters.