The Namesake (Chapters 5-7)

The Namesake Part 2

The second part of this novel was definitely a lot more appealing to me. Like I had previously mentioned in my blog post for chapters 1-4, I felt as though the first few chapters were designed to be slow paced so that we could all connect with the characters and get to understand how they react to situations, so we could recognize their characteristics later on in the novel. The next few chapters were much more packed full with important events. As Gogol becomes older, he finally learns to accept his name, a great development in his character. We also see him maturing as he starts to party, smoke and even lose his virginity. Something I was anticipating was when I would find a personal connection with Gogol. In the previous section of the novel, I found a connection with both Ashoke and Ashima, however it was hard for me to connect with a young boy, trying to make a compromise between American culture and his parent’s culture. I was successful in trying to relate to Gogol, when it was mentioned that he had began to go to parties and had done things behind his parents backs, normal teenage things. Therefor I was able to recognize that Gogol and myself weren’t so different.

Gogol moves onto University, soon after starting University he meets an interesting girl named Ruth on a train, his future girlfriend. This was Gogol’s first serious relationship. This was a large stepping stone for Gogol because it is obviously a large moment in anyone's life, however it also shows Gogol, just how different other people's lives are compared to his own. Ruth is portrayed as a typical American girl, because of this it takes a while for Gogol to tell his parents about her, knowing that they would likely not be accepting of this. Something that I think is important to point out, is that Gogol never actually mentions that his name is not actually Nikhil to Ruth, he never revealed a significant part of himself to his own girlfriend, showing that he still was not accepting of his name at this part. A very important part of this section of the book, is that Ashoke finally reveals the truth behind Gogol’s name to Gogol. Understandably, Gogol is upset that his father waited so long to tell them and even feels as though he is a reminder of the train accident, however his father replies to that concern by saying, “Not at all, you remind me of everything that followed.” (Lahiri 124) I think that this important to recognize because this was a large connection between the father and son, Gogol was able to help Ashoke move on from what happened.

Gogol’s second girlfriend, even more serious than the first, is named Maxine. I think Maxine is even more important than Ruth because she introduces him to a lot of common american culture. This is because Gogol spends a lot more time around her family, including going on vacation with them and attending family dinners often. However, Gogol has yet to include both cultures in his life, in my opinion because of his interaction with his mother about saying goodbye to his father before he leaves. Gogol makes it clear to his mother that he would prefer to go on vacation with Maxine and her family than seeing his father one more time before he leaves for over a month. This shows an important comparison, as he puts Maxine above his family and american culture over his family’s culture. I think this was interesting because there comes a point in everyone’s lives where they would rather be around their significant other or friends than their family. The next major part of the novel was the death of Ashoke. I knew that this was coming because I believe the novel will come full circle. Ashoke’s death not only impacts Gogol emotionally, but also his relationship with Maxine. It is apparent that Gogol is beginning to get annoyed with how dependent and not understanding of Gogol and his culture that Maxine can be at times. This was something that I could relate to. I believe we have all been through something in our pasts that drives a wedge between yourself and someone else, an event that someone could not help you with and the lack of understanding leads for you to drift apart. It was evident that Gogol had began to get annoyed that Maxine could not understand what he was going through. At his time of mourning, Maxine even asks, “Do you still want to go up to New Hampshire?” (Lahiri 182) and when he replies saying he does not want to, she replies, “It might do you good.” (Lahiri 182) This really demonstrates how Maxine does not understand Gogol’s needs. I think that the event of Ashoke’s passing will lead to Gogol trying to connect more with his culture, since at this time of death, his family is all he has to depend on. At this point Gogol has not been able to accept that you can include two cultures in your life, but I think at some point, he will find a way. Early on in this section, Gogol finally changes his name to Nikhil. He is excited at first but he is not satisfied (is he ever) with this change, because he did not think before, that everyone in his family and their friends, would always refer to him as Gogol. I connected with this in a way, not exactly the same, however I know the feeling of finally getting what you want, only to discover that it was not what you expected or hoped for.

Something I was surprised about was how sudden Ashoke’s death was. It may have taught an important lesson that you should appreciate what you have before it's gone, but I was expecting a bit more character development in Ashoke. What I mean by this is that, Ashoke had always been a very reserved person since the start of the novel. Obviously he is able to open up about the accident to Gogol, however I was expecting there to be more of a bond between Gogol and his father. I am excited to read the final chapters of this novel, to see if my predictions will come true, some of which being that I think the novel will end with Gogol having his first child, and going through the same struggle we see Ashima face in the first chapters, of trying to figure out a name, based off of religion and tradition. Maybe in Gogol’s case he will try and combine those things with a traditional american name, or maybe Ashima will even name his child. I am excited to see what comes next.