Asian American Studies R1A
October 9, 2005
Naming the namesake
Jhumpa Lahiri in The Namesake illustrates the assimilation of Gogol as a second generation American immigrant, where Gogol faces the assimilation of becoming an American. Throughout the novel, Gogol has been struggling with his name. From kindergarten to college, Gogol has questioned the reason why he was called Nikhil when he was a child, to the reason why he was called Gogol when he was in college. Having a Russian name, Gogol often encounters questions from people around him, asking the reason of his name. Gogol was not given an Indian name from his Indian family or an American name from the fact that he was born in America, to emphasize that how hard an individual try to assimilate into a different culture, he is still bonded to his roots as the person he ethnically is.
In the conversation between Gogol, his kindergarten teacher, and Gogol's father, Gogol is confused and refuses his name as Nikhil. "She bends......

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Title: Name
Approximate Word Count: 1230
Approximate Pages: 5 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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