Lahiri, Jhumpa. The Namesake. New York: Mariner, 2004.
“The Namesake” is a story of the hardships a Bengali couple that immigrated to the United States from Calcutta, India faced. They started living a life outside what they had previously knew. Shortly after their move to Massachusetts, their first-born son is born whom they name Gogol. The name was chosen in honor of a Russian author who “saved” Ashoke from a train accident years back. Although the name was meant to be temporary, it troubles Gogol throughout his life. “The Namesake” focuses on Gogol’s struggle to understand and accept his culture despite his American upbringing. Throughout his childhood and on, Gogol tries to escape his Bengali heritage, trying to find an identity for himself. It is after his father’s death that Gogol starts to embrace his culture. Gogol reads the “Overcoat” to find out the significance of the name he was given. In the end, he seems to come to terms with who he is. Gogol’s search for identity comes from having been born into a bicultural world. He struggles with combining his culture with the area he lives. He feels out of place because he wants a more “normal” name. He is greatly affected by his American surroundings that it changes the way he sees himself, and causes him to not want to be part of his Bengali heritage. He searches to come to terms with himself, and ultimately does in the end.