Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake opens with a pregnant Ashima attempting to recreate a favorite snack from India. This image, of a woman clearly homesick and disconnected from her roots, sets the tone for Gogol’s birth shortly thereafter. When the infant Gogol is named, a further disconnection is underlined in the form of a lost letter…
Tag: The Namesake
The Namesake – Historical Context – Setting
Nikolai Gogol Russian author Nikolai Gogol was born in Velikie Sorochintsy, in what is now Ukraine, on March 20, 1809. His parents, Maria Ivanovna and Vasilii Afanas’evich Gogol-Ianovsky owned land; though the family was not rich, they were relatively well off. Gogol was the first infant in the family to survive, though Maria Ivanovna and…
The Namesake – Literary Devices – Motif – Narrative Techniques
Omniscient Third-Person Narrator The use an omniscient third-person narrator in The Namesake gives the reader insight into the private thoughts of each of the novel’s characters. This narrative device allows the reader to observe both the outer and inner realities of each character. In this way, the reader truly understands the angst and anxiety that…
The Namesake – Themes of Identity & Immigrant Experience
Immigrant Experience One of the main themes in the novel is that of the immigrant experience. Ashoke and Ashima are immigrants traveling from the country they have always known to make their life in a vastly foreign land. While Ashoke is able to throw himself into his work, through Ashima readers catch a glimpse of…
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri: Characters
Ben Ben is introduced in the second half of the novel as Sonia’s boyfriend. He eventually becomes Sonia’s husband. Ben makes Sonia happy, a fact that both Gogol and Ashima acknowledge. Ben acts as a contrast to Moushumi, who has failed to make Gogol happy. Dimitri Desjardins Dimitri Desjardins is the man with whom Moushumi…
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri – Chapter Summaries
Chapter 1 1968 Ashima Ganguli is nearly nine months pregnant with her first child. She is in her apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her husband, Ashoke, is studying for his doctorate in engineering in the next room. Ashima’s labor begins, and the couple takes a taxi to the hospital. After Ashima has checked in, Ashoke leaves…