The Namesake - 1365 Words

The film The Namesake started out while Ashoke Ganguli was traveling on a train to visit his grandfather. On the train Ashoke meets fellow traveler, Ghosh, who impresses upon him to start traveling. The train crashes and Ashoke almost dies but is found and survives. After the crash, Ashoke relocates to America for school. In 1977, Ashoke returns home to India to be arranged to marry Ashima. When Ashima accepts Ashoke’s marriage proposal, she has to move to New York with him where their residence becomes permanent. Ashima has to adapt and adjust to American culture, which is very hard for her because she has never been out of India and she misses her family. Shortly after, they become parents of a boy, who they name Nikhil, with the†¦show more content†¦3. Role Conflict-conflicts that someone feels between statuses because the expectations attached to one status are incompatible with the expectations of another status (Henslin, p.121). Gogol had role conflicts between being a boyfriend to Maxine and a son to his mother Ashima. He did not know how to balance both roles equally. Gogol was always with Maxine and her family. When his mother wanted him to come home to visit with her and Ashoke, Gogol said no at first because he was going to be with Maxine and her family on a little vacation. He never made time to spend with his own family at first until a tragedy happened in his family, where he really discovered himself. 4. Value Contradictions- values that contradict one another; to follow the one means to come into conflict with the other (Henslin, p.59). Gogol had many value contradictions with Maxine. In America it was acceptable to date someone of a different ethnicity but in India it was only acceptable to be with someone of the same race. Also, in America people are allowed to show affection and hold hands but in India showing any affection is inappropriate. So when Gogol brought Maxine to meet his parents and she held his hand , this made his parents very uncomfortable and shocked. 5. Cultural Relativism- Not judging one’s own culture but rather trying to understand it on its own (Henslin, p.44). Maxine practiced cultural relativism by not judgingShow MoreRelatedThe Namesake By Jhumpa Lahiri992 Words   |  4 PagesFor some people finding out who they are is not exactly the hardest thing to do in the world, some know it from the moment they are born. There are, however, also other people who have to struggle and search for their identities. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri is the story of a boy who does just that. It focuses on the Ganguli’s, a Bengali family, who, after moving homes from India to the United States, struggle to uphold a delicate balance between honoring the traditions of their heritage and assimilatingRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book The Namesake 1019 Words   |  5 Pages The Namesake was published in September 2003 by Jumpa Lahiri and the movie was released in March 9, 2007, directed by Mira Nair. The story includes the portrayal of being raised in two different cultures, search of identity, and difficulty between family. Through the novel Gogol is in the situation of building his character within two cultures. In the story he is raised to follow his mother and father’s culture and also brought upon into the American culture. The theme of identity begins in chapterRead MoreThe Movie The Namesake 1318 Words   |  6 Pages The film, The Namesake, directed by Mira Nair, suggests that everyone has a cultural identity, whether they ignore or embrace it. 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Having a Russian name, Gogol often encounters questions from peopleRead MoreEssay on The Namesake914 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿ Matt. J. Sociology The Namesake A Bengali girl named Ashima partakes in a marriage arranged to Ashoke Ganguli. After the ceremony the new couple left India to move to the United States where Ashoke has started to build a new life. They were going to face the cultural differences together, as one. For Ashima, this was difficult. Her new husband had to earn a living to support the two of them so she often found herself home alone. Not knowing the English language or culture at that becameRead MoreThe Namesake Essay540 Words   |  3 PagesThe Namesake, written by Jhumpa Lahira, a famous Indian writer who won the Pulitzer Prize for her story collection Interpreter of Maladies, brilliantly illustrates the immigrant experience and the tangled ties between generations. In this novel, the main characters Ashima and her husband, Ashoke, were first generation immigrants in the United States from India. The whole story begins with Ashimas pregnancy and her nostalgia of her hometown, and a sense of melancholy revealed from t he first chapterRead MoreThe Namesake By Jhumpa Lahiri1214 Words   |  5 PagesJhumpa Lahiri’s â€Å"The Namesake† examines an immigrant bengali family that has moved from India to America, and tries to hold their bengali culture while trying to accept American lifestyles. Ashima and Gogol each struggle with their cultural identity throughout Lahiri’s novel. The pressure of western society and the crisis of losing one’s culture and identity is demonstrated through the characterization and Gogol and Ashima’s relationships while living in America. Ashima is Gogol’s mother, who movedRead MoreThe Namesake By Jhumpa Lahiri990 Words   |  4 PagesArwa Ghanim English 1A March 30, 2015 The Namesake Introduction The Namesake† by Jhumpa Lahiri, has a wide range of topics that are brought upon the peruser all through the book and motion picture. A few subjects that are identified with this story are Identity, Relationships in the middle of youngsters and their guardians, Regret, Loneliness, Language, Expectations, Cultural Differences, Immigrant Experience, Values and Beliefs, and Death and Mourning. Thesis Statement What moment or decisionRead MoreThe Namesake By Jhumpa Lahiri1725 Words   |  7 Pagesalways an easy thing to discover, and it is forever changing and growing. The search for one’s identity is not a painless journey, but it is often worth it in the end. As is the case for Gogol Ganguli, one of the main protagonists in the novel The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri. Throughout the novel, Gogol is in search for his identity and for meaning behind his name. Names were a large struggle for Gogol, who spent about half of the novel under the name Nikhil. He even ended up developing a bit of a splitRead MoreThe Namesake By Jhumpa Lahiri1309 Words   |  6 Pagesface certain obstacles that come their way. Some run away in fear, and others face them head on, The people that face these obstacles are the ones that get more out of life and therefore are ready for what other obstacles might come their way . The Namesake, is a book about how life can be difficult in a new country for immigran ts trying to raise a son with mixed cultures. Gogol, the son of these immigrant parents grows up wanting to assimilate himself in this new cultural but ultimately seeking to