What are some symbols in The Namesake?
The Namesake Symbols
- Trains. Trains appear again and again in Lahiri’s novel, and twice a train accident plays a significant role in the story.
- Books.
- Graves and Graveyards.
What are the dominant themes of The Namesake?
The Namesake Themes
- The Indian Immigrant Experience.
- Family, Tradition, and Ritual.
- Independence, Rebellion, and Growing Up.
- Identity and Naming.
- Love and Marriage.
What is Ashima’s pet name?
Gogol
They decide to give their son the pet name “Gogol” in honor of Nikolai Gogol until they receive Ashima’s grandmother’s letter to determine his formal name. Back at home from the hospital with Gogol, Ashima hates living in an unfamiliar culture with a newborn.
What is a motif in The Namesake?
Motifs in The Namesake. In literature, a motif is a common literary device that features recurring images or ideas. Like symbols, motifs carry a figurative meaning and typically tie into the themes of the work. In The Namesake, the three most prominent motifs are trains, naming, and books & reading.
What does Ashima wear for her final party?
Ashima puts on a robe and continues her preparations before the holiday meal begins. The narrator switches to Gogol’s perspective. For the final time in the novel, he rides the train from New York City to Boston.
How do Maxine’s parents differ from Gogol’s?
Maxine’s upbringing is about as different from Gogol’s as possible. Her parents are not, like Gogol’s parents, immigrants to the United States. They are urbane New Yorkers, well-versed in the latest museum shows, political scandals, and matters of literary interest.
What does Ashima mean namesake?
she who is limitless, without borders
“Ashima” means “she who is limitless, without borders,” which is fitting for a woman who ends up spending time jetting back and forth between India and the U.S (2.21).
Why doesn’t Ashima call her husband Ashoke?
Ashima notes that she does not use Ashoke’s given name, because that name, in Bengali, has a special, almost sacred resonance. Both Ashima and Ashoke are lovers of literature, Ashima of English poets, Ashoke of Russian authors, especially Gogol.
What is Gogol’s pet name?
Gogol’s parents try to change his name to “Nikhil” when Gogol begins kindergarten, but Gogol will only respond to his pet name. As he grows older, however, Gogol comes to hate his name, and he legally changes it to “Nikhil” just before going to college at Yale.
Why did Moushumi keep her last name?
Moushumi’s choosing not to change her last name to Ganguli furthers the sense of distance between them. For Gogol, names are an important marker of identity: He knows firsthand the power that changing a name can have on who a person becomes. For Moushumi to refuse his last name feels like a rejection of his identity.
What does Ashima do after Ashoke dies?
The intern explains that Ashoke has died from a heart attack, and Ashima hangs up the phone, shaking violently. She stares at the cards, each with her husband’s name, and then finds her son’s number in the address book—under G for Ganguli and for Gogol.
What is the role of Ashima in The Namesake?
In The Namesake Ashima Ganguli is Ashoke’s wife and the mother of Gogol and Sonia. She is hit with culture shock as she and her husband start a new life in America. Ashima is proud of her Indian roots and seems baffled by her children’s easement in America. It takes her a long time to settle into her new life.
How does Gogol differ from Nikhil?
Despite the fact that Nikhil is a Bengali name, and Gogol is an old Russian dude’s last name, Nikhil is the name that, at this point, feels foreign to Gogol. After all, up until this point, he has only really interacted with his family, who has always called him Gogol. It’s the only name he knows.
How is Gogols name tied to his identity?
First, his name. Gogol is Gogol, of course, because his father and mother needed a name for him before leaving the hospital. The name “Gogol” was an important one to Ashoke, who adored Nikolai Gogol’s work. Ashoke also has traumatic connection to the train-wreck during which he was reading Gogol.
Does Gogol break up with Maxine?
A few months after Ashoke’s death, Gogol and Maxine break up. A year later, Maxine is engaged to be married. Gogol now visits home regularly; Sonia has moved in to take care of Ashima.