Chapters 5-7: Decisions
and Identity
Hello Friends! Welcome back to my blog. Today I will be
discussing some connections and my thoughts of chapters 5-7 of The Namesake. But before you read be
sure to check out my last post if you have not already done so. It is truly
delightful.
As the novel progresses, we discover that Gogol legally changes
his name to Nikhil. His parents surprisingly don’t make a huge deal about the
name change, although they did agure with Gogol, but eventually gave in. Ashoke even says; "In America anything is possible. Do as you
wish" (Lahiri 99). Basically Ashoke is resigning to the fact that his son
is an American and he is allowing Gogol to make his own decisions because in
American anything is possible. Personally, if I were to switch my name, my
parents wouldn’t agree with the decision and would probably feel insulted. Although,
Gogol situation is different since technically Nikhil is Gogol good and proper
name.
By changing his name Gogol not only gets a new name, but
also creates a new identity. As Nikhil, he alienates himself from his parents
and their Indian culture and begins to follow the American culture. While as
Gogol, he was influenced by his parents to continue to keep Indian traditions. In
this section, I feel that the story mainly follows Gogol search for identity as
Nikhil. We can all relate to the search for identity. We all are discovering
what we like and dislike and what we think is right and wrong. We all have to make decisions which will ultimately
affect our future, no matter the intensity of the decision. One decision in
particular we have to decide upon is what we want to do after secondary school.
Gogol’s decision was to leave and explore the American culture at university
away from home. I will be probably going to university at home, since it is a lot
cheaper financially.  |
I also believe that Gogol relates to Anakin Skywalker from
the Star Wars trilogy. This may be a far-fetched connection although if you look
at Gogol and Anakin through a certain perceptive, you’ll be able to see the correlation.
First of all, when Anakin turns into Darth Vader, his identity completely
changes and he does things that the old Anakin would never do. Just like
Anakin, when Gogol changes his name to Nikhil he begins to act differently and
he also creates a new identity for himself. “It is as Nikhil that he loses his
virginity at a party at Ezra Stile, with a girl wearing a plaid woolen skirt
and combat boots and mustard tights” (Lahiri 105). Nikhil also begins to isolate himself from his
parents, starts to act like an American by partying and getting girlfriends,
thing that Gogol himself would find tough to do.
I hope you enjoyed my blog, be sure to check out my next
blog dropping sometime next week!
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Work Cited:
Decision Picture. N.d. Decision Fatigue. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
Anakin Skywalker. N.d. How Anakin Skywalter Became Darth Vader. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
Stephen my friend! What a breathtaking blog entry! I really enjoyed reading this, and your use of images to enhance the blog was remarkable! I really agree with your Star Wars comparison. It is definitely not far-fetched! Gogol's name change truly gives him a new outlook on life. His new identity allows him to do things he would usually not feel comfortable doing. Although his change was not as drastic as Anakin's, the similarities are undeniable. I can also relate to the part where you talk about "the search for identity. Everyone goes through this phase in life, especially at our age (which is close to Gogol's age when he changes his name). The search for who you truly are is a fundamental part of maturing, and can bring great benefits. In Gogol's case, these benefits include being more confident and being more open about himself.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this fantastic post my friend. I look forward to reading future entries.
God bless.
Stephen, I agree with your point that staying at home for university is a much cheaper option and that’s personally what I plan on doing. But often kids just want to get away from home and leave the people who they’ve known all their lives. For Gogol that is his reason to leave home, he leaves everything of his past behind including his name and his family. Due to the struggles he had with his identity, I think it was important to him to change his name and start fresh in life. I completely understand the connection you made to Star Wars because Nikhil is the exact opposite of Gogol, he is not necessarily evil but his morals have changed. Overall, I enjoyed reading your blog post, looking forward to the next one!
ReplyDeleteGreat post Stephen, also awesome comment on how with a new name comes a new identity. I personally agree with that judgement. I feel as if if you are labeled by a name you will live up to it. I can connect this concept with a old cartoon I used to watch, called Ned's Declassified Schools Survival Guide. One of the episodes talks about how one of the characters wanted a "tougher" reputation around school so decided to not only change his nickname but aswell as his personality and wardrobe to make a completely new image. There are certain expectations associated with your name which you'll like to follow and meet. So it is not a surprise that Nakhil has changed to a more western side of things and adapted to a new Culture, as his father predicted.
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