Identity and Displacement in The Namesake
In the Namesake, Lahiri‟s experiences of growing up as a child of immigrants
resemble that of her protagonist, Gogol Ganguly. Regarding the self in the text versus
the self as text in Asian-American Autobiographies, Rocio G. Davis says, "Asian
American autobiographies generally highlight the protagonist's growing
comprehension of the meaning or value that society places on questions and attitudes
about ethnic differences, historical reconstruction, and the place of their communities
in American societies" (Davis, 2005).
In the Namesake, she reflects on the Indian
Diaspora and creates a narrative that reveals the inconsistency of the concept of
identity and cultural difference in the space of Diaspora. In an interview Lahiri has
admitted: “I” m lucky that I‟ m between two worlds… I don‟t really know what a
distinct south Asian identity means. I don‟t think about that when I write, I just try to
bring a person to life”. And that is exactly what she does through her characters.
Names are symbols of identity in life. Names help people to communicate with each
other, they play an important role for people to identify themselves. As identity
becomes the core issue, the names become quite significant. Indian tradition follows
various kinds of rituals and ceremonies of naming a born baby. Names play very
important role in life. In literature, dealing with the clash of cultures, countries, and
races, names emerge as identity symbols. In Indian perception good names represent
dignified and enlightened qualities. Pet names are sometimes meaningless and silly.
The title The Namesake reflects the struggle Gogol Ganguli goes through to identify
with his unusual name. The novel represents the experience of a very specific
community which has no name. The novel centers around the couple and community
of Bengali origin in the USA migrated for various reasons. Sociologically, they are
first and their children second generation south Asian immigrants or south Asian
15
Americans. Narrating the story of Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli, Lahiri focuses on
the cultural dislocations of a family, immigrants from Calcutta who settle in Boston
to study, work and raise a family. The novel moves quietly, eloquently across its
central arc from the birth of a son to the death of a father (Macwan, 47).
Lahiri’s novel ‘ The Namesake’ tells the story about the assimilation of an
Indian Bengali family from Calcutta, the Ganguli into America, over thirty
years(19682000); the cultural displacement that the Ganguli family and their
American born children face in their effort to settle ‘home’ in the new land .Ashoke
Ganguli leaves his homeland Calcutta, India to go to America in the hope of better life
and opportunities and to settle down “with security and respect.” (Lahir, 105).
The novel chosen for the study, The Namesake reflects the dilemmas that Indians
face when confronted with a foreign culture. In this light the novel addresses the
issues of culture shock, displacement, rootlessness, sense of unsettling and
inbetweeness, conflict in the notion of 'home', nostalgia and identity crisis of the
immigrants. Jhumpa locates her characters in a settled country to reflect the changes
they undergo, the cross cultural interactions, the discrimination they face. and the
difficulty in settling in the new land, in this case America. The novel analyses the
mindset of the first generation and second generation immigrants and the conflicts
that arise out of these. While the themes of nostalgia, culture shock and unsettling are
addressed through the characters Ashima and Ashoke, the themes of identity crisis
and culture stereotyping are addressed through the experiences of Gogol and
Moushumi (Chikkala et al,4) .
Works Cited
Lahiri, Jhumpa. The Namesake. New Delhi :HarperCollins Publishers, 2006.
Sk, Md Abdul Jabbar. "CULTURAL DISPLACEMENT AND IDENTITY CRISIS: A
STUDY OF JHUMPA LAHIRI’S THE NAMESAKE."