The Namesake Chapters 1-4: IT BEGINS

WARNING: SPOILERS (duh)

So it begins- a new adventure into another world, the Namesake, by author Jhumpa Lahiri.

Lardy, Philippe. First edition cover of the Namesake. Digital image. Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 22 June 2006. Web. 12 Feb. 2017.

The beginning of the book starts with a subtle "bang." With a seemingly slow start, the novel hides the chock-full of subtle significant events, symbols, contrasts, and other deep stuff.

We are taken along for a ride in the lives of the recently immigrated Ganguli couple from Calcutta, India to Cambridge, USA. Enter: Ashoke (the husband) who is currently studying for a PhD degree in MIT and Ashima (the wife) who is pregnant with the couple's first child. From the first page, we already begin to see the immigrant's trials and tribulations in a foreign country:

Lardy, Philippe. First edition cover of the Namesake. Digital image. Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 22 June 2006. Web. 12 Feb. 2017.

"Ashima Ganguli stands in the kitchen of a Central Square apartment, combining Rice Krispies and Planters peanuts and chipped red onion in a bowl. She adds salt, lemon juice, then slices of green chili pepper... Ashima has been consuming this concoction... a humble approximation of the snake sold for pennies on Calcutta sidewalks...it is the one thing she craves." (Lahiri, 1)

Google Maps. "Map of Calcutta, India to Cambridge, USA." Google Maps. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2017.

Having no ingredients that were once prevalent back in her home city of Calcutta, Ashima tries her best to recreate her tastes and reminisce about India. The whole immigrant struggle and divide between the familiar past and the new foreign present becomes more apparent through Ashima's labor. It seems that almost everything is generally different: the expression of affection and love between couples (active vs passive), marriage (personal decision vs arranged), where babies are delivered (hospital vs home), who assists in the deliveries (doctors vs relatives), and, most importantly, naming (one name by mother/father vs good name by grandmother and pet name by family members).

I can relate to such divides as I can see the first-hand differences between traditional Western and Eastern culture when I travel to China. Here's a link (Citation: Chang, Max. "Chinese Artist Sums Up the Difference Between Eastern and Western Culture." Editorial. Next Shark. N.p., 9 Dec. 2015. Web. 17 Feb. 2017) to show you what I mean.

Reading the early stages of the book, I instantly connect with the whole immigrant experience: my parents moved from China to the City of Champaign in Illinois, USA, where, similar to Ashoke, my father was working as a post Doc at UIUC. Just settling in, my parents found it really difficult to adapt to the drastically different American culture, but eventually managed to get by through attempts of recreating the Chinese food experience and befriending many other Chinese couples in the same situation.

Then...

Thronberg, Molly. Baby in Helmet Meme. Digital image. Pinterest. Pinterest, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2017.

BABY GOGOL IS BORN!!!

In the early stages of Gogol's life, we can see Ashima's and Ashoke's struggle to see the "American dream." It seems that their quality of life in Cambridge is worse than their life in Calcutta:

"It is not at all what she had expected. Not at all like the houses in Gone With the Wind or The Seven-Year Itch, movies she'd seen with her brother and cousins...The apartment is drafty during winter, and in summer, intolerably hot. The thick glass windowpanes are covered by dreary dark brown curtains. There are even roaches in the bathroom, emerging at night from the cracks in the tiles." (Lahiri, 30)

For Ashima and Ashoke, the life they are living is the starch opposite of the stereotypical American dream, where families live in luxurious houses on beautiful streets, divided by white picket fences and dotted with new, shiny cars. For my parents and other immigrants, this dream appears so plausible and so attainable that they sacrifice intangibles in order to try to obtain this. But for me, as a first generation, this American dream has much more variation:

First-Generation Americans Talk About The American Dream. Dir. BuzzFeed Yellow. BuzzzFeed. BuzzFeed, 30 Nov. 2015. Web. 12 Feb. 2017.

Now throughout Gogol's childhood, his parents try their hardest to connect him (and his new born sister, Sonia) to his Indian roots, frequently visiting Calcutta, hosting parties with their Bengali friends, teaching him Bengali poetry, and sending him to language school. Despite all these efforts from their parents, Gogol and Sonia grow up accustomed to Western culture, enjoying it more than Indian culture:

"During pujos...Gogol and Sonia are dragged off to a high school...where they are required to throw marigold petals at a cardboard effigy of a goddess and eat bland vegetarian food. It can't compare to Christmas, when they hang stockings on the fireplace mantel, and set out cookies and mile for Santa Claus, and receive heaps of presents, and stay home from school." (Lahiri, 64-65)

The whole Ganguli family itself gives into the American culture to a point where "to the casual observer, the Gangulis...appear no different from their neighbors." (Lahiri, 64) Adopting Western traditions such as Thanksgiving, Easter, and Christmas, Ashima and Ashoke

"let Gogol fill the chart with items that he and Sonia, but not they, consume: individually wrapped slices of cheese, mayonnaise, tuna fish, hot dogs. For Gogol's lunches...Ashima makes sandwiches with bologna or roast beef. At his insistence, she concedes and makes him an American dinner once a week" (Lahiri, 65)

We see an overall transition as the once homesick family is now slowly adjusting to American life, not only for the sake of convenience, but for the desires of their "Western" children. The family engages in a constant battle to hold onto their Indian roots while dipping into the American lifestyle. As the children grow up, we see a larger divide, especially when the Ganguli family goes back to India for 8 months. It is during this time that Gogol and Sonia feel different and longs for their familiar life back in the United States- the environment, the showers, the music, and the food.

What Gogol and Sonia do when they return back to the United States

Betsy. Eat all the food. Melbourne: Nourish and Move, 30 June 2015. GIF.

Similar to Gogol, I regularly go to "Asian parties" (pretty fun), visit China (meh), go to Chinese school (unfortunately), and have to memorize Chinese poetry (UUUUGGGHHH NEVER AGAIN). So can I blame Gogol and Sonia for being drawn to Western culture? Nope. Even when I look in my refrigerator today, I can see non-Chinese foods, such as cold cut ham, stacked on top of frozen spicy chicken wings, which are beside fajitas wraps. But like the Ganguli family, my family still holds onto Chinese traditions, like Chinese New Year when I get red envelopes filled with money (like Christmas persents, but 100x better), and Chinese food bought at TNT Supermarket, an "Asian Costco" that I have practically memorized (soy sauce found on aisle 2, beside the jasmine rice on aisle 3 and in front of the jars of Lao Gan Ma spices).

My Parent's thoughts at TNT and My thoughts when I get Red Envelopes on Chinese New Year

Keay, Bill. Cindy Lee holds a crab at T&T Supermarket. Digital image. The Westcoast Reader. N.p., 20 Aug. 2015. Web. 12 Feb. 2017.

But despite the westernization in my family, I, predominately speaking English and listening to hip hop, will always individually retain my Chinese heritage, not due to my parents' desires, but due to my own interests. Personally, being Chinese is a proud sense of identity in a flourishing Canadian melting pot community where there are people from hundreds of different backgrounds.

Will Gogol or Sonia ever think like this when they grow up?

In the midst of all these struggles, there seems to be another battle piled on top of everything: Gogol's thoughts of his name. Growing up, Gogol experiences increasing hatred towards his name, refusing to read the Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol and feeling embarrassed by his name in class:

"Warmth spreads from the back of Gogol's neck to his cheeks and his ears. Each time the name is uttered, he quietly winces." (Lahiri, 91)

Resenting his name, Gogol doesn't understand why his parents named him "Gogol"- the name is not Indian nor American... it is Russian! Now, I personally don't understand this struggle. To be honest, "Gogol" isn't a bad name. I can think of hundreds of more embarrassing and hilarious names than Gogol Ganguli. I just feel like he should just stop being self conscious of himself.

_Vile_. Name Meme. Digital image. Ifunny. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2017.

Hmmmmmm, I also wonder how the future will look for the Gangulis. With all the hardships my parents faced, my family currently lives a very joyful and fulfilling life, satisfied with our identities and our balances between the two cultures. Will the Gangulis grow to find love in who they are and harmony between the two opposing cultures? Will Gogol and Sonia learn to appreciate their Indian roots? Will Gogol stop being so whiny about this name?

Well, we will never know what will happen.... unless we keep reading.