Ashima's Struggle In The Namesake

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America has always been viewed as a place for change and opportunity. In today’s world, many people from all over the world come to America in hopes of living a better life known as the “American Dream”. Most families living in poverty feel that the only way to success is by coming to America. However although families come to America to live that dream, many lose their identity in the hopes of “fitting in” with society. While some incorporate both ways and use it to their advantage. In the novel The Namesake, we see two individuals Ashima and Ashoke from Bengal India who met in Calcutta when Ashima’s parents introduced her to Ashoke. They eventually got married in a traditional ceremony and later moved to Cambridge. She got pregnant and gave…show more content…
After years of being in college, Rachel was familiar with middle class America and adapted to it. Gogol and Rachel both relate because they both face the issue of criticism being children of immigrants. Rachel is embarrassed of her parent’s behavior being that is she now adapted to society, this is similar to Gogol’s situation because after going to school and going through different experiences, he eventually feels uncomfortable with his name. Rachel and Gogol both are similar because their mindset changes after experiencing the American education system. Although they both related to each other by being children of immigrants, their mindset wasn’t quite the same. When Gogol met Maxine, he felt a part of her family and neglected his own family. Whereas when Rachel met Frank, she wasn’t comfortable when Frank was talking about the Jewish family. She felt he was too narrow…show more content…
This is due to the fact that they are raised under their tradition along with adapting to the American lifestyle. Most children always get questioned because of the way their name is pronounced or the type of food they eat. My parents were born in Nigeria and moved to America in the late 80s. I was born in America but was raised according to my tradition. However, being that I was born here, I automatically adapted to the lifestyle but still behaved according to my tradition. For example, in my household, we aren’t allowed to use or accept anything with our left hand. But when I go out in public and see non-African people, the response is different. The death of Gogol’s father horrified him. He felt extremely guilty for not being there while he was still alive. After his death, he reconnected with an old friend Moushumi Mazoomdar. Hanging with her made him feel comfortable about his culture. Eventually they got married but Gogol later on finds out that she’s in an affair leading to a divorce. I felt that this novel was a good representation of what it’s like to be a child of an immigrant. We see the challenges they face from having to change their name in order to fit in society, and getting asked daily questions about their culture. Gogol love life didn’t seem to go too well for him in this novel. Every relationship he had didn’t end

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