Yet Another Change...

When Gogol changed his name, his personality became a whole lot more rebellious and free. His actions as Nikhil are no longer affected by the wishes and wants of his parents. Through his relationship with Ruth and especially Maxine, evident is the fact that Nick has a complete disregard for Bengali culture. On one hand, he has never seen his parents show physical affection while Gogol, on the other hand is living with his girlfriend in the same house as her parents and maintaining a sexual relationship.

Upon the death of his father, Ashoke, Gogol goes through another transition. His value for family boosts. He no longer shows the same affection for Maxine as he had done in the past. "It's a family thing," Gogol repeats when discussing his fathers funeral. He also moves in to his home in Cambridge and out of Maxine's. When Maxine requests Nick to proceed with the vacation they'd planned in the near future, he turns it down. I wonder if his lack of kindness to his girlfriend is due entirely to his devastation. I feel like Gogol felt guilty for dating Max even though his passed father and alive mother never really liked her.

Soon after they break up, in an attempt to appease his mother, Gogol meets with his childhood Indian "friend," Mo. When they begin to date, it becomes clear that Gogol it really taking Ashima's desires into account as he had never done before. Ashoke's death truly brings Gogol to set his priorities to family as had refused to do in the past.

Out With the Old & In With the New

As Gogol begins to lose his identity, Nikhil takes over as a whole new character. The act if changing his name in that 10 minutes in the courthouse transforms him as a person completely. It was as if "a prisoner was walking free" (Lahiri 102). From that day forward, his loyalties and morals  as Gogol are nearly lost completely. Nikhil no longer feels as bound to his parents as Gogol once did. "Now that he's Nikhil, it's easier to ignore his parents,  to true out their concerns and pleas" (Lahiri 105). As a whole new person, Nikhil is able to loosen his morals without any guilt. He grows a goatee, smokes, and goes to bars under aged. Additionally, he no longer feels shameful or embarrassed when conversing with girls. With Ruth, Nick quickly develops a sexual relationship as he has never been able to do before. The trend continues with Maxine.

I feel like Gogol's new name make him feel like he is an into rely new person. No longer does he take his parents into account when making decisions. He goes so far as to even show hatred for the way he was brought up. I think Nick is trying to rebel against his own culture by going to the polar opposite way of life. He lives with a girl isn't married to while his own parents have never even show physical affection in his presence. Nick' coming of age allows him to leave behind Bengali traditions and move on with life as he prefers to--without Gogol's parents consent. 

The Struggle

In The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, I must admit that I was disappointed by the lack of good judgement made by both Ashoke sand Ashima. Not only does Ashoke bring his newly married wife to the United States while he is still in school, but they also have a child together. Ashoke, a P.h.D. student at MIT probably has enough to worry about relating to school work. Bringing a wife while even he is not yet properly settled in my opinion is not the best idea. As I started to read through chapter 2 of The Namesake, I could see an array of issues arising. Most of them originated from the new wife missing her family. She is losing her elderly family members and "wants to go back." Her words show how naive she truly is. After having a child with a husband who is studying at one of the most difficult programs, going back to India may not be the best or easiest idea. We learn early in chapter 1 that Ashima had only come to Boston eighteen months ago, before which she had never heard of the city. Although it's easy to sympathize with her, I definitely think that having a child so early was too hasty. Ashima claims in chapter 2, "I don't want to raise a child alone in this country." Later she also says, "hurry up and finish your degree." I feel like Lahiri has given us strong evidence that a child at such an early stage has added more tension and grief to the parents' worry. Ashima also thinks it to be unfair that she must sit at home alone with the baby while Ashoke spends the day at MIT's engineering department. In Indian culture, the baby is always being cared for by not only the mother, but by the grandmother, aunts, and so on. Meanwhile, she feels lonely to have to do all this by herself. The best solution, I think,  would have been to wait to have the baby at least until Asoke was out of college.