Introduction

Have you ever felt isolated by your name? Have you ever felt forgotten by it? For Gogol
Ganguli, there is nothing he wants more than to blend in. But his name - the last name of an
obscure author from Russia, sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the names of those
around him. Throughout the book, Gogol is torn between different cultures, trying to fit in any
way he can, in an attempt to feel free. Ashoke, his father puts pressure on his son to be like his
namesake, in pursuit of a relationship with him. Gogol’s name has a deep meaning to Ashoke,
but he hides this from his son, instead pushing his son to share his interests without any
knowledge of why he was named “Gogol.” His tone-deaf attempts only weaken their bond, and
push Gogol away, Gogol changing his name to Nikhil. In adulthood, Gogol struggles to find a
place, relying on the people around him to make one for him. It is only when he is almost
halfway through his life that he is able to realize all of the time that he spent trying to fit into
other peoples ideals prevented him from true freedom, the thing he had sought all along. The
author, Jhumpa Lahiri uses her characters Ashoke and Gogol Ganguli's relationship to convey
the experiences of a father who wants to share his interests with his son, a son who feels
pressured into an unwanted role by his father, and the tempestuous bond between a character
who hates his name, and the person who named him.

Body 1

At his son's birth, Ashoke does not pray to God. Instead, he prays to Nikolai Gogol.  To
Ashoke, his son's birth is but the second miracle of his lifetime, the first being his survival from a
deadly train crash. The only reason he survived the incident is due to a book of short stories
written by Nikolai Gogol, causing Ashoke to feel a special affinity towards the writer. When
Ashoke sees his son, he immediately greets him as Gogol, almost instinctively; “‘Hello, Gogol’
he whispers, leaning over his son’s haughty face, his tightly bundled body. ‘Gogol,’ he repeats,
satisfied” (Lahiri 31).  Ashoke uses his son's name, Gogol, as a way to escape his memories of
the crash and eventually realizes that being a father to Gogol has loosened the grip that his
trauma has on him, thinking that “The day he became a father, the memory of his accident has
receded, diminishing over the years” (Lahiri 83). Nikolai Gogol now reminds him of memories of
his son, instead of the train crash that nearly cost him his life. Ashoke chooses to keep this
information secret from Gogol, despite his son's name's impact on him. Ashoke wants to protect
his son from his past trauma, and at the same time feels scared to be vulnerable with Gogol.
Ashoke's dishonesty about the origins of his son's name cause Gogol to harbor some
resentment towards his father, which forms a rift in their relationship. When Ashoke names
Gogol after his favorite writer, Ashoke also hopes his son will grow up to have a similar passion
for literature as his namesake. When Gogol has his rice ceremony, Ashoke pleads to Gogol,
“’No!’ His father protests. ‘The pen. Gogol, take the pen’”(Lahiri 43). In the early chapters
Ashoke is excited by the idea of sharing his interests with his son, much like his grandfather did
with him, but Gogol is interested in very different things from him. Gogol grew up in a completely
different culture than his father, a culture that confuses Ashoke. Gogol is American. He likes
American things and talks in an American way. He expresses interest in things that seem
strange to Ashoke, and he is more comfortable in the US than anywhere else. Ashoke sees
India as his home and the US as a foreign land, while Gogol's views are the opposite. Ashoke's
entire world, his job, his friends, his hobbies, are all things with which he is deeply familiar.
However, Gogol's world, the world of a young American man, seems to be almost entirely
foreign to him. He attempts to connect with his son through sharing his own interests, trying to
get Gogol to express interest in them. Nevertheless, Ashoke's efforts have no appeal to his son
and only seem to push him away. Ashoke holds a deep love for Gogol and wants to form a
close relationship through literature. However, he simply doesn’t know how, especially with a
son who wants nothing to do with his Bengali culture, instead wishing to be as American as
possible.

Body 2

Gogol did not have a problem with his name as a small child, actually refusing to
respond to any other name that his parents would call him. However, as his environment
became Americanized, he became self-conscious. Gogol wants desperately to assimilate,
especially in his adolescent years, yet no matter how he talks or acts or what he likes, he is still
named Gogol. His name is something that separates him from truly "fitting in" with American
culture. It is the one thing that follows him wherever he goes, causing him to resent his father for
choosing his name. Gogol’s name connects him to his father, but at the same time, it also
makes him feel disconnected, as he realizes that “Not only does Gogol Ganguli have a pet
name turned good name, but a last name turned first name. And so, it occurs to him that no one
he knows in the world, in Russia or India or America or anywhere, shares his name” (Lahiri 84).
Gogol's desperation to be "normal" and his hate for his name affect his relationship with Ashoke.
After receiving the book of short stories from his father, he immediately compares himself to the
author and “is relieved to see no resemblance. … No, he concludes confidently, there is no
resemblance at all” (Lahiri 80-81). Gogol dreads being seen as a copy of his namesake, feeling
trapped by his family's expectations for him, feeling that their Bengali background is what's
preventing him from assimilating. He runs from his family, doing everything he can to change his
identity, and hide his origins. When Gogol changes his name, he is shedding his connection to
his family, especially his father. Gogol begins to experiment with his identity, and centers his life
around fitting in. He avoids the concept of being more than one thing, or being liminal. Because
to Gogol, liminality is scary. Liminality is muddy, unclear, and uncertain. The idea of existing as
the same person in between many different places is abnormal to Gogol. It is something he has
never wanted, and he has spent his entire life trying to escape.
What Gogol wants is a clear path, an obvious choice presented to him on a silver platter. His
multi-cultural background of Indian and American puts him in a spot of choice. The pressure he
receives from both school and home environments to conform causes him to lose his self-
identity. As an adult, Gogol consistently seeks out people who he views as “normal.” People
who resemble a thing, a lifestyle that he is familiar with. To Gogol, normal is free. Free from the
judgement of others, and free from criticism and second glances. This freedom, Gogol believes,
is akin to happiness. Yet after his divorce and the news that his mother is moving, he starts to
question this philosophy. At the end of the book, he begins to read the gift from his father that
was given to him so long ago, feeling a connection with Ashoke. Gogol now realizes that he has
spent so much time trying to run away from his Bengali culture, that Gogol has ignored all of the
good things it has brought him. He looks back on his life at this moment, thinking about how he
was named and how “He had tried to correct that randomness, that error. And yet it had not
been possible to reinvent himself fully, to break from that mismatched name. … The name he
had so detested, here hidden and preserved--that was the first thing his father had given him”
(Lahiri 305, 308). As an adult, he can now understand his father and accept that he, Gogol
Ganguli, is a person of many spaces, and many different existences. Assimilating to the
expectations of others isn’t what makes one free, only the pursuit of their true passions and
dreams can do that.

Conclusion
 Overall, Lahiri presents the readers with a complicated, yet loving relationship between
father and son. Ashoke’s cautious approach to connect with his son in the only way he knows
how, and Gogol’s resentment towards his father for not only his name, but the expectations that
have been set for him result in a delicate tension that shapes Gogol as a person. By showing
both points of view through limited third person, Lahiri is able to demonstrate not only the anger
Gogol feels to his father, but the love Ashoke holds for his son. Her novel allows us to watch
Gogol grow up, and to see how his multicultural identity as an American citizen separates him
from those around him, including his own parents. Gogol’s journey throughout life, valuing fitting
in over anything else is something that is deeply relatable to the reader as a member of society.
But by the last chapter we see Gogol, on the precipice of a possible mid-life crisis realizing that
his life is his own, and that where he came from, is a part of him, something that always was
and always will be. Gogol’s life is made up of many different things, some good, some bad, but
all of them are Gogol Ganguli. And as he reads the book of short stories by Nikolai Gogol, he
remembers his father, the train crash, and the author he was named after. For now, as he
accepts the liminality of life itself, he reads.