Gogol has mixed feelings about his name and identity as an Indian-American. He is comfortable with his name as a young boy but his last name is the cause of a variety or reactions. The contrast between Gogol’s reaction to his name when, on going to India: “He remembers the astonishment of seeing six pages full of Gangulis…He’d wanted to rip the page out as a souvenir” with the anguish he feels when their name on the letterbox at 67 Pemberton Road is vandalised to spell “Gang Green”. These two incidents show how Gogol isolated in both India and America as he does not appear to fit in at either place. From and early stage in the novel, it is evident that Gogol has an inability to accept his dual cultural heritage. “He hates that his name is both absurd and obscure” and “that it is neither Indian nor American but of all things Russian.” The negative diction of the word ‘hate’ is repeated to show his insecurity of being different and that he has little understanding of his identity. He feels like he neither belongs to either of his dual cultures. Gogol’s name therefore acts as an extended metaphor for his sense of cultural identity.
Gogol’s school trip helps forge a sense of belonging to his name and highlights the conflict that occurs around his name. It had “not occurred to Gogol that names die over time that they perish just as people do.” Names in this instance are personified by Lahiri. Gogol becomes “attached to” these names imprinted on paper. These American names are unusual, like his, and so Gogol feels connected to them. Yet these names are of the past and have little effect on his insecurity and confidence in the present and therefore, his sense of belonging.
In rejecting the name given to him by his parents, Gogol feels he has achieved freedom of identity and a greater sense of belonging the American culture. Gogol when he is a school boy is to be given a good name along with his “daknam”. Yet when Gogol’s teacher asks whether he wishes to be called Nikhil, “after a pause, he shakes his head”. The low modality of Gogol’s decision highlights his uncertainness of openly disregarding his cultural heritage. He knows that it is an important part of his identity yet he still disregards it. Yet this rejected name soon has new meaning when Ashoke reveals of the accident that nearly took his life. The event of Gogol changing his name reflects his desire to be independent of his parents and his cultural background. In changing his name to “Nikhil” he is looking for a way to find his own sense of identity, unhindered by the expectations of his cultural and family background. The interconnection between Gogol’s name and his father allows him to not only accept his name, but his past and culture. Lahiri used direct speech to emphasise the rawness of the characters feelings: “Is that what you think of when you think of me?...do I remind you of that night?...You remind me of everything that followed”. The emphatic reply that Ashoke gives Gogol is important as it creates an opportunity for the bond between father and son to be strengthened. Ashoke wants Gogol to realize how important he is in Ashoke’s life and how he represents the opportunities and optimism he sought after such a horrific experience.
The acquisition of the new name ‘Nikhil’ ironically complicates his sense of identity. The irony of his new name, Nikhil, meaning ‘he who is entire, encompassing all’, highlights Gogol’s confusion of his identity and his resistance of his past experiences. Gogol separates himself into two separate people. “At times he feels as if he’s cast himself in a play, acting the part of twins, indistinguishable to the naked eye yet fundamentally different.” This analogy used completely juxtaposes the two persona’s contained in Gogol. His new name allows him to be someone different and escape his cultural heritage and family. It allows him to belong to American society. At the college party, Gogol is reluctant to introduce himself to Kim as "Gogol," so he says his name is Nikhil. It gives him the confidence to kiss her: "It hadn't been Gogol who had kissed Kim... Gogol had nothing to do with it."Yet “there is only one complication: he doesn’t feel like Nikhil”. The irony of this statement is that he still doesn’t belong even though he has changed his name and self. In this case, through changing his name, he has rejected his old name and therefore his true identity.
In conclusion, Gogol’s distinctive name prevents him from fully belonging into American and Indian culture. Gogol feels he achieves freedom of identity and a greater sense of belonging to the hegemonic American culture through rejecting his name and cultural heritage. Yet the acquisition of the new name ‘Nikhil’ ironically complicates his sense of identity and so struggles to feel a sense of belonging. Only through accepting his cultural heritage, family and name can he achieve a true sense of belonging.
by
emmaepetterson (student)
