The Namesake Chapters 8-12 (Out with a Bang)

Hey all, now that you're done with the baseball section, welcome to the real reason why you are all here. The Namesake. This week concludes the reading of the book and I must say, I've enjoyed the novel. Overall, it includes many different perspectives on immigration to a large country, also it shows the difficulty of maintaining your cultural background in a foreign environment. Now to kick start the show. Savor the moment, this is chapters 8 to 12 of the namesake.

Me finishing the last page of the namesake

This week's reading was very character revealing for Gogol. In these chapters, Gogol learns and begins to piece together the person he wishes to be known as (possibly a bit of Gogol and Nikhil?). It begins with the introduction of Bridget who you quickly learn is married. Despite this, Gogol partakes in an affair with Bridget and he notices how much he enjoys the freedom. Not having to constantly be with her all the time or speak to her every day (I'm the last person to have foreseen Gogol having an affair). This interesting and surprising part of the novel fades fairly quickly with no concrete ending (I'm sure most of us can imagine how it ends). A bit of a curveball I will admit, it shows me a side of Gogol never displayed in the previous chapters.

Thank you Gogol, for the perfect representation of my face right now

Shortly after we are introduced to Moushumi, Gogol's longtime family friend. Gogol and Moushumi date for a while and eventually wind up marrying each other about a year after they first start to date. Unfortunately, in an unforeseen turn of events (in my opinion at least), Gogol finds out Moushumi is having an affair with a man by the name of Dimitri Desjardins. They then end their relationship together, in terribly sad fashion (once again, in my opinion. Good thing this whole blog thing is opinion based, right?). The end of Gogol's relationship with Moushumi marked the end of a long trend of relationships, ending in break up for Gogol. In my opinion, I believe this is done to signify and maybe teach Gogol a lesson. A lesson that although many things in life can go wrong (such as relationships), family will always be there, whether you want it to be or not. I think Gogol began to realize this towards the end of this novel, and I think it helped begin to piece together his true identity as well.

When I believe Gogol finally begins to realize his identity

We all know at the beginning of the novel Gogol was stubborn and to a certain extent whiny. He was always seen in my eyes as wanting to be an American child (in the eyes of many I hope). He never wanted or truly attempted to maintain the culture his parents loved. He even got away from his parents as quickly as possible in moving to Yale for his undergraduate degree, instead of attending MIT. Although, I wish Gogol was a better kid to his parents, nicer and more understanding I can relate to where he is coming from. Now, don't get things twisted I have by no means struggled to immigrate to a different country. I was fortunate enough to have my parents born in Canada and therefore be a second generation Canadian. However, as a kid, I moved to about 4 different elementary schools before settling on one, and the only thing you think about when experiencing a big move is fitting in. So that's what we try and do, fit in, and in this sense, I completely agree with Gogols attempt to simply be an American boy. I just wish he understood where his parents were coming from and learned that you can fit into American culture, and continue to maintain your home culture as well.

Hello there

To cap things off, the reader begins to notice Gogol often thinking back on the events that have shaped his life. The author writes “without people in the world to call him Gogol, no matter how long he himself lives, Gogol Ganguli will, once and for all, vanish from the lips of loved ones, and so, cease to exist” (Lahiri 289). This begins to show the true love Gogol possess for his pet name (Gogol). Maybe his true love is a stretch, but it shows his new found appreciation for his name and the emotional value that is held within it. I can relate to this in going by my middle name (much like Gogol, I prefer to go by Nikhil in my own right). Although I identify as Angus, I still have a profound appreciation for my first name (Robert) and all the family tradition is holds. I believe Gogol begins to realize some aspect of this when he explains "They have come to rely on her, Gogol realizes, to collect them together, to organize the holiday, to convert it, to introduce the tradition to those who are new" (286). This thought is about Ashima, it is Gogol's first real realization of how important she is to this family and to him individually, he appreciates her greatly upon this realization, more than ever. I often feel the same way about my mother. I know how much she means to me, but sometimes, things fall out of perspective and it takes me realizing how much work she puts in to keep this family together, to truly appreciate the greatness she does for me and my family day in and day out.

Do it

Well guys, that's it, plain and simple. I hope you enjoyed following this blog and if not, well, I hope you found it decently made at least. Overall, this is the best book I have read throughout high school and I hope I inspired you to read it as well. Now, I want to hear from you guys, what did you think about the book. Yay or nay, and why? That's all I got guys, catch ya on the flip side.

Bye guys!

#namesake