The Namesake (Part 2)

        Here we go again with another blog about The Namesake. It keeps getting better and better. They grow older and realize their actions. They are not kids anymore but there are a lot of things going on. Before I start getting more into it, I can't describe my emotions for part 2. I'm sad, annoyed, and mixed with a bunch of different feelings. Gogol changed his name, Ashoke finally told him what Gogol means, they all move out, Gogol (or Nikhil) finds Maxine and starts living with her. Then Ashoke passes away and they say he is expired?!!

                                           Via Giphy

        I really don't know where to start but I'll focus on how "selfishness" and the consequences of it can change one's life. I guess I'll start with describing the most selfish character in the book and how annoyed I am. Maxine. Ashoke dies and his own son wants to be in his funeral naturally. But Maxine keeps saying that he should get away from all of these and she offers him to go on a trip with her family while all of these are happening. Excuse me, but WHAT? Who offers to go on a trip when their boyfriend's dad passes away? It's so mean and selfish, and I'm glad Gogol is distancing himself from her. I actually never liked Maxine to be honest. There was always something about her I didn't like. She is so self-centred from the beginning. She wants Gogol to be by her side all the time and she wants everything to be done her way such as forcing Gogol to live with her parents. If she wants to live with Gogol, they could've moved out together. And her self-centred thinking and actions lead them to get separated despite the fact that they both like each other. Maybe if Maxine could be more understanding of Gogol's situation, they could have still been together.

                                           Via Giphy

        Another time "selfishness" played a role was when Ashoke passed away. "[Gogol and Maxine] were already drunk from the book party, lazily sipping their beers, their cold cups of jasmine tea. All that time, his father was in the hospital, already dead" (Lahiri, 171). When Gogol finds out that his father passed away, he gives up everything and visits his mom. Later on, Gogol regrets that he was not there when his father died. I never lost a close family member or a friend. Even though I try to empathize with him, of course, it is not the same as going through the whole process. I also feel bad for Ashima because she was alone all this time when her daughter and son living their lives. Of course, I don't mean that they should live together but they can at least call their mom, right? Even my family and I, it's been almost 4 years since we left Turkey, and we facetime my grandma every 2-3 days a week. It's so rude and mean how both of them complain about their work and how busy they are. 10 minutes to talk is not much to ask. What do Sonia and Gogol get as a result? Lifelong regret. Gogol's personality changes drastically. He understands that he was being selfish towards his parents and he starts to understand why his parents do what they do. 

                                           Via Giphy

        When Gogol changes his name into what his original good name is "Nikhil", "He is aware that his parents and their friends and the children of their friends, and all his own friends from high school will never call him anything but Gogol" (Lahiri, 103). He always had an identity issue but I think he makes it worse with changing his name. He changes his name because he thinks "Nikhil" can give him a new identity, a new life. That is not true. He can never run away from his past, because his past is the only thing that shaped his personality. His past is full of experiences, memories which is a part of his identity. Now things are more complicated because Gogol separates his American life and Bengali life with a name. This causes him to go back and forth and even confuses himself. "At times, he feels as if he's cast himself in a play, acting the part of the twins" (Lahiri, 105). His one decision to change his name, which was given by his father for a reason, leads to many obstacles and confusion. I didn't have this exact problem because I never changed my name. But I can say that people can never run away from their past and just forget about it. It's always a part of us and we have to embrace it. I know people who moved to New Jersey from other countries and they just tried to run away from their past. They tried to forget about it completely and live like an American. Their personalities literary clicked when they started going to school. But at the end of the day, It never worked out because It is not who they are. All of them gave up at one point because all they do was acting and faking their personalities in order to fit in. And people do realize if you are faking it at some point. So do yourself a favour Gogol, stop running away from your past.

                                Via Giphy

        Most of the parts in the book were sad and annoying to me, but the part where Gogol finally understands his parents and how they feel, It made me feel proud. The Namesake gives you the opportunity to be a witness to Gogol's growth and how he changes throughout. And I felt happy when he can put himself in the shoes of his parents. "He knows now the guilt that his parents carried inside, at being able to do nothing when their parents had died in India, of arriving weeks, sometimes months later, when there was nothing left to do" (Lahiri, 179). Of course, it is a sad moment, but it makes the reader happy. It's sad that Gogol is realizing this now, but It's better than him not realizing it at all. I feel like he is becoming more responsible and caring for the people around him. Part 2 of the book is where Gogol actually grows up like everyone else. He starts to embrace himself more after his father's death. I also didn't understand my parents as a kid. I didn't understand why they were doing what they were doing. I used to say "I'm really different from my mom. We're not same at all. We think different, we do things differently", But now the time passed by and I'm seventeen, I realize that I'm actually turning into my mom without even realizing it. Have you guys ever felt the same way? Realized that you are so similar to your parents at one point in your life?

Let me know, see you next Thursday!!!