The Ganguli Family in the Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri - Essay Example

The Ganguli Family in the Namesake by Jhumpa LahiriThe Namesake is a literary piece by Jhumpa Lahiri. The book is a publication of September 2003 and is a 304-page fictional novel. It presents The Ganguli Family as they struggle to adapt from their traditional lifestyle in Calcutta to their newly found American lifestyle. It seeks to look at the issues that many people from the third world nations face when they move to developed countries such as the USA. The author takes a deeper look at various themes such as the experience of immigrants, how the modern culture clashes with traditional ones and generational differences.

It looks at the main character, Ashoke Ganguli, whose marriage to Ashima is an arranged one. They move to the USA and settle in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They get a son and name him Gogol. Ashima refuses and resists everything to do with her home and faithfully sticks to the Indian heritage and culture. In fact, she has reservations about raising their son in a foreign country. They continue progressing as they move to a bigger house in the suburbs. The emphasis of the book seeks to look into the life of their son, Gogol, as he struggles to fit into his generation, amidst ties to his home traditions and family beliefs.

It focuses on intergenerational conflict, love and culture, family relationships, as well as modern and traditional belief clashes. It highlights his relationship with an American lady, and his struggles to cope with urban life and culture. It also shows later on how he gets in another relationship with a Bengalese lady whom he knows from his childhood. His family readily accepts this lady. The story embraces the theme of class and lifestyle as it shows the different families and characters and their mindsets and behavioral patterns.

The themes of inter –generational conflict and generational differences come out through the description of Gogol’s relationship with Maxine, which his parents deeply disapprove. Instead, they prefer that he settle with his childhood friend, who is a lady of the same cultural background and whom they know better. Similarly, the theme of the immigrant experience comes out through Ashima’s reluctance to adapt to the American lifestyle. She would rather stick to her Indian background and refuse to adjust socially to her new home.

Gogol also experiences difficulties in blending into the American social life, especially in such areas as his school, his neighborhood and his relationships with the opposite sex. Gogol realizes the difference in outlook to life between Maxine’s and his family. They have a certain view of issues and are stereotypical towards certain things, and this causes Gogol to ask himself a few questions.The author is successful in bringing out major issues facing modern society. The success of the book in portraying urban America through the eyes of immigrants is very relevant.

Thus, it manages to bring out varying issues that foreigners face as they seek to adapt to a new life in America and other developed countries in the world. The book accurately describes life in a foreign land. It also focuses highly on the importance of culture and the value of upholding one's traditions. The book is an accurate and viable portrayal of modern day society, and it may wrongly portray the society as xenophobic and unenthusiastic towards foreign elements. It also focuses more on the promotion of traditional themes and fails to give more emphasis to the modern day world.

Nevertheless, this is an intense read, and recommended for everyone. Work CitedLahiri, Jhumpa. The Namesake. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004. Print.