In the novel The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri, the process of rebirth shows the multigenerational experience of immigration
through new attitudes, and even geographical places in life. Each character in
the novel goes through many rebirths due to some event in their lives. Ashoke
is reborn after his tragic near death experience in which he is haunted by a
dead man’s last words to get out and not come back; he in turn goes to America
to finish his education and start a family. Ashima and Ashoke are both reborn
when they come to America and become parents and they start to absorb the
culture of American suburban life. The family celebrates Christmas even though
they aren’t Christians, and they start to buy American food products instead of
their traditional Indian food. The main character, Gogal, has many rebirths; he
changes his name to Nikhil and in turn become an entirely different person
throughout his adulthood. He is reborn again through his father’s death. His
father’s death allows Gogal to become closer to his family and to learn to
appreciate his parents and background. Ashima is also reborn from her husband’s
death and she becomes a different woman who has to learn to do things on her
own. Ashima also shows her rebirth with a change of geographical location; the
novel ends with her going back to India. One of the most noted rebirths in the novel is
Ashoke’s outlook on life after the birth of Gogal. After Ashoke nearly dies he
is plagued and terrified of nightmares that remind him of the accident. Yet
after the birth of his son the nightmares go away and he is able to put the past
and the accident behind him. Ashoke
states to Gogal, “'You remind me of everything that followed'” (124) This is a beautiful
sentence dictated by Ashoke to show that his transition and attitude on life is
transformed and he is reborn through the birth of his son. The Namesake shows multigenerational experience of immigration
through new attitudes and geographical locations brought into light when the
characters are reborn and changed throughout the novel as a result of death or
the creation of life.
“That's the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet.”
My Opinion:
I really enjoyed this book. It was amazing to read about the family dynamics of an American family with immigrant parents and to see how they adapted to life in America. They started to eat American food and celebrate Christmas, yet they still stayed true to their own ways while their children dove farther into American culture striving to get away. The series of rebirths throughout the novel is a major theme. First you have the rebirth of Ashima and Ashoke and then you find out about Ashoke accident and how the birth of his son changed his life for the good. Every little change in the character's lives show how they have changed and been reborn. I just can not get over how beautifully written this novel is; the words just float off the page and leave you surrounded by their smoothness and power.
Relationships between immigrant parents and their children:
One of the main struggles in this novel is the strained relationship between Gogal and his parents. Throughout the book Gogal is embarrassed or unimpressed by his Bengali traditions. He would rather eat American food, celebrate Christmas, and have birthday parties with his friends from school then participate in his parents customs. It isn't until after his father's death that he realizes that family is the most important thing and he immerses himself back in with his mother and sister. This struggle between the american and homeland culture within families is an issue that has been studied and researched for quite a while!
http://www.yoursocialworker.com/p-articles/immigrant-family-adaptation.htm - this article discusses how struggles occur with in families because the children and second generations of people adapt and connect more with the local culture than then customs and traditions of the parents. This article also talks about the problems that many immigrant children face such as socializing with the opposite sex, clothing and even a higher risk of teen pregnancies.
Thinking about this while reading the novel was very interesting. I see the disconnection between parents and children with some of my friends and by reading this book it allows you to take a front seat and share in the experience. 
"A rose by any other name would smells sweet."- William Shakespeare.
Throughout he book the main character Gogal has trouble finding himself and because of this he ends up changing his name. He is constantly worried and afraid of people judging him on his name and is ashamed to ever look at or actually read the book of poetry by the Russian author he was named after. He sees himself stuck with his pet name (his formal name got lost in the mail somewhere between his great-grandmother's stroke and America), and decides to go through all the paper work to change his name. Now he is two different people; he is Nikhil to his new friends at college and everyone new from that point in his life, yet he is Gogal at home and with close family friends. He has created a semi-alternate reality away from everything he knew before and he loves the separation. It isn't until his father reveals his true namesake that Gogal actually begins to appreciate his name. He feels guilty for being so ashamed of the name that was given to him because of his Father's favorite book that was the only means that he was able to be seen during the tragic train crash.
I found Gogal's opinion of his name kind of unnecessary throughout the book. I also have a peculiar name that my mother and grandmother found in a movie (instead of a book). Yes at times, I wished I could have found my name on pencils and that teachers could say my name correctly on the first shot, but I grew to love my name more and more as time passed where Gogal grew to hate his...to me it made Gogal seem very insecure and uncomfortable in his own skin.
“Remember that you and I made this journey together to a place where there was nowhere left to go.”
