The Namesake vs My Life

 Ashima Ganguli and my mother have a few similarities, but more noticeable differences. Culture, obviously, is a big difference. Ashima is a Bengali woman, and my mother is white and doesn't follow a religion. Most of their ideals are different as well, while living situations can be seen as similar.  A major difference I saw between Ashima and my mom was when Ashima urged Gogol to go out with Moushumi. Gogol didn't really want to go at first, but Ashima wanted him to: "This time, because he is in the same room with her, he writes it down, still with no intention of calling. But his mother persists..." (Lahiri 192). Although I am much younger than Gogol was at this point in the story, I can never imagine my mom setting me up with someone. My mom gets worried at this age when I tell her I am in a relationship, because she doesn't want to see me get hurt. That being said, she also wants me to grow up without having to rely on her for everything. This is why I don...

     I feel a connection to Gogol in the novel because we have similar desires and experiences. These include name changes, relationships with our parents and significant others, and travelling. Obviously, Gogol and I are not living the same life, however, these similarities help me understand the novel better and how Gogol feels throughout his life.      One of my connections to Gogol is our desire to get our names changed. He grew up, not liking the name “Gogol” and finding it embarrassing: "He hates having to live with it, with a pet name turned good name, day after day, second after second" (Lahiri 76). He also never knew why he was named Gogol, especially since it had nothing to do with his culture. I want to get my last name changed because it reminds me of someone I am not close with, and probably never will be close with. Another similarity between our experiences with our names was nicknames. Gogol was supposed to only be his pet name and he was su...