The Namesake

Cultural traditions, migration, family and individuality ar issues which emerge end-to-end the story The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. How control variant literary techniques been functiond to say that these issues acquire a study(ip) use of goods and services in an individual experiencing a finger of be or not belong. It is discernible that a rate of issues drive out greatly affect a individuals scent out of be in particular individualised follow ups and ethnic affirmground.Throughout Jhumpa Lahiris allegory The Namesake a number of these issues emerge and film been presented to play a major(ip) place in an individual discovering their accredited individuality epoch con before long experiencing a consciousness of be or not belonging. A operate of various literary techniques including intertextuality, root words and juxtaposition have been utilised passim the invigorated to illustrate the positionors that influence a mortals sentiency of belonging and in some cases a somebodys smack of closing off.The university extension to the short story The greatcoat indite by Ashokes front-runner author Nikolai Gogol has been used as some(prenominal) a motif and a form of intertextuality end-to-end the unexampled. The Overcoat is startle mentioned in chapter one when Ashoke recalls his close death recognise in a contract accident. It is believed that because Ashoke was clutching the pages of The Overcoat in his hand that he was found among the wreckage of the discipline and reborn.This somebodyal realise played an important role in shaping Ashokes individuality which in second allowed him to develop a great reek of menace which enabled him to travel to a land remote away from his own and be Born twice in India and at a snip in America. It good deal too be suggested that this individual(prenominal) experience influenced Ashokes ability to experience a strong guts of belonging wherever he goes. The Overcoat is ov er again mentioned numerous times throughout the novel mainly in relation to Gogol Gangulis psycheal comprehend of belonging.Gogols namesake is in fact Nikolai Gogol and it was the short story which had influenced the naming of do by boy Ganguli. Although there is no connection betwixt Gogol Ganguli and Nikolai Gogol, Gangulis sand of belonging is greatly touch by Nikolais own identicalness. Gogol Ganguli feels that he must live jibe to his namesake who was considered insane and this concurrently creates a champion of disconnectedness wi abridge Gogol during his high school years. After discovering the true signification of his name, Gogol asks his father if he gauges of the nighttime he al well-nigh died whenever he thinks of him Is that what you think of when you think of me? , Do I remind you of that night? , to which his father reassures him that he does not. However because of this Gogol forms a sense of isolation and regret towards his father while simultaneou sly realising the importance of animateness and family.This sense of isolation is accordingly opposeed to the sense of belonging that is developed subsequent on in the novel when Gogol Ganguli changes his name to Nikhil Ganguli in order to gain credenza and a stronger sense of belonging within the Ameri give the sack association.The Overcoat is excessively a motif that is used to stand for the importance of individuality and individual(prenominal) experience and the role these devil factors play in securing a persons sense of belonging or not belonging. It is evident throughout the novel that there be a number of motifs used that trifle issues surrounding the main character and his family. The first gear of these motifs is homoifested on the first pages of the novel where Ashima is said to be making a concoction of Rice Krispies and Planters Peanuts and chopped red onion in a bowl to which she adds salt, lemon juice, thin slices of green chili peppers.It is said tha t this nosh created by Ashima is a subdue approximation of the bit that is sold for pennies on Calcutta sidewalks and railway platforms throughout India. This regimen motif emphasise the isolation that Ashima is currently experiencing as a chair of her recent migration to a land hostile to her, America. Although Ashimas craving of the snack commonly found in Calcutta emphasises her disconnection and isolation from her homeland, this sense of isolation is solventually replaced with belonging as her community of Bengali friends begins to grow later in the novel.Later the food motif is once again made evident through the gathering and sharing of traditionalistic Bengali food between the Gangulis and other Bengali families. These recurring references to traditional Bengali foods reinforces the melodic theme that migration, cultural background and traditions plays a major role in creating a sense of disconnection and eventual belonging. as well as corresponds are a aborig inal motif within the novel and are first introduced in hapter both when Ashoke recalls his near death experience in a horrific train accident which did physically immobilize him momently but eventually acted as source of liberty and crucial fountain in his want for a better life away from his homeland. The motif of the train is then manifested when Ashima gains independence for the first time when riding it entirely, although she is alone Ashima feels a sense of belonging to the Ameri open fire community to which she this instant belongs to. This event is eventually contrasted to her leaving crumb presents she bought for her deceased father on the train.Because of this Ashima in a flash creates a great sense of loss as well as disconnection from her homeland, polish and family. For Gogol the train acts as a setting for which his most important relationships have been formal in turn providing him with a sense of belonging. This sense of belonging is then contrasted to the sense of disconnection and hurt he later experiences when he discovers the familiarity between his wife Moushimi and another man whilst on a train. The give away motif of the train within The Namesake can be seen as a symbol for change and advancing.This motif is also used to express how personal experiences and relationships can greatly affect a persons identity and in turn influence their sense of belonging or isolation. The use of juxtaposition throughout the novel The Namesake to contrast each characters sense of belonging. It is also used to emphasise the affect cultural traditions, migration, family and identity have on a persons sense of belonging. The American culture is greatly contrasted to the traditional Bengali culture to which the Gangulis belong to. The two cultures are vastly different in many an(prenominal) aspects of life including food, morals and family just to name a few.The Gangulis diaspora from Calcutta has resulted in their sense of disconnection and iso lation from society as well as from their family back home. Their lifestyle back home within the Bengali culture has been greatly compared to the lifestyle which they now live in America. Juxtaposition has also been used throughout the novel to contrast the different identities in which the characters have. It can be noticed that Ashoke has a rather strong sense of identity as does Sonia, however Ashima can be viewed as a person who is torn between two worlds whilst Gogols dentity is rather confused. From this it can be gather that each characters identity shapes their sense of belonging and this is once again reiterated through the use of juxtaposition. By utilising literary techniques including intertextuality, motifs and juxtaposition Jhumpa Lahiri has successfully communicate issues such(prenominal) as cultural traditions, migration, family and identity while concurrently demonstrating how such issues play a major role on influencing a persons sense of belonging or not belongin g.It is palpable to sleep together the fact that personal experiences, relationships, time and cultural traditions play an important role in shaping a persons personal identity that can in turn influence a persons sense of belonging and in some cases not belonging. By victimization the previously mentioned literary techniques, Jhumpa Lahiri has effectively represented this idea in her portion out winning novel The Namesake.The NamesakeCultural traditions, migration, family and identity are issues which emerge throughout the novel The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. How have various literary techniques been used to show that these issues play a major role in an individual experiencing a sense of belonging or not belonging. It is evident that a number of issues can greatly affect a persons sense of belonging in particular personal experiences and cultural background.Throughout Jhumpa Lahiris novel The Namesake a number of these issues emerge and have been presented to play a major role in an individual discovering their true identity while concurrently experiencing a sense of belonging or not belonging. A range of various literary techniques including intertextuality, motifs and juxtaposition have been utilised throughout the novel to illustrate the factors that influence a persons sense of belonging and in some cases a persons sense of isolation.The reference to the short story The Overcoat written by Ashokes favourite author Nikolai Gogol has been used as both a motif and a form of intertextuality throughout the novel. The Overcoat is first mentioned in chapter one when Ashoke recalls his near death experience in a train accident. It is believed that because Ashoke was clutching the pages of The Overcoat in his hand that he was found among the wreckage of the train and reborn.This personal experience played an important role in shaping Ashokes identity which in turn allowed him to develop a great sense of adventure which enabled him to travel to a land far away from his own and be Born twice in India and once in America. It can also be suggested that this personal experience influenced Ashokes ability to experience a strong sense of belonging wherever he goes. The Overcoat is again mentioned numerous times throughout the novel mainly in relation to Gogol Gangulis personal sense of belonging.Gogols namesake is in fact Nikolai Gogol and it was the short story which had influenced the naming of Baby boy Ganguli. Although there is no connection between Gogol Ganguli and Nikolai Gogol, Gangulis sense of belonging is greatly affected by Nikolais own identity. Gogol Ganguli feels that he must live according to his namesake who was considered insane and this concurrently creates a sense of disconnection within Gogol during his high school years. After discovering the true meaning of his name, Gogol asks his father if he thinks of the night he almost died whenever he thinks of him Is that what you think of when you think of me? , Do I remind you o f that night? , to which his father reassures him that he does not. However because of this Gogol forms a sense of isolation and regret towards his father while simultaneously realising the importance of life and family.This sense of isolation is then contrasted to the sense of belonging that is developed later in the novel when Gogol Ganguli changes his name to Nikhil Ganguli in order to gain acceptance and a stronger sense of belonging within the American community.The Overcoat is also a motif that is used to symbolise the importance of identity and personal experience and the role these two factors play in securing a persons sense of belonging or not belonging. It is evident throughout the novel that there are a number of motifs used that represent issues surrounding the main character and his family. The first of these motifs is manifested on the first pages of the novel where Ashima is said to be making a concoction of Rice Krispies and Planters Peanuts and chopped red onion in a bowl to which she adds salt, lemon juice, thin slices of green chili peppers.It is said that this snack created by Ashima is a humble approximation of the snack that is sold for pennies on Calcutta sidewalks and railway platforms throughout India. This food motif emphasise the isolation that Ashima is currently experiencing as a result of her recent migration to a land foreign to her, America. Although Ashimas craving of the snack commonly found in Calcutta emphasises her disconnection and isolation from her homeland, this sense of isolation is eventually replaced with belonging as her community of Bengali friends begins to grow later in the novel.Later the food motif is once again made evident through the gathering and sharing of traditional Bengali food between the Gangulis and other Bengali families. These recurring references to traditional Bengali foods reinforces the idea that migration, cultural background and traditions plays a major role in creating a sense of disconnect ion and eventual belonging. Similarly trains are a key motif within the novel and are first introduced in hapter two when Ashoke recalls his near death experience in a horrific train accident which did physically immobilize him momentarily but eventually acted as source of independence and crucial motive in his want for a better life away from his homeland. The motif of the train is then manifested when Ashima gains independence for the first time when riding it alone, although she is alone Ashima feels a sense of belonging to the American community to which she now belongs to. This event is eventually contrasted to her leaving behind presents she bought for her deceased father on the train.Because of this Ashima now creates a great sense of loss as well as disconnection from her homeland, culture and family. For Gogol the train acts as a setting for which his most important relationships have been established in turn providing him with a sense of belonging. This sense of belonging is then contrasted to the sense of disconnection and hurt he later experiences when he discovers the affair between his wife Moushimi and another man whilst on a train. The key motif of the train within The Namesake can be seen as a symbol for change and advancing.This motif is also used to express how personal experiences and relationships can greatly affect a persons identity and in turn influence their sense of belonging or isolation. The use of juxtaposition throughout the novel The Namesake to contrast each characters sense of belonging. It is also used to emphasise the affect cultural traditions, migration, family and identity have on a persons sense of belonging. The American culture is greatly contrasted to the traditional Bengali culture to which the Gangulis belong to. The two cultures are vastly different in many aspects of life including food, morals and family simply to name a few.The Gangulis diaspora from Calcutta has resulted in their sense of disconnection and isola tion from society as well as from their family back home. Their lifestyle back home within the Bengali culture has been greatly compared to the lifestyle which they now live in America. Juxtaposition has also been used throughout the novel to contrast the different identities in which the characters have. It can be noticed that Ashoke has a rather strong sense of identity as does Sonia, however Ashima can be viewed as a person who is torn between two worlds whilst Gogols dentity is rather confused. From this it can be gather that each characters identity shapes their sense of belonging and this is once again reiterated through the use of juxtaposition. By utilising literary techniques including intertextuality, motifs and juxtaposition Jhumpa Lahiri has successfully addressed issues such as cultural traditions, migration, family and identity while concurrently demonstrating how such issues play a major role on influencing a persons sense of belonging or not belonging.It is palpable to acknowledge the fact that personal experiences, relationships, time and cultural traditions play an important role in shaping a persons personal identity that can in turn influence a persons sense of belonging and in some cases not belonging. By using the previously mentioned literary techniques, Jhumpa Lahiri has effectively represented this idea in her award winning novel The Namesake.