"The Namesake" but Jhumpa Lahiri

"The Namesake" tells the story of a boy's life and his struggle with his name and Bengali culture. "The Namesake" is also the story of a mother and her struggle with adapting to American culture. Although in class there was some disagreement over whether the story was about just Gogol or Ashima or both, I believe that the story is about both. Gogol and Ashima are very different characters going through very similar things. "The Namesake" contrasts between both characters' struggle with their culture. Gogol, who is American born, struggles to accept and be proud of his Bengali heritage. He is ashamed and embarrassed by it. He is most of all ashamed of his name. Ashima, however, is Indian born and has a very hard time adapting to American culture. I do not think that she every fully accepts American culture for what it is. She is constantly ashamed of how her children act (even though she loves them very much). Ashima does not like that Americans are less family oriented. Gogol does not like the fact that Bengali's are so extremely family oriented. However, we see both characters go through significant changes, especially when Ashoke passes away. This is the point when Gogol realizes that he must embrace his Bengali roots, even if it is just in memory of his father. For Ashima, this is when she truly accepts her children for who they are and realizes that she can be okay on her own. I think that "The Namesake" sends a powerful message that you should always be accepting, no matter how hard it might be.