Is It Too Late?

So as we keep reading The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, we found out the Gogol s father Ashoke died. Gogol who has been practically neglecting his family for a while now, comes home. I guess it takes a death in the family for Gogol to finally visit. I believe Gogol feels bad for never visiting his family now that his father is gone. I don't think he realized how important he was to him until he was gone. Gogol at one point is reliving some of his past memories with his father. "Over the rise and the fall of the wind, he could hear his fathers laughter. He was standing there, waiting for Gogol to catch up, putting out a hand as Gogol drew near."Try to remember it always," he said once Gogol had reached him, leading him slowly back across the breakwater, to where his mother and Sonia stood waiting. "Remember that you and I made this journey, that we went together to a place where there was nowhere left to go."" (Lahiri 187). Ashoke has always been there for Gogol and always loved him. Gogol just could never see that because he was to busy being mad at him for his name and the traditions his family lives by. Gogol probably wants to make up for lost time but he knows its too late. I believe the reason he calls up Moushumi Mazoomdar is because she is Bengali and he knows that his father would have liked that.

Whats Wrong with Gogol?

As I keep reading the The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, I learn that Gogol seriously hates his name. He questions why his parents would name him something so odd. "I don't get it. How come you guys name me after someone so strange? No one takes me seriously," (Lahiri 100). But the only person who didn't take the name Gogol, seriously, was himself. So Gogol decides to change his name because, well, he can. Even his father gives him permission and tells him,"In America anything is possible. Do as you wish."(100). Now Gogol is no longer Gogol. We can now refer to him as Nikhil. Later we read that Nikhil's father, Ashoke finally tells Nikhil about the story behind Gogol. "He tells Gogol the story of the train he'd ridden twenty-eight years ago, in October 1961, on his way to visit his grandfather in Jamshedpur. He tells him about the night that had nearly taken his life, and the book that had saved him, and about the year afterward, when he'd been unable to move."(123). So Gogol finds out that he wasn't just named after an Author, but an Author of a book that had saved his fathers life. Still confused and mad about the whole situation Gogol asks his father if he reminds him of that life. Ashoke replies," Not at all [...] You remind me of everything that followed. AW, well wasn't that sweet, Ashoke. I'm sure that Gogol is feeling pretty bad about changing his name now.

The Namesake: Ashoke

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri is a novel about a husband and wife who have just recently moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1968. At the start of the novel Ashima is going into labor with her husband, Ashokes child. In the first chapter we learn bits and pieces from Ashima and Ashokes past. A few years later Ashoke had been in a train accident where he almost died. A few hours before the accident, Ashoke met a man named Ghosh, who he had shared a compartment with on the train. Ghosh said to Ashoke "Do yourself a favor, before it's to late, without thinking to much about it first, pack a pillow and a blanket and see as much of the world as you can. You will not regret it. One day it will be too late" (Jhumpa 16).  After this the train crashes and Ashoke has a near death incident. You would think after this he would do what ever he could to see as much of the world. But he does the exact opposite. There is something holding him back from taking Ghoshs advice. I hope to find out more about Ashoke in the following chapters and finding out the reason he does the exact opposite of what Ghoshs says to do.