The Namesake Compare and Contrast Essay
In the novel and the film adaptation of The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri, both Lahiri and Mira Nair connote cultural dissonance between the the parent-culture and the youth-culture of children of immigrants. Ashima and Ashoke Ganguli, two Indian immigrants, give birth to their son Gogol in the United States, who consequently feels the burden of having to uphold both the expectations of American culture and of Bengali culture. Especially in his rebellious teenage years, Gogol grows to resent the values his parents’ culture expects him to uphold, specifically regarding respect towards elders and towards tradition. Gogol struggle to find a balance in his dual-heritage, but, as Lahiri suggests, he doesn’t fully understand identity until he undergoes personal growth in his acceptance of the inevitable coexistence of his American and his Bengali Heritage. Both versions of the Gangulis’ story outline Gogol’s retaliation against the Bengali part of his identity and recreate the persistent tension Gogol feels between attitudes towards elders in American life and in Bengali culture.
It is clear that Bengali culture is deeply rooted in tradition. Far more-so than the American culture that Gogol grew accustomed to in school, Bengalis are expected to carry out and uphold the values of those who came before them; this expectation instills a sense of respect for elders in their cultural community, especially for family members. This respect is evident in many part of Bengali culture, but most relevantly, in family naming rights; after giving birth to Gogol, Ashima and Ashoke do not have a name picked out for him, that decision is saved for Ashima’s grandmother, their son’s great grandmother. By giving the power in naming their child to an elder in their family, the Gangulis would be immediately linking their child to the traditions of the Bengalis who are most experienced in life, honoring the respect they feel for these family members. When the letter from Calcutta does not arrive because of Ashima’s grandmother’s decaying health, it is clear that Ashoke is pained to pick a name for their child - to dishonor the values that they have held so closely their whole lives. Ashoke and Ashima clearly find it difficult to be so separated from the source of their culture, which influences them to hold onto the values that are within their control much tighter.
This compensation is clear on Gogol’s fourteenth birthday in Lahiri’s novel. On this day of celebration, “close to forty guests come from three different states,” to gather at his parents modestly-sized Pemberton Road house; none of these guests, however, are his friends from school (72). In comparing this celebration, the Bengali one, to the “tame” affair with his friends the day before, Lahiri parallels the two events. While the ‘American’ birthday party is paired with “pizzas that [Ashoke] picked up on his way home from work,” she details the food Ashima prepared days in advance for the Bengali celebration using three lines describing Gogol’s ‘favorite’ traditional dishes (72). Lahiri’s listing of the Bengali food prepared for the party is marked with a disinterested tone. The use of a list to describe the foods that, once again, Ashima is preparing “as usual,” parallels the disdain Gogol feels for the Bengali celebration (72). As a fourteen year-old boy, Gogol isn’t interested in reminiscing about Calcutta and life before America, a life he hasn’t been exposed to, let alone anything his parents want of him. In keeping with the typical American-teenage attitude, Gogol is resistant to participate in what he feels is yet another excuse for his parents to bring Bengali culture back into their home and entertain “their crowd,” not his crowd (73). Lahiri’s use of synecdoche here marks the generalizations Gogol makes about Bengali culture; all he had ever known of Bengalis was his parents “crowd,” so he associates all of their actions with other Indian-immigrant parents in the United States. The uniformity of their parties, their beliefs, and their actions bored Gogol, further settling in his resentment of Bengali culture.
The direction of the film further explores the children’s resistance to the importance of respect toward elders in Bengali culture. Nair films the scene in the Gangulis’ warmly-lit, small living room; positioning only one or two characters within the narrow frame at a time, she creates an intimate feeling, as if each audience is another guest at Ashoke’s and Ashima’s home. While in American culture parties are valued for their activities - watching baseball games, playing pool in the den - Nair’s direction of this Bengali gathering makes it clear that the people in the room are what matter, the true value lying in spending time with one another. In the scene, however, Gogol’s, Sonia’s, and Moushumi’s body language interrupts the intimacy Nair creates in her bosom positioning of characters within the frame. Dressed in a dark-purple American dress, Sonia walks into the frame as the scene opens and looks up at Gogol as he walks in with a roll of her eyes. As Gogol walks in with a messily-fitted blue button down and long, shaggy hair, it is clear that neither of the Ganguli children have any interest in reciprocating that excitement their older ‘family members’ have in spending time with other Bengalis. After asking where he was going to study at university, Gogol’s Mashi suggests, “have as much fun as you want, but remember…” Without a moment of hesitation, as if he had heard this same piece of advice hundreds of times before Gogol, with a smile and a roll of his eyes, speaks over her, “marry a Bengali.” Gogol’s parents and his parents’ friends expect their children to marry other Bengali children and carry on the values and traditions of their culture; their children, however, have different plans. Kal Penn, the actor who portrayed Gogol, repeats this command alongside his Mashi in a mocking way. As an American teenager, marriage isn’t really a concern for Gogol, but it is very important in their culture that Bengali children be able to carry on the traditions that were established hundreds of years before them. Although he may not be immediately concerned with the notion of marriage, his patronization of his elders’ beliefs shows a deep disrespect that is not characteristic of a Bengali - something that would be more expected of a typical American teenager.
The Namesake is an examination of the nuances of life between two distinct cultures and how identity can be found by accepting and understanding both cultures. This bildungsroman follows Gogol Ganguli as he works his way towards becoming a “master of both worlds,” a master of American and Bengali culture. The central opposition to this path of mastery, or self-acceptance, is the contrasting values between the two cultures, specifically the attitude towards elders. Although Lahiri relies on listing and synecdoche to reinforce the dissonance in this value and Nair utilizes the positioning of objects within the frame and body language, both creative works depict Gogol in a state before accepting and understanding both of his cultures, a state before he truly understood who he was.
Works Cited
Lahiri, Jhumpa. The Namesake. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003. 72-73. Print.
The Namesake. Dir. Mira Nair. Prod. Mira Nair and Lydia Dean Pilcher. By Sooni Taraporevala.
Perf. Kal Penn, Tabu, and Irrfan Khan. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2007.
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