The Namesake, written by Jhumpa Lahiri, is a novel about an Indian family who has just moved to the United States. The novel shows two generations of Gangulis and their struggles with the move. In the first generations there are Ashoke and Ashima, both born in India. They deal with excretions during the move as they are new to the country. The second generation is Gogol and Sonia, the children of Ashoke and Ashima. Although they were born in the United States, they also face some stress. However, Gogol's character struggles the most throughout the novel, not intellectually, but socially and emotionally. He never manages to make peace with his identity and goes through many difficulties, which lead him to mature too quickly. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Gogol, although born in America has always been confused with his identity. If he doesn't know what culture to follow, what his name is, he can't understand it. It starts with the name Gogol, which is his nickname. When he starts school, his parents try to make him change his name to Nikhil, but he refuses. “He is afraid of being Nikhil, someone he doesn't know. Those who don't know him [...] It's part of growing up, they tell him, of being Bengali." (Lahiri 19). When he starts school, the uniqueness of his name embarrasses him and he stops liking it, not knowing its meaning. So when he started college, he legally changed his name to Nikhil. This shows maturation and shows how it is an attempt to find his new self in college. He begins to think that changing his name is like becoming another person. So as his life goes on, it's like he's a different person in different situations. In college, when he is with Ruth, after college, with Maxine, with Moushimi and with his family, he is different from both of them. His constant name change causes him to have an identity struggle. But his name isn't the only thing he struggles with. His choice of culture is also something Gogol has to deal with. His parents at home try to pass on his Bengali culture to him, however Gogol is decidedly more Americanized from the start. He struggles incessantly to find his identity, while also trying to adapt to the expectations of his family and those of American society. He's in a constant struggle trying to stay true to both worlds.