Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake Through the Lens of Diaspora Literature
Amirmohammad Mohammadi
Amirmohammad Mohammadi, Faculty of Foreign Languages, Islamic Azad University, North Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran.
Manuscript received on 23 August 2024 | Revised Manuscript received on 31 August 2024 | Manuscript Accepted on 15 September 2024 | Manuscript published on 30 September 2024 | PP: 40-48 | Volume-11 Issue-1, September 2024 | Retrieval Number: 100.1/ijmh.B1528109222 | DOI: 10.35940/ijmh.B1528.11010924
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: Abundant papers have been written on Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake, endeavoring to elaborate on alienation, ecologic overtones, cross-cultural conflict, feminism, existentialism, and identity crisis, to name a few. However, navigating through a labyrinth of complexities, this study, in addition to cultivating the results found hitherto, aims to crack the case of two acculturation strategies opted by Gogol, namely assimilation and integration. To further the point, this qualitative research, conducted through a close reading approach, will reveal Gogol’s shift in strategy from assimilation to integration. In the second place, the lights are to be shed on the remarkable traces of re-orientalization in the selected work, especially during the arrival of Gogol in Maxine’s house, where binary opposition, i.e., the Occidental Culture/ Oriental Culture, will be visible. Furthermore, this paper sets out to lay bare Moushumi as a foil character for Ashima, who, unlike Ashima’s vigorous allegiance to her husband, Bengali roots, and Patriarchal norms, is a Byronic-like character with intelligence, selfishness, refractoriness, complacency, and a penchant for infringing patriarchal rules. Last but not least, this study aims to gain a deeper understanding of the kernels of this diasporic novel, including alienation, uprootedness, nostalgia, and the search for genuine identity.
Keywords: Alienation, Nostalgia, Uprootedness, Identity, Double-consciousness, Re-orientalization, Hybridity, Third Space, Integration, Acculturation, Assimilation
Scope of the Article: Language