Cultural Trauma in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake

Abstract

The novel, The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, a prominent Asian-American writer, digs out cultural trauma and its impact on immigrants in general. This novel galvanizes the idea that trauma of culture can be a tool for bringing imbalance and hullaballoo in life living process of the immigrants in their life. This novel has also shown cultural trauma as the main cause of unsuccessful life of immigrants, and as a result, affects upon life of the characters: Ashima, Ashoke and Gogol Ganguli. Gogol embroils in the turmoil of vague, uncertain and bogus life in new land. Lahiri has proved that cultural trauma is a cause of uncertain and undeveloped life of immigrants in America. Therefore, digestion of new environment, feeling of self-controlled freedom, acculturation and devotion for tentative future in immigrants are the rock- bases to lift up academic, economic and social life of new comers in America. The focus of Lahiri to write this novel The Namesake is to show sense of alienation and dislocation problem due to the cultural trauma on Ashima Ganguli in particular and on Indian immigrants in general. However, failure of proper individual identity of Gogol, no sense of victory in Gogol's life, unfamiliar environment: the cause of unsettled life of Ganguli family, bounded and rigid Bengali tradition of Ashima Ganguli and obedience to it are the roots of counter advancement of life, an experiment of living life in a distinct world are equally shown in the novel. Dha