Fluctuation of Immigrants’ Life in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake

Abstract

Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel,The Namesake,moves almost all about fluctuation of immigrants’ life during their lifetime in an alien land, America. Lahiri pours her diasporic feelings in the novel through different characters to dig out actual situation of fluctuation and its impact on immigrants in general. She shows how the life of immigrants is uncertain and full of ups and downs due to the effect of new culture and new environment.This novel also galvanizes the idea that trauma of culture can be a tool for bringing fluctuation in the living process of the immigrants in a new place. This novel has vividly shown that diaspora and Post-colonialism (shift in new culture) are the main cause of unsuccessful life of immigrants, and as a result, affects thelife of the characters: Ashima, Ashoke and Gogol Ganguli. Ashima is often palpitating and Gogol embroils in the turmoil of vague, uncertain and bogus life in the new land. Likewise,Sonu’s marriage is not a happy marriage as it was thought. Lahiri has proved that the shift in the new environment is the main cause of uncertain and undeveloped life of immigrants in America. The focus of Lahiri to write this novel The Name sake is to show the fluctuation of Ganguli family in particular and of Indian immigrants in general by bringing representative characters like Ashima, Ashoke and Gogol Ganguli.