MD. MARUF UL ALAM1
1=Lecturer, Department of English, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali-3814, Bangladesh. E-mail: marufbdctg@gmail.com
*Review paper
ABSTRACT
The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri, is a story of cross-cultural conflicts, inheritance issues and identity crisis. The novel is based on the life of a Bengali family living in America leaving their family and friends behind in India. It deals mainly with the lives of Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli and their son Gogol and daughter Sonia. Throughout the novel, a kind of identity crisis, especially in case of Gogol, is prevalent. He can neither embrace his parents’ Indian tradition nor can cope with American social customs whole-heartedly. He is torn between two different cultures and throughout the novel; we experience his constant struggle for identity and an inner urge to remain loyal to both Indian and American tradition. This paper seeks to examine the nature of the identity crisis resulting from the cross-cultural conflicts and differences felt by the characters in the novel with special reference to Gogol, Moushumi and Ashima.
Keywords: Cross-cultural interactions, Inheritance issues, Identity crisis, Tradition and Diaspora.