The Namesake trailer (2007)
Throughout The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, the relationship between Ashima and Ashoke (immigrant parents) and Gogol (an American-born child) is often difficult due to the lack of understanding for one another. Gogol, a child born in America to two immigrants from Bengali, openly embraces the American lifestyle. His parents, however, struggle with assimilating to their new life. This is much due to the fact that they left behind their native land and culture, not necessarily cutting all ties with it. Ashima continues to always wear a sari, yet allows her children to dress how they please, and even fixes them American cuisine on occasion. "At his insistence, she concedes and makes him an American dinner once a week as a treat. . ." (65). Gogol was born in America and does not understand why his parents so desperately hold on to their old lifestyles. "When the family travels to Calcutta, Ashima is excited to spend time with the ones she loves. "'We have no relatives in this country,' Ashima informs the guidance counselor. 'That is why we are going to India in the first place'" (79). However, this same trip does not excite Gogol the way it does his mother: "Gogol and Sonia know these people, but they do not feel close to them as their parents do" (81). Where his parents feel loved and at home, Gogol feels out of place. There will always be a bit of difficulty in the relationships between immigrant parents and American-born children, but it is nothing more than love and an open mind that ultimately allows each to understand one another.
Check out this video on the culture gap between American-born children
and their immigrant parents. The speaker makes known that immigrant parents cannot expect their children to live and behave as they did in their native land because they are in fact, not part of that culture but are part of the American culture. The relationship between immigrant parents and their American-born children often becomes distant and difficult when children begin to grow and want to explore the world on their own. Family traditions and culture become lost because the children are not raised in that atmosphere. As the speaker says, it is not the child's fault that their parents moved to America. It can not be expected for them to continue traditions they do not know.
