Feeling of Alienation in 'The Namesake'

Jhumpa Lahiri's 'The Namesake' is a story of Indian immigrants in the United States the effect the immigration has on their offsprings. There is a feeling of alienation, a feeling of being lonely in the crowd all through the novel. Only once does Ashima Ganguli, Gogol mother, feel attached to America because of the memories of her husband after his death. She doesn't want that the house should be altered after it is sold to someone else. Her husband had made his living in this country.
The situation of Gogol is no better. He is a child who is born to Indian parents but is brought up in America. He is neither able to become an American at heart nor remains an Indian. He does not fully belong to anywhere. He is a 'nowhere man'.He tries to break away from the Indian traditions followed by his family. Once he had resented the trips made of Calcutta but finally he comes to wonder 'how his parents had done it ...All those trips...how could they have been enough?' This was the realization that dawned upon him after he lost his father.

Child Psychology in 'The Namesake'

Jhumpa Lahiri, the celebrated author of 'The Interpretor of Maladies'(a collection of short stories) also penned down the Pulitzer Prize winner 'The Namesake'. The theme of cultural alienation dominates the whole novel. But what I am going to discuss here is the psychological insights provided into the working of a child's mind by the author. When Gogol, the main character of the novel, is young he responds only to that name. Even in school he refuses to accept 'Nikhil' as his school name. He doesn't respond when he's called Nikhil. It is but natural for a child to do so. Nikhil is not known to him. He only knows Gogol.
But he grows conscious about his name later on till a time comes when he finally declares he hates the name 'Gogol' and formally changes it to 'Nikhil'. But for the whole of his life he is unable to detach himself from his former name. The name 'Gogol' keeps propping up at different times.
Again after his father's death he feels guilty about the change in his name, now that he knows the background of his name.
The tale of the names reminds us of Shakespeare's saying "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." But here we see what difference a name can make. Of course, as a person he will remain the same called by any name. Nevertheless, names have a psychological impact too over the personality of a person.

"In real life, unlike in Shakespeare, the sweetness of the rose depends upon the name it bears. Things are not only what they are. They are, in very important respects, what they seem to be."
-- Hubert H. Humphrey (38th Vice President of United States).