Gogol Dialectical Journal

“Do I remind you of that night?” “Not at all,” his father says eventually, one hand going in his ribs, a habitual gesture that has baffled Gogol until now. “You remind me of everything that followed.”

Chapter 5, page 124.

This quote occurs when Gogol is questioning why he was given his name. His father chose his name because of the stories and writings of Nikolai Gogol, it was because of a train accident that occurred before Gogol was born. The author showed Ashoke the new life he put into his son, so the memory of the crash became a memory that is not as sad as before, it now has a “light at the end of the tunnel” because of Gogol.

2. “There’s no such thing as a perfect name. I think that human beings should be allowed to name themselves when they turn eighteen,” he adds. “Until then, pronouns.”

Chapter 9, page 245.

Until they are old enough to change it, they should be only called by pronouns. A name is a very large part of everyone, some people love the name they are given and others would change it when given the chance to do so. Throughout the book Gogol struggles on his own name, in his younger years he prefered Gogol but as he grew he prefered Nikhil.

3. “Relax,” Edith says. “The perfect name will come” Chapter 9, page 244.

This leads up to what Gogol will say about a perfect name. The book has a common theme of names, hence the book being called “The Namesake”. On different occurrences of names being brought up, Gogol/Nikhil has different approaches to each. Although his approach changes, this time seems to have stuck out the most to me. The importance of a name, is like the importance of big moments through your life. A name is what makes you yourself, how people remember you and what makes you special and unique.

4. “In America anything is possible. Do as you wish.”

Chapter 5, page