The Namesake Characters & Character Analysis

The Namesake Characters

Nikhil 'Gogol' Ganguli

Nikhil is the son of Ashima and Ashoke Ganguli. Nikhil is a second-generation immigrant from India. Nikhil's parents are very traditional, continuing to live in America how they would have lived in India with a few adjustments. Nikhil grew up with the name Gogol, which was intended only to be a nickname, or pet name, until a good, proper name could be obtained from his great-grandmother. However, the letter with Gogol's good name in it became lost somewhere between India and America and the great-grandmother became incapacitated before anyone could ask for a new letter. This left Gogol without a good name the first five years of his life, which is not unusual in the Indian tradition. However, when Ashoke registered Gogol in school and insisted the school officials call him Nikhil, the principal refused to enforce this wish because Gogol did not want to answer to a strange new...
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