"The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri is a novel that blends the diversity and complexity of Bengali culture to the seemingly clashing American lifestyle. Gogol's father, Ashoke, is not the main protagonist of the novel, but he is certainly a significant part of it. Other than the obvious fact that he named his son Gogol, Ashoke's role is the catalyst for the motif of trains, the dynamic relationships and attitudes of immigrants from India to America and an insight into Gogol's attitude towards family and relationships because of Ashoke's death.
Though he starts off as just another immigrant coming to the United States, the scattered fragments of information revealed about him indicate a person of high importance, as he indirectly shaped many parts of the novel. Events from his life have greater meaning than just face value, like his marriage, the train accident and the final journey he made before he passed away.
Ashoke's train accident is quickly introduced to establish who he is and what he has been through even before Gogol was born. Ashoke was visiting his grandfather in Jamshedpur when he encountered a man named Ghosh. The short discussion between them (merely hours before the accident and Ghosh’s subsequent death) is the one that convinces Ashoke to pursue foreign aspirations. In pivotal moments of his life, Ashoke often recalls Ghosh saying it was his “greatest regret” coming back to India from the West. Initially, Ashoke wasn’t interested in heeding Ghosh’s advice; he just wanted to read “The Overcoat” in peace. The train accident and the recovery after the train accident are what push Ashoke into following through with his desires. The importance of that conversation happening on the very train that has the accident is abundant.
Ashoke’s survival and his desire to explore the world come hand-in-hand, as those events were paired together almost at the exact same time: the aftermath of the train accident. This first train incident was the catalyst of a motif of trains in the novel. Gogol embarks on many train rides in his life — some with Ashoke and some with without. There was a man murdered on the train that they took through Bihar, and someone killed themselves by jumping in front of the train Gogol was riding. Both these events made Ashoke deeply concerned because they are vaguely reminiscent of his past trauma.
Ashoke’s marriage to Ashima was the next significant event, and it casts a light on Indian culture as a whole, particularly the more traditional and orthodox practices. The fact that Ashoke traveled and lived in the United States but still returned back to India to partake in an engaged marriage indicates his deeply traditional values. In fact, Ashima learns Ashoke’s name after they are engaged to be married. Though Ashoke has assimilated to the United States, he has not lost his Indian heritage. This provides for a sometimes-clashing dynamic between him and Gogol, but more importantly, the Indian and American culture, respectively. His calm demeanor directly contrasts Gogol’s who is more impulsive and represents parts of the American culture that sometimes do not mesh well with Indian culture. Ashoke’s attitude is inherently significant because it establishes the values of an Indian immigrant and small details about him show how different he is from the typical American. For example, he and Ashima rarely show affection, and this small detail bothers Gogol when he sees how differently American parents interact, like Maxine’s parents.
Ashoke’s death is sudden but meaningful in regards to how fundamentally Gogol’s attitude changes about relationships, maturity and the importance of his Bengali culture. A prominent sense of evidence for this is when Gogol shaves his head after his father passes away. He says he now understands the significance of doing so, as opposed to when he was younger and simply “giggled” when he saw his father’s bald head (a ritual done by a son when his father dies). Another important change was the fact that Gogol did not want to “get away” from his family anymore — refusing even when Maxine requests him to keep their New Year’s plan intact. When Maxine wants to go to Kolkata with Gogol to scatter his father’s ashes, he flatly refuses. This indicates a shift in Gogol’s attitude towards his family and shows a growth of protectiveness over his culture. This is exemplified when he tells Maxine that scattering Ashoke’s ashes is a “family” thing.
Though Ashoke’s death is an inherent separation from him and his family, it is also a merge of Gogol and his Bengali culture and customs. His prioritization of his family over Maxine (even after she tells him that she is “jealous” of his mother and Sonia) holds a greater meaning: if given a choice, he will prioritize his own culture rather than American culture, and this is all because of Ashoke’s death.
In the beginning of the novel, Ashoke stated that he was “born three times”— once in India, once after the crash and once when coming to America. Similarly, his character and the use of his character established major details of the novel and were often reinvented or utilized in different ways. Ashoke was a representation of people actively seeking out better lives for themselves and their families, but he was also a representation of diversity in America within immigrant families (shown by how different he is from Gogol). Ashoke’s role in "The Namesake" is unifying and provides contrast within many places: in India as someone who moved out, in America as an immigrant and as a father to Gogol.
