Throughout most of the text up to this point, something about Gogol has really irritated me. Ever since his childhood, he has put a ridiculous emphasis on his name. This seemed understandable, up until his name change, where my opinion of him drastically changed. When he took on the name Nikhil, he turned into a totally different person; "It is as Nikhil, that first semester, that he grows a goatee, starts smoking Camel Lights at parties and while writing papers and before exams" (105). Up until this point, I saw Gogol as an unhappy, self conscious, pitiable individual. But this greatly adjusted my perspective. I understand that everyone changes in their lives; as individuals on the verge of adulthood, I can totally empathize with Gogol's confusion, indecision, and need to experiment to find out more about himself, but he continually takes this idea to the extreme, and it makes me look at him as extremely immature and irrational. When I look back on my own life, I see thousands of situations I would handle differently today. But i do not use this as an excuse to abandon my past. I think, before the end of the novel, Gogol needs to seriously begin to understand how to learn from his mistakes and his past. He seems to shun the obedient way he used to act around his parents, which I can empathize with, but I despise how he refuses to take this lesson and apply it. Rather, he creates a foiled alter-ego. Neither of these personas represent the true Gogol, and I hope that by the end of the book he develops the ability to learn from the past.
Brooke, I completely agree with you. I think that when Gogol changes his name to Nikhil isn't to change his future, but to hide from his past connections with his parents, who fail to embrace the American way of life. Nikhil is Gogol's alternate personality where he is able to experiment with American culture without the feeling of betraying his parents. I also agree with you that both Gogol and Nikhil don't represent his true personality because they are so opposite. Gogol's true personality I feel exists between these two versions of himself, and this also makes me wonder if his true character will be revealed by the end of the novel.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree that Gogol acts immaturely, I find it very difficult to fault him, at least during his youth. I feel that the combination of his unusual name and the isolation he must endure as a result of his culture account for most of his lack of judgment. Anyone would say that moving from one location to another within Ohio and changing high schools would present a lot of difficulties. I cannot even imagine the adversity that would accompany a move between countries. Granted, Gogol himself does not make this move, but his parents do. Their lack of cultural assimilation forces Gogol to grow up essentially as an Indian boy that happens to live in an American world. This would make anyone bitter and childish.
ReplyDelete