Get access to all 5 pages and additional benefits: Course Hero is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university. Because of this, his desire to pursue an, American lifestyle is questioned. Gogol himself, an adherent of the Slavophile movement, believed in a divinely inspired mission for both the House of Romanov and the Russian Orthodox Church. Hed confessed to her that he still felt guilty at times for changing his name, more so now that his father was dead. 1703 Words. She is the keeper of all these names and numbers now, numbers she once knew by heart, numbers and addresses her children no longer remember. Shed been thirteen or so, doing her homework on her bed. After his father's death, Gogol gradually returns to his Indian traditions, takes care of his mother and sister, abandons the life he could have with Maxine, then marries a Bengali woman. As a result, Gogol seeks out other connections with, women that symbolize more of an American way of life. It is within this frame of reference that Gogol constructs who he is in the world. Exaggerated ascetic practices undermined his health and he fell into a state of deep depression. The three women he had a relationship with were Ruth, Maxine Ratliff, and Moushumi Mazoomdar. Dostoevsky appears to have had such a reading of the story in mind when he wrote. The principle of these are: the tradition of the Ukrainian folk and, "The structure of the stories themselves seemed especially unskilful and clumsy to me; in one story I noted excess and verbosity, and an absence of simplicity in the style". Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan! The wife of the protagonist is a linguist studying Nikolai Gogol. The most of Gogol's life, he removes himself from both of his parents. Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. The relationship between Moushumi and Gogol is driven by Moushumi's desire which is greater even than Gogol's own, to confirm to a certain image of a modern American. It will make sense to you one day," and Nikhil aims to learn why. Gogols decision to become Nikhil occurs before he knows his fathers story in detail. A sequel entitled Gogol: Viy was released in April 2018 and the third film Gogol: Terrible Revenge debuted in August 2018. And yet the familiarity that had once drawn her to him has begun to keep her at bay. The stories adapted were "The Two Ivans", "The Overcoat", "Ivan Fyodorovich Shponka and His Aunt", "The Nose", "The Mysterious Portrait" and "Diary of a Madman". : , , , , . The leading novelists of the period notably Yevgeny Zamyatin and Mikhail Bulgakov also admired Gogol and followed in his footsteps. His grave was marked by a large stone (Golgotha), topped by a Russian Orthodox cross. At times throughout his life, he resists certain aspects of his parents' culture. It took enormous efforts to save Andreyev's original work from destruction; as of 2014[update] it stands in front of the house where Gogol died. And Lahiri is careful, too, to give these female characters emotional three-dimensionality of their own. She tries to hide this from, unable at first to find it in the mess of books shared by her and, telling herself she is reconnecting with an old friend, but keeping it a secret from. He first dates Ruth while he is in college. [40] Nevertheless, subsequent generations of radical critics celebrated Gogol (the author in whose world a nose roams the streets of the Russian capital) as a great realist, a reputation decried by the Encyclopdia Britannica as "the triumph of Gogolesque irony". After years of clandestine relationships, it felt refreshing to court in a fishbowl, to have the support of her parents from the very start, the inevitability of an unquestioned future, of marriage, drawing them along. Gogol and Moushumi's relationship moves quickly. hands in their two U.S. passports and two American ones, asking for two Hindu meals. Gogol tells the hospital to send his father's ashes home, and is shown the bed where he died. The novel Taras Bulba (1835), the play Marriage (1842), and the short stories "The Tale of How Ivan Ivanovich Quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich", "The Portrait" and "The Carriage", are also among his best-known works. January 17, 2023, SNPLUSROCKS20 Lake In the short story "Once More to the Lake," author E.B. Still, he wonders how hes arrived at all this His time with her seems like a permanent part of him that no longer has any relevance, or currency. Amelia Glaser. As she becomes more responsive, Monu and Mithupass away. Ruth was Gogol's first real girlfriend who he went to . As they both unwind in their hotel room afterward, craving Indian food they trek out to Jackson Diner in Queens. He has two serious relationships with non-Bengali womenthe first in college, the second after finishing a master's degree at Columbia University in New York City. He comes to hate the name Gogol, embarrassed by its unique oddity. As soon as Ashoke dies, Gogol begins to remember all of the happy memories that he had shared with his father. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. Gogol had proposed to her by presenting her with the expensive hat that she had tried on during their first date. The magazines he sent it to almost universally derided it. Gogol the child is the happy outcome of a terrible event in Ashoke's younger days. He cannot imagine his parents sitting at Lydia and Geralds table, enjoying Lydias cooking, appreciating Geralds selection of wine. (one code per order). Gogol's father, Ashoke Ganguli, is the secondary character in which his acts play a very important role to this work, impacting Gogol's everyday life. The stone was later reused for the tomb of Gogol's admirer Mikhail Bulgakov. He decides that it is her very familiarity that makes him curious about her, and as he begins to walk west, to the subway, he wonders when he might see her again. Gogol was in a few different relationships over the course of Namesake. Like Gogol, Moushumi is Bengali-American. In the book The Namesake, Gogol was named after a Russian author, Nikolai Gogol. It is his father's unexpected and unfortunate death that brings him close to the family. He cannot imagine them contributing to one of their dinner party conversations. At his fourteenth birthday party, Gogol meets Moushumi, a Bengali British girl near his own age whose family has just moved to Boston from England. Latest answer posted March 06, 2009 at 6:23:32 AM. Nikhil/Gogol Ganguli Timeline in The Namesake The sudden death of Ashima's husband and Gogol and Sonia's father, Ashoke Ganguli, is a drastic turning point in their life. Gogol concludes his feelings about . His father questions his motivations by asking who did not take his son seriously due to his name alone. After resisting his parents' company for so long in favor of Maxine and her parents, Gogol now finds himself lingering in his father's empty apartment in Cleveland, spending weeks with his mother and sister in the house on Pemberton Road. Latest answer posted December 30, 2017 at 5:56:17 PM. In 2009, the National Bank of Ukraine issued a commemorative coin dedicated to Gogol. Gogol's parents, Ashima and Ashoke, immigrated to the Boston area from Calcutta, India, in the 1960s. In this lesson, you will read about Gogol, the protagonist from Jhumpa Lahiri's ''The Namesake.'' movies when the Apu trilogy is playing, or to a Kathakali dance or sitar performance. Gogol and Moushumi resemble each other in many ways. The Gogol Family The movie's focal point was on an Indian immigrant couple coming from Calcutta to the United States after an arranged marriage. Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol[a] (1 April[O.S. He does not have an interest in it because he has never been inspired to read Gogol. for a customized plan. During this time, he also developed a close and lifelong friendship with the historian and naturalist Mykhaylo Maksymovych.[22]. The name Gogol was the emblem of his father which Gogol didn't realize at first. If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. It stunned Gogol when critics interpreted The Government Inspector as an indictment of tsarism despite Nicholas I's patronage of the play. Later, Gogol's father dies, and the unexpected happens. Growing up in a suburban town in Massachusetts, with intermittent, long trips to Calcutta, Gogol quickly becomes conscious of the difference between his parents' culture and the world in which he lives. She asks. As a result he starts to reconnect with his family, something that is causing him to question his lifestyle. It provides no solace at all. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. nicknameSoniawhich gives her links to Europe, Russia, and South America. Like Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Gogol sharply disagreed with those Russians who preached constitutional monarchy and the disestablishment of the Orthodox Church. Ashoke is a private character, but an emotional one; a man of feelings who nevertheless did not share those feelings directly with his own family members. Apart from the permanent absence of his father, is the additional absence of Maxine. Part of the problem is that the people who now know him as Nikhil have no idea that he used to be Gogol. Gogolslife in New York, in turn, leads to his third set of transformationswithin romantic relationships. Based on this work, Vladimir Nabokov published a summary account of Gogol's masterpieces.[42]. Each woman, in turn, marks a stage in Gogols development. Gogol's decision to become Nikhil occurs before he knows his father's story in detail. Ashoke and Ashima's relationship doesn't show their affection for each other. [32], D. S. Mirsky characterizes Gogol's universe as "one of the most marvellous, unexpected in the strictest sense, original[33] worlds ever created by an artist of words". When Ashoke was younger, he had been in a terrible train accident. Very early he developed a dark and secretive disposition, marked by a painful self-consciousness and boundless ambition. | Certified Educator Gogol, as a child who was born and brought up in America, thinks that the arranged marriage . Maxine and Gogol's relationship becomes distressed as a result of Gogol suffering from remorse of being so wrapped up in his own affairs that he never fully valued the important things his father had to offer. Although he recognized "several young writers" who "have shown a particular desire to observe real life", he upbraided the deficient composition and style of their works. "[38] He explained this as a mistake, a practical joke played on him by the Devil. He later starts to date his future wife, Moushumi. Let us know your assignment type and we'll make sure to get you exactly the kind of answer you need. The idea of returning year after year to a single place appeals to Gogol deeply. Equally early he developed a talent for mimicry, which later made him a matchless reader of his own works and induced him to toy with the idea of becoming an actor. Amelia Glaser has noted the influence of Gogol's literary innovations on Sholem Aleichem, who, "chose to model much of his writing, and even his appearance, on Gogol What Sholem Aleichem was borrowing from Gogol was a rural East European landscape that may have been dangerous, but could unite readers through the power of collective memory. Gogol makes with his classmates. (including. Out for drinks with his classmates one night, new name, and the fact that she was taught as a child to call him, leave, and then, spontaneously, to have dinner. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. The closest intimacy they share before their wedding is when Ashima steps briefly, secretly, into Ashoke's shoes. Gogol focuses his major creative occupation on the manners of his characters; his creative energy is nowhere more apparent than in the "mannerizing" in which he describes and characterizes. "Try to remember it always," he said once Gogol reached him, leading him slowly back across the breakwater, to where his mother and Sonia stood waiting. Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more! [12] His early works, such as Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka, were influenced by his Ukrainian upbringing, Ukrainian culture and folklore. Want 100 or more? They had both sought comfort in each other, in their shared world, perhaps for the sake of novelty, or out of fear that that world was slowly dying. My father named me Gogol after the Russian author Nikolai Gogol because he was reading one of Gogol's books when he was almost killed in a train crash. At times he feels as if hes cast himself in a play, acting the part of twins, indistinguishable to the naked eye yet fundamentally different. His relationship with Maxine was strong because he was very close with her and her family. . The Ratliffs own the moon that floats over the lake, and the sun and the clouds. What are some literary techniques used in The Namesake? LitCharts Teacher Editions. He met his future wife during the student protests of 1990 in favor of Ukraine's independence. The name Gogol was an important one to Ashoke, who adored Nikolai Gogols work. Gogol was one of the first to use the technique of the grotesque, in works such as "The Nose", "Viy", "The Overcoat", and "Nevsky Prospekt". In the 1920s a group of Russian short-story writers, known as the Serapion Brothers, placed Gogol among their precursors and consciously sought to imitate his techniques. You cant do that, shed told him then, shaking her head, and when hed asked her why not shed simply said, Because you cant. [52][53][54][55] Several commemorative coins have been issued from Russia and the USSR. Ashoke and Ashima don't approve when they finally learn about Ruth, and Gogol suspects they are secretly pleased when she leaves for a semester to study abroad in England. Gogol keeps the relationship a secret from his parents. Wed love to have you back! One of the pioneering works of Russian formalism was Eichenbaum's reappraisal of "The Overcoat". In 1834, Gogol was made Professor of Medieval History at the University of St. Petersburg, a job for which he had no qualifications. His father "tells Gogol the story of the train he'd ridden twenty-eight years ago [and] the "book that had saved him". Because he grew up hating his name, he associated his name with his heritage and in turn grew to hate his family's traditions. Anyone could walk in. Gogol then ends his relationship with Maxine and begins to spend more time with his family. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Until theyd met tonight, he had never seen her outside the context of her family, or she his. Early life. In August 1994, Gogol goes with Maxine on a drive up to New Hampshire. Gogols transformation is marked in at least three ways. Inspired by the idea of planning a trip to Italy, kindly on this marriageBen makes Sonia happy in a way that Moushumi never did with. This is mostly due to the feeling that he is caught between his parents' world and his own. Free trial is available to new customers only. White describes his childhood summertime experiences. This is what upsets him most. BBC Radio 4 made a series of six Gogol short stories, entitled Three Ivans, Two Aunts and an Overcoat (2002, adaptations by Jim Poyser) starring Griff Rhys-Jones and Stephen Moore. Latest answer posted September 02, 2012 at 9:16:26 PM. When this relationship sours, Gogol's embrace of his name with the reading of a collection of the writer's work helps to establish that Gogol is more of a centered human being as he has. ashtrays still sealed. Some critics have paid attention to the apparent anti-Semitism in Gogol's writings, as well as in those of his contemporary, Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Gogol, was born, the mishap with family back in India and the reasoning for his name will affect his life forever. This cultural disorientation is actually realized when Moushumi breaks off her relationship with the American Graham. By entering your email address you agree to receive emails from SparkNotes and verify that you are over the age of 13. At the rice ceremony, an infant Gogol experiences an important Indian tradition that predicts his future path in life. Throughout his life, Gogol struggles with his identity. By the end of the book, Gogol is single again and unsure of what his future will hold. However, after the death of Ashoke, Gogol starts to appreciate his family and his background more. He remembers poking his head into Sonias room years ago, telling her about his decision to change his name to Nikhil. For Sonia and, buys packs of six Bic razors, and even removes his wristwatch. Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Nothing is locked, not the main house, or the cabin that he and Maxine sleep in. when he is with maxine, gogol fully integrates himself into maxine's familyliving with her parents, dining the way they dine, befriending the types of people they befriend, and reading what they read. 2011, https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/how-does-gogols-relationship-family-influences-250659. Why do you think their love affair can't survive Gogol's grief? [44] Of all Gogol's stories, "The Nose" has stubbornly defied all abstruse interpretations: D.S. Because youre Gogol.. She passes over two pages filled only with the addresses of her daughter, and then her son. [45] Felix Dreizin and David Guaspari, for example, in their The Russian Soul and the Jew: Essays in Literary Ethnocentrism, discuss "the significance of the Jewish characters and the negative image of the Ukrainian Jewish community in Gogol's novel Taras Bulba, pointing out Gogol's attachment to anti-Jewish prejudices prevalent in Russian and Ukrainian culture. His first serious relationship is with a girl named Ruth. Only a few hours old and already the owner of books. What a difference, he thinks, from the childhood he has known. Ukrainian composer Mykola Lysenko wrote his Christmas Eve ( , with libretto in Ukrainian by Mykhailo Starytsky) in 1872. They start dating, and it's serious. In 1963 an animated version of Gogol's classic surrealist story "The Nose" was made by Alexandre Alexeieff and Claire Parker, using the pinscreen animation technique, for the National Film Board of Canada. In the novel The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri there are many relationships portrayed throughout the story. Outside of Russia, the film loosely served as the inspiration for Mario Bava's film Black Sunday (1960) and the South Korean horror film Evil Spirit: Viy (2008). In 2009, in connection with the bicentennial of Gogol's birth, the bust was moved to the museum at Novodevichy Cemetery, and the original Golgotha stone was returned, along with a copy of the original Orthodox cross. [citation needed] Soon thereafter, he took to bed, refused all food, and died in great pain nine days later. [56] Streets have been named after Gogol in various towns, including Moscow, Sofia, Lipetsk, Odessa, Myrhorod, Krasnodar, Vladimir, Vladivostok, Penza, Petrozavodsk, Riga, Bratislava, Belgrade, Harbin and many other towns and cities. And when Gogol's father suddenly dies, Gogol's relationship with Maxine is strained and quickly ends. The comedy, a violent satire of Russian provincial bureaucracy, was staged thanks only to the intervention of the emperor, Nicholas I. 21 February]1852) was a Russian novelist, short story writer and playwright of Ukrainian origin.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. Gogol attends a panel on Indian novels because his distant cousin Amit is a panelist. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. [18] It was only after the presentation of his comedy The Government Inspector (Revizor) at the Saint Petersburg State Theatre, on 19 April 1836,[24] that he finally came to believe in his literary vocation. What does Gogol's relationship with Maxine and her family illustrate about his relationship with his parents How do pages 125-127 highlight how Gogol avoids "remain[ing] unquestionably" (p. 126 . Before Gogol goes off to college at Yale, he decides to officially change his name from Gogol to Nikhil, this name change represents a maturation as he attempts to find his own identity. Open Document. . Gogol spent the winter of 183637 in Paris,[25] among Russian expatriates and Polish exiles, frequently meeting the Polish poets Adam Mickiewicz and Bohdan Zaleski. His father Vasily Gogol-Yanovsky, who died when Gogol was 15 years old, was supposedly a descendant of Ukrainian Cossacks (see Lyzohub family) and belonged to the 'petty gentry'. He vacations with Maxine's family instead of returning home to visit his own, and embeds himself in their rituals. When Gogol is born, the Gangulis meet other Bengali families with small children, and Ashima finds with the new baby that "perfect strangers, all Americans, suddenly take notice of her, smiling, congratulating her for what she's done." How, for all of us, do children change our place in the community, and what we expect from it? [21] His fictional story Taras Bulba, based on the history of Zaporozhian ossacks, was the result of this phase in his interests. [28], In 1931, Moscow authorities decided to demolish the monastery and had Gogol's remains transferred to the Novodevichy Cemetery. They fall for each other rather quickly, but it becomes obvious that his parents don't fully support his relationship with the ''American''. At this time, Russian editors and critics such as Nikolai Polevoy and Nikolai Nadezhdin saw Gogol as a regional Ukrainian writer, and used his works to illustrate the specific of Ukrainian national characters. notice that the narration seems to be taking on more of Moushumis perspective, referring to, surprised by the instant attraction she felt. So, although he had once promised himself that he would never have a romantic relationship with another Bengali-American, he can't deny the connection he has with Moushumi. First, his name. Happy Friday Scholars, Second week of August, week six of The Namesake and for many of you one more week of summer school.Great work everyone! [20], At this time, Gogol developed a passion for Ukrainian Cossack history and tried to obtain an appointment to the history department at Saint Vladimir Imperial University of Kiev. Gogol's short story "The Portrait" is being made into a feature film The Portrait by fine artists Anastasia Elena Baranoff and Elena Vladimir Baranoff.[59][60][61][62][63][64]. With our Essay Lab, you can create a customized outline within seconds to get started on your essay right away. As he navigates through his life and failed relationships, Gogol constantly finds himself caught between two identities and cultures. rental car into the driveway so that it is not in the way of harm. She begins to comfort, no time to find a good name, they get an express passport with the name, When Ashima does leave the house, it is to wander around the university campus with, crossing the ocean with a single suitcase each. In the Namesake, how can we compare Gogol's two main relationships, Maxine and Moushumi? he misses holidays with his own family to spend them with maxine's family, celebrating according to their traditions instead of his own . Each year his father would rent a camping spot for a whole month and the family would play and go fishing in the lake. She liked that hed changed his name from, unsatisfying, and she feels too sober, her discomfort growing. Gogol is also inspired by the design of the Taj Mahal when the family visits India together, when he is in high school. Gogol himself appeared skeptical about the existence of such a literary movement. After graduating, he dates Maxine, a woman who represents everything that Gogol thinks he wants. The Beginning in August 2017. As if that time were a name hed ceased to use. His principal work during the years following Pushkin's death was the satirical epic Dead Souls. Explain the significance of cultural aspects of identity in The Namesake. More than 135 films[51] have been based on Gogol's work, the most recent being The Girl in the White Coat (2011). He was trapped in the rubble, but was able to signal for help by dropping a page from the book onto the ground, and the movement caught the attention of his rescuer. Gogol's relationships in The Namesake A namesake is someone or something that has the same name as another person or thing. Nikolai Gogol. While visiting the capitals, he stayed with friends such as Mikhail Pogodin and Sergey Aksakov. But after eighteen years of Gogol, two months of Nikhil feel scant, inconsequential. Gogol, page 182. Gogol's transformation can also be marked by his romantic relationships. [13][14] His later writing satirised political corruption in the Russian Empire (The Government Inspector, Dead Souls). Gogol's father embraces their new life, while his mother longs for her homeland. Although Ruth, Maxine, and Moushumi were right for him at the time, they didn't end up working out.