The Namesake-week 5 Post A

Gogol is growing up fast in the novel, but despite his upbringing in America, he still has the characteristics of a Bengali. When Gogol is entered into the school system, his parents insist that he has a "good" name as they call it. By good name, they mean a name that people can call him in the world outside of home. The name decided upon is Nikhil, but Gogol is not fond of his new name. When they bring him in for his first day of kindergarten, they try to explain to his teacher that Nikhil is his "good" name and that is what he is to be called at school, but Gogol doesn't respond to the teacher when he is called this. He doesn't fell like himself and he likes being called Gogol for it reminds him of his parents. When Ashima and Ashoke leave, the principal and Gogol secretly decide to keep his name as Gogol, not knowing the cultural importance of the "good" name. This is where you can tell that Bengal tradition is much different than that of Americans, because even after en explanation, the American teacher did not understand the importance of Gogol having another name.