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Characters minimized in the film: Unlike the book, the film is short and it doesn't capture all the characters that are mentioned in the book. The characters who were put to their least importance are as follows:
- Sonia (Gogol's sister): She is not so much mentioned in the book as Gogol although since she is the part of the family, the film captures all the flashbacks and sequence of how Gogol and Sonia grew up together.
- Moushumi (Gogol's ex-wife): Moushumi was a part of Gogol's life like a guest who shelters with you and makes a deep impact but soon fades away from your life. Her past life is minimized in the film whereas there is a huge part of book where it's all flashbacks about Moushumi's past, present and future.
- Maxine: Again, Maxine was one of the characters who were not emphasized yet the film gave prominence to a vital part that she held which emphasized the importance of Ashoke to Gogol.
- Ashoke and Ashima's parents: In contrast with the book, the film fails to capture the history, importance and memories of the parents and grandparents.
Characters emphasized in the film: Most films surround the main idea of the protagonist or the main character however, The Namesake took a twist and film revolves more around the parents of Gogol than himself. It does reflect on him but there is more emphasis on the parents' past life.
Narration: The narration only appears when the characters are reading or for example, when Ashima was writing a letter to India, there was a voice-over of hers in the background of the film.
Use of Music/Sound Effects: There were definitely use of classical Indian music. There were also other French music when Gogol and Moushumi were in France. The use of sounds were only for music purpose not the dramatization of intense situation.
Description of one shot using strong film terms:
- Over the shoulder shot (common to reverse shot): Used when Gogol and Ashoke were talking about Ashoke's train accident and how it led to Gogol's namesake. This is one of the most important part in the film where Gogol realizes the importance tagged to his namesake.
Title: The Namesake
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
Pages: 220-291
Chapters: 9-12
SUMMARY: After the wedding, Gogol and Moushumi buy their own apartment. They invite their friends for martini parties unlike their parents. They soon move to Paris for Moushumi's conference. There Gogol feels isolated because he feels like a stranger, lost, looking for directions as Moushumi is busy during the day at her conference. Gogol learns a little French in Paris and also begins to explore the breath taking architectures he used to see in books. They return to Brooklyn at a dinner party of Donald and Astrid, friends of Moushumi. People gather up at the living room where they shout out names for Donald and Astrid's child. Moushumi was a bit tipsy so she informs the crowd that Gogol changed his name. Gogol, aghast by Moushumi's statement, admits in front of the crowd. Later, furiously, he yells at Moushumi that they already talked about his namesake. At their first anniversary, Gogol and Moushumi go out to dinner in an extravagant restaurant recommended by Donald and Astrid. Moushumi seems unhappy about the food's quality and quantity. They soon leave the restaurant and Moushumi is still hungry. She decides to finish her last semester in NYU but she had to deal with a horrid scene. Suddenly, she sees Alice, the administrative assistant being taken by the paramedics. Alice passed away due to aneurysm. Moushumi takes a brief look at her office although she didn't prefer her so much and begins to look at the mailboxes. She finds a resume of Dimitri Desjardins who she begins to date furtively. On the other hand, Sonia meets Ben who becomes her boyfriend. Ashima throws her last party in United States as she decides to sell her house and move to India for six months. Gogol discovers Moushumi's secret about her affair with Dimitri. He leaves her and goes to the celebration arranged by his mother and Sonia. During the party Gogol goes upstairs and finds a book of Nikolai Gogol that he received from his father as a present. He reads the first story, "The Overcoat." His mother comes looking for him and asks him to join the party with the guests. They wish that Ashoke was there with them. Gogol leans back and begins to read the book as Ashima engages in a conversation with the a guest.
QUOTATION: "He felt the chill of her secrecy, numbing him, like a poison spreading quickly through his veins. He'd felt this way on only one other occasion, the night he had sat in the car with his father and learned the reason for his name" (Lahiri 282).
REACTION: Here we have Gogol vs. Moushumi. One of the most intense scenes in the novel. This is a nice quote that uses simile to describe the inner fiasco Gogol is having with a poison. Plus, it is related to his namesake which is also an important factor. The shock was so sudden for Gogol that the author had to relate it to the one-on-one event of him and his dad because the readers already knew about the affair. This is a great book. I really connected with this book in a good cultural way. I recommend this book to everyone especially to ones who would like a taste of Indian-Bengali culture. (Note: Fin for French connection with Moushumi).
~Fin~
Title: The Namesake
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
Pages: 158-220
Chapters: 6-9
SUMMARY: Ashima is alone at home when Ashoke is in Cleveland, Gogol in New York and Sonia in San Francisco. She makes Christmas card with her family names on it. She also gets a job at the library and makes some friends who she goes shopping with. Ashoke calls from the hospital informing Ashima that his stomach didn't feel right but he was there for an ordinary checkup. After a while, Ashima is told by the hospital that her husband had expired but she refuses to listen thinking it is a mistake. After hearing the news, Gogol rushes to Cleveland to clean his dad's apartment leaving Maxine behind. After arriving Gogol feels numb and starts to see images of his dad doing regular things such as drinking his tea, sitting and tying his shoes. Gogol goes to the morgue and confirms its his dad's body. He then goes to Boston shaves his hair in traditional Indian way for his dad's funeral. People begin to crowd inside the house when they come to visit and stay with them through this hard time. Gogol begins to keep a distance from Maxine because he wants more time to think about his dad. He begins to remember the old times when he walked in the cape cod with his dad. He soon leaves Maxine for good. After years have passed, Ashima wants Gogol to have a girlfriend and she doesn't mind him patching things back with Maxine but she is already engaged. Ashima sets Gogol in a date with a girl named Moushumi who is a daughter of her close Bengali friends. She is the only girl that dated Gogol and knew his real name was Gogol, not Nikhil. They start to see each other more and discover about their past. They knew each other when they were kids but they didn't talk much. After the parents agree, they get married in a Double-Tree hotel.
QUOTATIONS: "Gogol remembers having to do the same thing when he was younger, when his grandparents died, his mother yelling at him when he forgot one day and had a hamburger at school" (Lahiri 180).
REACTION: As going through an intense scene in the book, this quote had a double effect on me. It was a difficult time but it also delighted me because it is similar to my culture. In this type of culture (Indian and Nepali), if a father has passed away, the son has to shave his head, put his father's ashes in a pot and throw it in a river. Along side, the whole family takes refuse from meat products. This is where the Indian and Nepali culture begin to differ. In Indian culture you cannot consume meat products and only rice, milk and vegetables and everyone including little kids have to follow the culture. On the other hand, its almost similar for Nepalese culture but kids don't have to follow it because they are completely or at least unaware of their surrounding events plus the family members who follow it not only have to avoid meat products but also salt in their food which makes it taste eerie.
Title: The Namesake
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
Pages: 72-158
Chapters: 4-6
SUMMARY: Ashima, Ashoke and Gogol invite a new family member into their family, Sonali. Gogol feels kind of humiliated by his name now. It was Gogol's fourteenth birthday and his parents threw him a huge party but he was disappointed. He didn't know half of the kids and he didn't prefer the gifts. His father gave him a book from Nikolai Gogol, the man whom he was named after, but he doesn't like it either. It is ironic how he preferred the name "Gogol" when he was a kid and now due to peer pressure, Gogol wants to change his name to Nikhil. Gogol turns eighteen and he legally wants to change his name and get rid of Gogol. Although he did change his name, his friends, sister and his family still know him as Gogol. Only thing different is that he is known as Nikhil in college. He felt like he is finally fitting in with the college kids. Gogol meets a girl named Ruth in his sophomore year but she leaves him to go to Oxford. Gogol was finally confronted by the real truth. His father tells him the story about the train accident he was in. He tell shim that he reminds him of that day and it makes a great effect on Gogol. Gogol graduates from college in the subject of Architecture almost like his dad's field and starts to live in New York. There he meets a girl named Maxine Ratliff who invites him over to meet her parents and they click together. They share similar interest in architecture. Ashoke leaves off to Ohio for the research grant. Ashima is home alone. Before that Gogol introduces Maxine to his parents.
QUOTATION: " 'What's her name?' 'Max.' 'That's a boy's name.' He shakes his head. 'No, Ma. It's Maxine'" (Lahiri 145).
REACTION: This quote is very humorous yet familiar to me personally in an eerie way. Gogol has finally began to got a hold on girls now that his name is Nikhil and he isn't anymore ridiculed like in high school. His new love interest is Maxine or Max. While Gogol talks to his mom about this new girl Maxine, he tells her name is Max and his mother thinks that it's a boy. He is quite embarrassed but in India, Nepal and Southeast Asia, Moms tend to embarrass their children by asking them questions about their new love interest.
