International Research Journal of Education and Technology

Identity represents the smaller, ‘more micro’ meaning we have as individuals. The Namesake describes the struggles and hardships of a Bengali couple who immigrate to the United States to form a life outside of everything they are accustomed to. It explores the concepts of cultural identity, of rootlessness, of tradition and family expectations in a lucid and elegant prose. In the fictions of Jhumpa Lahiri, memory, nostalgia, loss and longing are some of the prominent themes. Her stories tell of people who have moved countries in the hope of a better life, but past remains there as a shadow to remind them of their original roots. The novel The Namesake is a documentary of such experiences, a glowing miniature of a tiny family making the voyage between two worlds. This article looks into the predicament of identity and belongingness of the characters of the Indian origin and immigrants in the U.S.A in The Namesake, the novel written by Jhumpa Lahiri.

Keywords: Immigrants, Identity Crisis, Predicament, Cultural Dilemma.