Gogol Ganguli, in The Namesake, is the son of two Bengali parents. Throughout the novel, Gogol depicts several acts of betrayal mainly to his family and their values. One such act is when Gogol changes his name out of torment. He constantly questioned its meaning and found out it was not a Bengali name. He expresses his feelings to his parents, but they do not understand and so he changes his name. Another act of betrayal is when Gogol lies to his mother about visiting their home when dating a woman. He does not prefer the Bengali way of life and makes excuses for he loves the carefree life of the American way. These acts of betrayal affect Gogol and force him to make decisions that he eventually regrets, but it does play a vital role in the development of his life in the novel as a whole.
When he was born, Gogol’s grandmother had sent a letter to name the baby, but it had gotten lost on its way to the states forcing his father to name him Gogol, after the Russian author Nikolai Gogol. As Gogol grows up, he begins to realize that his name is not common among American people. He begins to question why he was named Gogol. His father suggests him to read about Nikolai Gogol; however, Gogol wants to disregard all connections to his name at home and at school. He becomes embarrassed by it in school while learning about Nikolai Gogol and becomes physically tormented by its meaning that it was named after someone who starved himself to death. He decides to change his name legally to “Nikhil”, a name that is simple and no one can question. This is an act of betrayal mainly against his father. His father had named him Gogol because when he had a near death experience, he was reading short stories by Nikolai Gogol. He was found alive with a torn page of the book in his hand. In a way, the Russian author had saved his life. By changing his name, Gogol betrays his father’s belief in the name of Gogol, a name that symbolizes life.
During Gogol’s career as an architect, he has a love interest with a woman named Maxine. Compared to Gogol’s Bengali way of life, full of his parent’s beliefs, he prefers Maxine’s way of life: the carefree American way. He loves her family and how they remain disconnected from the world. It gets him away from his parents that always want to know where he is and how he is doing. When his father is about to leave to another state to teach, his mother asks him to come and see him off. At first, he lies, saying he has a deadline, but then admits he is spending a vacation with a woman named Maxine. He refuses to go back to see his family again, for they have always been a part of his life. This sign of betrayal is mainly against his family’s value and to his mother. By preferring a different way of life, he does not realize the care and affection that his family has for him. Gogol, blind by his own wants, does not see this leading to an unforgivable consequence.
Gogol’s betrayals results in consequences. When Gogol finds out about the truth of his name, he is stunned and apologizes to his father for changing his name that meant something to something that did not mean anything. His response to people calling him Nikhil is still slow for it is not his true name. When Gogol does not go to see his father off to another state, he gets a call saying his father died of a heart attack. His ignorance makes him feel guilty of his death because he had said he wanted to spend time with his girlfriend instead of coming home. His life develops around these two main betrayals as a realization of the true meaning of his name and the realization of what true family is.
