The topic of today's blogpost: Gogol or Nikhil? Was it wrong of Gogol to change his name, or was it for the best?
Well let's take a look at both sides:
For one thing, he did change his name without even knowing the true reason behind his original name. He goes through his childhood and teenage years knowing his namesake as some pathetic writer with mental instability issues. It doesn't help that the original Gogol starved himself to death and probably died a virgin.
When Gogol is finally told the real reason behind his name, he feels instantly "awkward [and] oddly ashamed" (124). He tells his father that "[he] should have told [him]" (124), suggesting that, had he known the whole story, he might not have changed his name.
To me, it feels like Gogol is his real identity. This whole "Nikhil" business feels kind of forced.
However, if he feels braver and more confident as Nikhil, then shouldn't he be allowed to choose? Nikhil sure seems to be more of a badass than Gogol, which can be taken as a good thing or a bad thing.
I have to admit that I'd been more of a fan of Gogol myself-- up until the last part of Chapter 6, at least. When he meets Pamela, she seems to make a lot of assumptions based on his heritage. She assumes that because he's Indian he must never get sick and says that "[she'd] think the climate wouldn't affect [him], given [his] heritage" (157). However, Lydia intervenes, insisting that he's American, not Indian. He was born in America.
There are certain stereotypes and assumptions connected with Gogol's heritage. Your heritage is something that you're born with, not something you choose. It doesn't determine who you are as a person-- you choose who you want to be.
Therefore, why shouldn't Gogol be able to choose his name? He shouldn't have to stick with the name he was born with if he doesn't feel it suits him... right?
So Gogol or Nikhil? What do you think?
Hi Eliana!! I love your blog post! Your voice comes through so clearly and it is so much fun to read. I will take you up on your question: I believe that Gogol is the better name for the character(I put character because frankly I don't know what to call him...). The name Gogol connects him to his family more, which is something that I find most important in life. However, a case can be made that having more confidence(or badass-ness, as you said), like when he changed his name to Nikhil, is more important that family. I enjoy all of the reasons you put forth on choosing the name Nikhil or Gogol. I agree with you that the name "Nikhil" does sound forced. My favorite part of your blog post is the second to last paragraph. I am a big believer in self-determination. Love your blog post! Keep on writing!!!!
ReplyDeleteI think yes, he should be allowed to choose what his name is, because a name is just a name. I think in Gogol's mind, he has built up his name to be something enormous like you said, almost a seperate identity. But, in reality, he is still the same person. So what I think that Gogol doesn't realize is that no matter what he does to his name, he is never going to change who he is or his heritage.
ReplyDeleteI think your blog post is awesome, especially since you raised a question. I'll have to keep that in mind for my next blog post also. Plus, of course I know you are an amazing writer but this blog post does a really good job of clearly getting your point across. I think your use of line brakes is really effective (I especially love non-fiction written in this style) and I think the color of the page being black and the text being white focuses my attention very well). Awesome blog and awesome post!!!
i will personally destroy anyone who displeases you in any way.
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