Diaspora, Culture and Existentialism in Jhumpa Lahiri’s 'The Namesake'

Abstract

Jhumpa Lahiri beautifully carves out the nostalgia, acculturation, and contra acculturation of Indian immigrants in the novel. She, herself, belongs to the second generation of Indian immigrants, and presents her subjectivity regarding the experiences of immigrants. Her characters are dislocated in various ways due to either monetary reasons (in search of their sustenance) or due to their urge to create an identity in the alien land and cultures. Jhumpa Lahiri delineates characters in search of identity and deals with their dilemma in opting for the host culture. She exemplifies the dilemma of belongingness. Having multicultural roots, she strives to establish a native Bengali identity and simultaneously attempts to create a new identity in the Indian-American cultural context. Lahiri expounds the eternal trauma of humanity i.e. cultural dislocation and identity crisis.