The Short Stories of Nikolai Gogol. For Gogol Ganguli, it says on the front endpaper in his father's tranquil hand, in red ballpoint ink, the letters rising gradually, optimistically, on the diagonal toward the upper right-hand corner of the page. The man who gave you his name, from the man who gave you your name is written within quotation marks.
The text references Gogol Ganguli from Jhumpa Lahiri's "The Namesake." It describes the significance of his name, inscribed in his father's handwriting on the endpaper of a book, which is "The Short Stories of Nikolai Gogol." The quote captures the journey of identity and heritage through the lens of family connections, where the father's hopeful script reflects the aspirations he has for his son.
This moment reveals the intricate relationship between names and personal identity. Gogol's name, derived from the Russian writer Nikolai Gogol, carries both cultural weight and personal history. The father's cautious yet optimistic lettering symbolizes the complexities of identity for immigrant families, highlighting how names can connect individuals to their roots while also posing challenges in their journey toward self-understanding.
