Sometimes religion can be a necessity for comfort. Over time, we may already have our own identity and then develop different ones after a tragedy. To overcome a difficult situation easily, you need some sort of comfort or security, whether it be time, family, friends, a sport, or religion. In the novel The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, one can clearly see the point of view of how Gogol's life over time evolved from American to Bengali. With the comfort of his Bengali life he is able to overcome the tragedy of his father's death. However, aside from when Gogol needs his family and culture for comfort, he is simply a true American. At the beginning of the book about Gogol's early life, the reader may make the observation that Gogol is more American than Bengali. In his teenage years Gogol shows more admiration for being American than Bengali when he listens to his new American tape rather than his Indian one. On Gogol's birthday, his father sees Lennon's "obituary pinned to the notice board, and then a cassette of Indian classical music he had bought for Gogol months ago, after a concert in Kresge, still sealed in its packaging" (Lahiri 78 ). Ever since he was little, Gogol had always been a little different since he was born American, unlike his parents. His parents carry on their Bengali traditions and for the most part avoid becoming full-fledged Americans. As for Gogol, he continues to act, think, and be an American before any tragedy occurs. Lahiri writes: “But Gogol never thinks of India as a desh. He considers it like Americans, like India” (Lahiri 118). Gogol is American and he knows it, he doesn't even mind thinking like one. Since Gogol is more American than his parents, he is simply dragged away because of his...half of paper......el to Calcutta that summer to see their relatives and scatter Ashoke's ashes in the Ganges” (Lahiri 188). Gogol seemed to need so much distance that it was worth parting with Maxine. Tragedy can change our identity in the blink of an eye, whether it is our true identity or someone we are not. Over the course of the novel Gogol begins to feel more and more constrained by his Bengali life. Towards the end of the book Gogol becomes more familiar with his Bengali life and his family, slowly distancing himself from the American identity that was once present to him. Inside himself he truly has a background of Bengali culture there for him when he needs it. As for Gogol's American identity as Nikhil, something that was false to him, it was just an experience. It was an experience that Gogol, a Bengali child, had grown up. Works Cited Lahiri, Jhumpa. The namesake. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003. Print.