Doguparthy 1

Doguparthy 2

Allie Doguparthy

Ms. Whelan

English III CP

28 August 2014

Summer Assignment

A train is a series of railroad cars moved as a unit and is used as a means of transportation. Trains can be either used to transport goods or people. Usually, people gather their thoughts, meet new people, make new memories, etc. In the novel, The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri has various symbols. One of them is a train. In this novel, important events happen in a train. The author shows that trains are not just modes of transportation, but a transition between stages of life.

Gogol meets his first American girlfriend, Ruth on a train. On the train, Gogol has a special connection with Ruth, which slowly developed into his first relationship. After meeting her the first time on the train, Gogol met her again. These repeated meetings symbolize change and his transition into becoming a young adult.

Gogol Bordello

Gogol Bordello

Gogol cementerio

One change that resulted from meeting Ruth was his new routine in his college. Gogol had to make time for his new girlfriend during his college days. In order to do so, he met up with her in the library on Friday nights to study with her. When Gogol first meets Ruth he says, "'I'm Nikhil.' He sits, too exhausted to put his duffel bag away in the luggage rack overhead."(Lahiri, 109) Along with a new girlfriend, he also introduced himself as Nikhil, rather than Gogol. The name change also symbolizes the change that happens on trains. Although this is a very minute example, life changing events happen to Gogol while traveling on trains.

During Thanksgiving, Gogol traveled by train to go home to see his family. His train was delayed because of a man committing suicide. When Gogol reached home, he told his...