As with many of my friends, I am a first generation American. My parents immigrated from Asia to the US primarily to lead a better life. Like in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake, my parents and I had to accustom ourselves to the American culture. Gogol, like myself, was more persistent on “fitting in” with the others kids rather than upholding his parent’s traditions.

I was born in the United States and was named Raymond at birth. Interestingly enough, I had an English name before a Chinese one. My parents explained to me that they had a long list of names. However, many of my father’s coworkers said that Raymond is a good name. Over the years, I have grown to like my name very much, unlike Gogol. It doesn’t appear too often to make it almost cliche, and appears enough that people have heard of it.

Ironically, English was my second language and I had to take ESL classes in elementary school. My parents, keen on my success, decided to hire a tutor to teach me English. I grew to become the same as every other kid on the playground. My family began celebrating American holidays as well. Much unlike Ashima and Ashoke, my parents were encouraging of assimilating with the American culture.

To this day, I have always appreciated the name that was given to me. It has never been a burden that I had to concern myself with. “For by now, he’s come to hate questions pertaining to his name, hates having constantly to explain. He hates having to tell people that it doesn’t mean anything in “in Indian” (76). I believe Gogol should appreciate his name as he discovers the significance behind it.