The father figure seems to be very important to both Oskar, from Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, and Gogol from Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake. Both of these characters seem to “remember” something of their father. Coincidentally, both of them have died and their thoughts on this male role model has changed as the story progresses.

Gogol thinks of his father as a normal person. He never thought much of him. His father was usually quiet and Gogol hasn’t taken much notice to it. Later on, Gogol grows older and disappoints his father by changing his name. Soon enough, his father explains the reasoning behind his name. It has suddenly occurred to Gogol why he was given that name. Gogol was very upset when his father died and finally towards the end of the book, does he realize that he has never bothered to look at his fourteenth birthday present twice. “In so many ways, his family’s life feels like a string of accidents, unforeseen, unintended, one incident begetting another”(Lahiri 286). After everything has happened, Gogol finally begins to read the book, the very book his father had during his near death experience.

Oskar was devastated when his father was killed. He doesn’t quite believe that his father has passed away and begins looking for “clues” that his father has left. The key may symbolize how he still hasn’t moved onto the truth. As he travels across New York City, searching for people who may have known his father, Oskar begins to see the world in a different way. “I can’t live, I’ve tried and I can’t. If that sounds simple, it’s simple like a mountain is simple” (Foer 135). Oskar realizes that his father has died and the key wasn’t as important as he though it be. Oskar still has some lingering feelings of “rewinding” his life.

Both Oskar and Gogol show that “remembering” has a great significance in their lives. Both of these authors have shown how important it is to remember a memory that has changed one’s life.