In the Namesake by Jhumpa lahiri names are very important. Jhumpa lahiri uses names constantly to invoke remembrance in the readers and characters themselves. Jonathan Foer also uses names to invoke remembrance and play an important role in the novel.

In the Namesake gogol’s very name is a remembrance to the author Gogol but also to the memory of the night that his father was saved by Gogol. When Gogol finally discovers his namesake he is shocked and starts to regret changing his name and his identity. Another way in which Lahiri uses names is when Moshumi is sorting letters and all of a sudden she sees a familiar name that was a past crush. This name invokes in her memories of the past when she was just a young high school girl. These memories consist of her bus ride to D.C. as well as her first date. This remembrance causes her to call him up and start an affair that leads to a divorce between Gogol and herself.

Jonathan Foer also uses names to invoke remembrance but he uses them in a different way in the story. Jonathan Foer uses the fact that the grandfather can’t say Anna’s name as the reason why he can’t speak. This is because the memories of the death of his son, and Anna cause him to remember the dreadful night of the Dresden bombings.

Both Lahiri and Foer use names to invoke remembrance. Although not in similar ways both understand the power of the name, which invokes memories of not only the person but also how the individual felt during that time period.