Books in Ashoke's Life

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

The main characters at the beginning of the story are Ashoke and Ashima, husband and wife. They both came from India to the US, Cambridge, MA to be specific, to begin their married life. Ashoke is studying at MIT while Ashima stays home pregnant with their first child, which is the typical construction of an Indian family described in the book. Here, Ashoke is remembering his childhood and his love for books that his grandfather passed on to him. Then he goes on to replay a horrifying accident where his love for books seems to save his life.

"Each day at tea time, as his brothers and sisters played kabadi and cricket outside, Ashoke would go to his grandfather's room, and for an hour his grandfather would read supine on the bed, his ankles crossed and the book propped open on his chest, Ashoke curled at his side," (12). This memory is intimate and humbly indicative of the relationship Ashoke had with his grandfather. Even more, the contrast between what his siblings did and what he did demonstrates his priorities and personality. His brothers and sisters playing games outside is a description that the audience will naturally connect to a scene with little kids running around smiling and laughing, the sun shining, warm weather, and just a delightful, carefree environment in general. That scene contrasted with a little boy lying with his grandfather, snuggled up inside, choosing to listen to a book emphasizes the mellow and raw intimacy of a familial bond. Lahiri does so by conjuring up a personal memory from the audience of special one-on-one time with an older family member. The close relationship that Ashoke has with his grandfather becomes synonymous with his relationship with books.

After a near-fatal train crash, Ashoke was found because "he was still clutching a single page of 'The Overcoat,' crumpled tightly in his fist, and when he raised his hand the wad of paper dropped from his fingers...'The fellow by that book. I saw him move," (18). The deep connection Ashoke formed with the books his grandfather gave to him ends up saving his life in a roundabout way. He could have had anything in his hand during the crash that could have caught the rescuers’ eye, so Lahiri’s conscious decision to make the pages of his grandfather's book the savior makes the books into an even more significant element of Ashoke’s past.

Taking into account the role that books play in Ashoke’s flashback, Lahiri uses them to guide Ashoke’s general character in the story. When he was little, books were essential to his social and intellectual livelihood. Then as a young adult in a life or death situation, the books were essential to his physical life. Using this dynamic, Lahiri continues the role of books into he and Ashima’s married adult life. Books, or education, are what bring Ashoke to the US in the first place, and consequently what bring Ashima there as well. Their family is first generation American because of the priority Ashoke places on education that all began with the love of books from his grandfather.