At the start of the film Namesake, Gogol’s mother Ashima Ganguli is the centre of the story, she is the best in the cultural conservation among her family members. She tends to miss her life experience strongly back in the town of Calcutta that she has difficulties in coping with the new American life. For example, the narrator briefs us several occasions when Ashoke comes home from the university, she looks for her morose, in the bed to reread the letters of her parents while Ashima her mother feels lonely as she pass through culture shock (YouTube). However, there is a great similarity between Ashima and Mr. Shadid the central character in the book of the House of Stones; they are both cultural conservative. For instance, Mr. Shadid spent a lot of time restoring and renovating their long-abandoned family territory in the southern part of Lebanon. Also, he speaks of mental torture the family went through to adapt to the new culture and environment of Oklahoma, where they migrated to in the first terms of the 20th century. Hence, both characters find a very hard time to cope with their new cultural ways and environment due to the strong bond they had with their ancestral lands.
Additionally, Ashima and Mr. Shadid have the close connection with their adaptability measures to the new cultural changes; both find it difficult to have a quick change to deplete of their memories. For example, Mr. Shadid tries to make a permanent change to his life through getting involved in restorative projects, unfortunately, he his desires are ruined by his new neighbours of Lebanese who criticizes the plan as dangerous, reckless and American altogether (Shadid). Also, Ashima encounters much difficulty in assimilating the new American culture at Cambridge where she is highly surrounded by strangers with new customs and traditions. Further, Ashima and her family encounter humiliations that make them change the name of their son from Gogol to Nikhil, thus both faced much in trying to cope with the new cultural changes. However, we find a significant difference in their cultural duties as Ashima has the integral role as a woman to keep her family together, where she remains at home to ensure all the house staff and work are done in the appropriate way (YouTube). On the other hand, Mr. Shadid plays both roles of keeping his family as evident when he moved with her daughter Lebanon and at the same time he get involved in the reconstruction project, which the perfect role for men from Ashima cultural perspective.
However, we find a significant similarity in their final change of life and cultural adaptability, for instance, Mr. Shadid comes into a critical dilemma whether to remain in Jedeidet in the old life of misery and guns as well as work entirely on the olive trees or to go back to the modern life with laptops and notebooks. At last, he eventually makes a decision of moving from one place to another, and he left Jedeidet (Shadid). Also, in the Namesake, Ashima also encounter difficulties when she decided to return to India that she no longer feels complete as a member of Bengali. Inclusion, she becomes, more confused due to her instability either as an assimilated American or an Indian. Therefore, both Ashima and Mr. Shadid made several changes to their cultural ways and practices.
Another useful comparison is between Gogol of the Namesake film and Shibil a character in the House of Stone, since there is a good similarity in their love stories as well as their cultural ways. For instance, Gogol, the main features of the Namesake, gets involved in love a fair with Maxine because of her wealth, Gogol verifies this by saying he come to have heart comfort the time he saw their house (YouTube). Similarly, Shibil also befriends Mr. Shadid, only because of money and desperation despite her unhealthy status. Shibil and Gogol love story gives out the direct betrayal of the cultural beliefs. For example, Ashima Gogol’s mother finds it difficult to approve the existence of the crucial relationship between his son and Maxine, similarly to Shibil’s relationship with Mr. Shadid, which he only engages in due to loneliness and desperations.
Inclusion, both Gogol and Shibil have made a tremendous change in their cultural ways like Gogol moved to American from his original land will very young, he adapts to the American traditions and even lack proper knowledge of his culture. Additionally, he goes further to befriend a girl who is not an Indian, which is totally against the Indians ethical, moral values and customs. On the other hand, Shibil cross against their cultural ways to relate with Mr. Shadid, who is a stranger in the neighbourhood, whom she gives a lot of self-attention her health conditions. Hence, there are several similarities and difference that took place in both the two characters from both stories regarding their cultural background and lifestyle change.
Works Cited
Shadid, Anthony. House Of Stone. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012. Print.
YouTube, "Watch The Namesake Watch Movies Online Free". N.p., 2016. Web. 3 Mar. 2016.
