Roots and Routes: Diasporic Challenges in Jhumpa Lahiri's 'The Namesake'

Abstract

Diaspora is a phenomenon that has existed since the earliest days of civilization. The term 'diaspora' describes communities of people who reside away from their perceived homelands. Diaspora literature focuses on depicting the experience of diaspora in forms such as novels, poems, short stories, and more. This genre gained prominence particularly in the latter half of the 20th century. Jhumpa Lahiri, an acclaimed diasporic author, has established herself among Indo-American writers. As a diasporic writer, Lahiri delves into themes of cultural and personal isolation and identity in her works. Her migrant diaspora characters endure displacement, fragmentation, marginalization, and discontinuity within the cultural contexts of their host countries. In her novel 'The Namesake,' characters are portrayed against the backdrop of both their native and foreign cultures. This paper aims to analyze 'The Namesake' as a diasporic novel, examining the cultural dilemmas and displacement the characters encounter in a foreign land.