American or Indian?

I knew Gogol, or should I say Nikhil, would be faced with the challenge of embracing his Indian heritage, while fitting in to American culture and find out who he truly is. He becomes almost obsessed with his image after finding out who he was named after, and goes as far as changing his name. Instead of thinking about how changing his name will affect his parents, Gogol "thinks of how many more women he can now approach" with his new name and sense of confidence(103). He thinks that people will be able to take him more seriously with a new name; however, "the only person who tormented him, the only person chronically aware of and afflicted by the embarrassment of his name, the only person who constantly questioned it and wished it were otherwise, was Gogol" (100). The self inflicted pain Gogol causes makes him more similar to the man he so desperately doesn't want to be named after.

Additionally, Gogol faces challenges embracing his heritage in personal conversations, and fails to identify with his culture. When Gogol is asked "why [isn't he] a member of the Indian association," Gogol comes up with an excuse and says "[he] just [doesn't] have the time" (119). With his new name, Gogol believes he is more American than ever, and is extremely self conscious of being viewed any other way. I think that eventually Gogol will embrace his Indian heritage, but it will take a while for him to get over his insecurities of being judged and being viewed as the odd one out. As for now, Gogol despairingly tries to be viewed as American.