RESISTING IDENTITY CRISIS IN LAHIRI'S THE NAMESAKE: A POST-COLONIAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

This research study is a critical analysis of a complicated interaction between identity crisis and resistance in The Namesake, a postcolonial novel by Jhumpa Lahiri. Based on the concept of hybridity introduced by Homi K. Bhabha, the paper initially examines the key reasons behind identity crisis among the Ganguli family such as the concept of diasporic alienation, the symbolic weight of naming, and the dissonant nature of cultural hybridity. Then the study breaks down to explore the strategies of resistance and response of the characters to these difficulties. These tactics entail a subtle kind of assimilation, continuing self-establishment quest, and a strong desire to re-unite with the cultural within. This paper provides a text-based argument on how Lahiri uses characters to negotiate their bicultural existence, and in that process, create some of the most fascinating and hybridized identities in a third space. Finally, this study enlightens the readers on the concept of diasporic identity formation as not a path of fragmentation, but a negotiation process that is ongoing and robust that can reveal much about the current subjectivity of immigrants and postcolonials.