Or should I say Nikhil. So as of now, Gogul has legally changed his name to Nikhil and is a completely new person. His attitude, personality, and perspective on life has completely been turned around. It's funny to think how something as small as a name, which are just letters, can make such a huge impact on somebody's life. Lahiri writes, "He wonders if this is how it feels for an obese person to become thin, for a prisoner to walk free. "I'm Nikhil," he wants to tell the people who are walking their dogs, pushing children in their strollers, throwing bread to the ducks"(Lahiri 102). I find it somewhat comical how much more confident Nikhil becomes with this new name. Imagine if that is all it would take for the average person to become more happy, more hopeful. Do you think that everyone would do the same as Gogul did?
I really like how Lahiri compares this transformation to an obese person becoming skinny. Have you ever watched the show The Biggest Loser? These people join the show morbidly obese, and leave in the best shapes they have ever been in their whole life. Now lets go back to when they were fat. All these poor people talk about is how embarrassed they are to go out in public and participate in certain activities. In some ways, this directly relates to how the new Nikhil felt with his original name Gogul! He was embarrassed to even hear his name aloud in public. Lahiri says, "Warmth spreads from the back of Gogul's neck to his cheeks and his ears. Each time the name is uttered, he quietly winces" (Lahiri 91). Now that Gogul is Nikhil, he feels like he can conquer the world, do anything he wants, and most importantly get any girl he wants ;).
If only it were that simple to change your life around… Guess its easier said than done!
Happy reading!
This post was literally so good!!1!!11! I totally agree. I think it makes a lot of sense for an obese person to feel a lot different after they become thin because they look and feel better. The change is evident and obvious. For a prisoner to walk free would of course be a huge transformation as well... But for someone to change his name? I agree that it's weird how confident he is all of a sudden. Theoretically, your name shouldn't affect who you are fundamentally, and it certainly doesn't affect what you look like. I think you bring up an interesting point-- your post made me wonder what I would be like under a different name... Keep up the good work. Literally tho.
ReplyDelete-Eliana