Reimagining Transnational Identities in Lahiri's The Namesake

Abstract

This essay demonstrates that Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake goes beyond conventional wisdom about immigrant experiences in so far as it explores how the South Asian diaspora participates in transnational connections, shaping and transforming the notion of American identity in the contemporary global era. Lahiri's novel offers us a striking account of transnational identity in which South Asian immigrants and their American-born children import practices from their country of origin, which they adapt in the new environment and, in turn, adopt practices from the new environment, which they adapt in innovative ways to help them feel more at ease.