ADAPTABLE AND CHANGE-RESISTANT CULTURAL VALUES IN JHUMPA LAHIRI’S THE NAMESAKE
ADAPTABLE AND CHANGE-RESISTANT CULTURAL VALUES IN JHUMPA LAHIRI’S THE NAMESAKE

Summary/Abstract: The paper discusses the relation between time and processes of cultural negotiations as illustrated by the evolution of an Indian female immigrant (Ashima) in the novel The Namesake. The character’s exposure to America illustrates a range of cultural selection scenarios during the interval she spends abroad. Initially rejecting Western norms, Ashima takes over certain American (individualist) principles during her residence in America. The Western values are modified in the process of their adoption, being filtered through collectivistic cultural grids. The paper focuses on the content of this cultural selection establishing the gradual modification of Indian values via their contact with the American norms. The conclusions will discuss the status of the temporal borders between Indian and American cultural patterns, by highlighting the partiality of cultural translations.

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