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In a few moments in the novel, Gogol thinks with longing of the idea of a grave—a place that will bear his legacy into the future, and give him or his family a permanent physical anchor in space. In reality, he knows they will never have such a grave, since in the Hindu tradition their bodies will be cremated. Gogol is first struck by this desire on a fieldtrip to a graveyard of early American settlers, whose odd names give him a sense of kinship with these early immigrants. The feeling reoccurs when he sees the Ratliff’s family graveyard and pictures Maxine returning to this place to bury her parents.
Graves and Graveyards Quotes in The Namesake
The The Namesake quotes below all refer to the symbol of Graves and Graveyards. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 3
Quotes
But Gogol is attached to them. For reasons he cannot explain or necessarily understand, these ancient Puritan spirits, these very first immigrants to America, these bearers of unthinkable, obsolete names, have spoken to him, so much so that in spite of his mother’s disgust he refuses to throw them away.
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Chapter 8
Quotes
It is the photograph more than anything that draws Gogol back to the house again and again, and one day, stepping out of the bathroom on his way to bed and glancing at his father’s smiling face, he realizes that this is the closest thing his father has to a grave.
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Get the entire The Namesake LitChart as a printable PDF.
Graves and Graveyards Symbol Timeline in The Namesake
The timeline below shows where the symbol Graves and Graveyards appears in The Namesake. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
...a field trip, first to the historical home of a poet, and then to a graveyard where the writer is buried. The students are asked to make rubbings of the inscriptions...
(full context)
Chapter 6
...and Edith. On his runs around the lake with Gerald, Gogol sees the Ratliff family graveyard, where generations of the family are buried—where Maxine will be buried someday. At night he...
(full context)
...her past and future in this place: growing old, burying her parents in the family graveyard, teaching her children to swim in the lake.
(full context)
Chapter 8
...framed photograph of his father on the wall, the closest thing Ashoke has to a grave. Ashima’s mourning has caused her to age quickly, and Sonia now lives with and takes...
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