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Writer's pictureBen Taylor

Comparing Magda Szubanski’s Reckoning and Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake

Updated: Sep 17, 2021

This post is a great read for anybody, but it will be especially intriguing for:

  • Teachers of Unit Four VCE English, Area of Study One

  • Students studying these texts as a part of VCE Reading and Comparing Texts

  • Those who enjoy either of the texts and would like to read something new.

To what extent can we be influenced by events that preceded our birth and how far-reaching can the shadow of our parents and their past be as we forge our own identity?


Magda Szubanski’s Reckoning and Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake combine to pose questions about the immigrant experience and the impact of trauma upon an individual and their family. Through Szubanksi’s reflections of her formative years and Lahiri’s creation of Gogol, readers are drawn into a melding of cultures and the manner in which we can attempt to reject our heritage, only to yearn to understand it better in an effort to better understand ourselves.


Much of the initial comparison that students will make about this pair will come through the protagonist of either text. Szubanski speaks to her reader with a sense of anxiety and unease as she recounts events of her childhood and early adult life. Her story is as much about her father as it is about herself given the immense impact that he has upon her life. Much of her formative years are influenced by his presence and the mystery surrounding his past. However it becomes clear that there is more that she must grapple with as she finds a sense of identity. Szubanski illustrates Croydon, an outer suburb of Melbourne, as a place where she never completely belongs. A brief tennis career, coupled with an outstanding beginning to secondary schooling soon give way to years of uncertainty as she struggles with her understanding of her sexuality and her place within her family and the world beyond it. Szubanski’s attempt at being the convent girl during the week and ”pretend sharpie” on the weekend further highlight her quest to not just belong, but find a sense of comfort and control. Given that this is an undeniably honest autobiography and not a Hollywood film, this quest is something that continues well into adulthood, with Szubanski still questioning her understanding of her father years after his death. Amongst this confusion and angst does come a sense of acceptance however, and the sense that our understanding of ourselves is a complex and ever-changing journey is most definitely conveyed.


Wrestling with his own individuality away from his family and heritage is The Namesake’s Gogol. Whilst this is definitely his story, Lahiri opens the novel with tales of his birth and events leading up to the arranged marriage of his parents. Through this, we as readers are able to understand the life that Gogol is born into and the events which shaped his parents before ultimately impacting him also. It is here where we can start to explore the common idea between these texts of the shaping of a person through trauma, be it the horrible necessities of war or the accident that so very nearly takes the life of Gogol’s father, Ashoke. As Szubanski struggles to understand her father’s imposing attitude and limited emotional range, Gogol also feels smothered by his parents and restricted through their particular way of living as first generation Americans. The stories of the past are told in a manner that informs the way in which Magda and Gogol are brought up. Whilst their childhoods are oceans away from Poland and India and decades away from war and invasion, these things still play a part in the life of these people as they grow under the looming shadow of their heritage. What’s even more compelling is the push and pull between the protagonists and their families. Both look to forge their own identities, and are critical of the culture that they’ve been brought up in, only to come to understand and better appreciate the sacrifice of their parents and the love bestowed upon them in such different ways.



Just as Magda and Gogol are very different people sharing some common links, their parents are products of different cultures, time periods and experiences. However, both texts examine the parents of the subject in an as scrutinised manner as the subject themselves. There are a range of symbols that help highlight the experience of assimilation. Peter Szubanski toiling with the lawn mower on a hilly Australian yard paints a picture of a man who is looking to shed his past and embrace his new life. Just as his daughter is looking to understand herself better, we also begin to appreciate Peter as a man who has seen and been forced to do terrible things. His history has led him to give up on “isms” and any sense of religious commitment. He is not enthusiastic about filling his children’s upbringing with his Polish culture and scenes such as driving to Croydon Tennis Club in the Triumph portray an aspect of Magda’s childhood that seems uniquely Australian.


In the case of the Gangulis, there are moments of a unique hybrid of Bengali-American culture. The christmas eve parties, thrown amongst a “family” of other Bengali friends illustrates the efforts made to embrace a new culture, whilst remaining true to their heritage. Food also plays a role in this melding of cultures and experiences and Gogol experiences moments that range from pride to angst to rejection of his culture. His desire to break away from the ties of his family is expressed through his name change as he heads to college. However, it is telling that he later acknowledges that he was never more than a four hour train journey from home. Much like Szubanski, Lahiri acknowledges the complexities of the relationships we share with our parents, as well as the complexity of truly understanding ourselves. As Nikhil holidays with Maxine’s parents, we read of his new found disdain for how his parents live their lives and the limited manner in which he sees them in contrast to the easy going family that hosts him. However, his falling in love with Moushumi, and the bounce back to Bengali culture that comes with it doesn’t prove to be the catalyst to him finding himself and being settled in his own understanding of his identity. Ultimately, neither text offers a true sense of resolution in these matters, but rather examines the process of an individual as they come to a better knowledge of how they’ve come to be who they are.


There’s much to discuss when taking a step back and viewing this pair together. Students will see the most success come from examining Magda and Gogol’s reactions to their experiences and also from inspecting the binds of a culture and the everlasting impact of historical trauma. Whilst there’s much to be compared between the protagonist and their fathers, it would be unwise to neglect the strong messages about assimilation and the strength of a nation’s culture upon an individual’s identity. Finally, students should be aiming to pick through the similarities and really looking to show their full appreciation and understanding of how these texts differ, as that will be where the most insightful discussion will begin.


Ben Taylor - The English Lab


We have lots more to say about this text! If you’d like for Ben to speak to your students or to your teaching team, please contact hello@englishlab.com.au


Please also look around our website for further resources and services that can help your Year Twelve teachers and students get the best out of themselves.


If you have any comments or queries about this pair or anything else related to VCE English, be sure to contact us at ben@englishlab.com.au




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