The Namesake presents the life of Ashima Ganguli, who was transported from India to America with grace and compassion. This story of Jhumpa Lahiri is an allegory establishing identity using symbolic meaning between two intersecting cultures. Themes throughout the story reference immigration experiences, the clash of cultures, the contrast of assimilation, and the connection between generations. The namesake opens up the worlds of emotions Ashima experiences, while straddling his two worlds. This story of identity allows readers to travel with Ashima on an intimate journey through her life as an immigrant. As a young wife and mother, Ashima Ganguli experiences labor and delivery, like many other American women, in a hospital. Motherhood is proposed as a transnational identity, representing traditional gender roles sometimes considered subordinate. Ashima quietly observes the habits of the American women around him. She hears husbands tell their wives that they love them. This is something a Bengali husband or wife would never say. While retaining many traditional Bengali beliefs and practices, giving birth in a hospital is more typical of an American woman. Traditionally, Indian women are known to give birth in the house where they grew up, returning to their childhood, without the presence of their husband or in-laws. The traditional Indian sari that surrounds Ashima is exchanged for a hospital gown that leaves her feeling self-conscious by exposing her lower legs. For this reason, Ashima does not identify with the many American women who wear short skirts, exposing their skin. Ashima feels lonely, knowing that she will sleep alone for the very first time. She always slept in the middle of a paper......d. Many practices within various cultures are familiar, leading us to realize that although people have different beliefs and values ​​and come from different countries, there are also many similarities. By analyzing the different practices within various cultures, you begin to see the picture of a society that reflects your own customs. Throughout The Namesake, the symbolic meaning contributes to the overall message of the ability to establish an identity and embrace the identities of others. The Namesake combines awareness of the Ganguli family's own ethnicity, consistently expressing what we have come to recognize as a family trying to assimilate into the environment they have decided to be a part of. The namesake had taken the Ganguli family out of their traditional life in Calcutta and transformed it into a life in America..