Jhumpa Lahiri's
The Namesake
1. Who is the author of The Namesake? (CUET, PGTRB, TNPSC)
a) Kiran Desai
b) Jhumpa Lahiri
c) Arundhati Roy
d) Anita Desai
Answer: b) Jhumpa Lahiri
2. In which year was The Namesake first published? (NET, SET)
a) 2000
b) 2003
c) 2006
d) 2010
Answer: b) 2003
3. Which of the following themes is central to The Namesake? (UPSC, PGTRB)
a) Colonialism
b) Immigration and Identity
c) Rural life in India
d) War and Peace
Answer: b) Immigration and Identity
4. What is the name of the protagonist in The Namesake? (TNPSC, CUET)
a) Nikhil
b) Gogol
c) Ashoke
d) Ashima
Answer: b) Gogol
5. What is Gogol’s good name (formal name)? (PGTRB, NET)
a) Mohit
b) Nikhil
c) Rahul
d) Samar
Answer: b) Nikhil
6. Why did Ashoke name his son “Gogol”? (TNPSC, SET)
a) He admired the Russian writer Nikolai Gogol
b) The nurse suggested it
c) It was a traditional family name
d) Ashima chose it from the horoscope
Answer: a) He admired the Russian writer Nikolai Gogol
7. What accident influenced Ashoke’s choice of name for his son? (NET, PGTRB)
a) A shipwreck
b) A plane crash
c) A train accident
d) A car accident
Answer: c) A train accident
8. Who are Gogol’s parents in The Namesake? (CUET, TNPSC)
a) Anil and Meena
b) Ashoke and Ashima
c) Raj and Sunita
d) Ramesh and Kamala
Answer: b) Ashoke and Ashima
9. What profession does Ashoke Ganguli pursue in the United States? (NET, SET)
a) Doctor
b) Lawyer
c) Engineer / Professor
d) Businessman
Answer: c) Engineer / Professor
10. What city in the United States do the Gangulis initially settle in? (PGTRB, TNPSC)
a) New York
b) Boston (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
c) Chicago
d) Los Angeles
Answer: b) Boston (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
11. Who does Gogol first date seriously in the novel? (NET, CUET)
a) Ruth
b) Maxine
c) Moushumi
d) Ashima
Answer: a) Ruth
12. Which girlfriend introduces Gogol to a wealthy, liberal lifestyle? (PGTRB, TNPSC)
a) Ruth
b) Sonia
c) Maxine
d) Moushumi
Answer: c) Maxine
13. Who does Gogol eventually marry? (NET, SET)
a) Ruth
b) Maxine
c) Moushumi Mazoomdar
d) Padma
Answer: c) Moushumi Mazoomdar
14. Why does Gogol’s marriage to Moushumi fail? (TNPSC, PGTRB)
a) They move abroad
b) Cultural differences
c) Moushumi has an affair
d) Gogol leaves her for Maxine
Answer: c) Moushumi has an affair
15. What is the occupation of Moushumi? (NET, CUET)
a) Doctor
b) Lawyer
c) Academic / Literature scholar
d) Architect
Answer: c) Academic / Literature scholar
16. Which sibling of Gogol plays an important role in the novel? (PGTRB, TNPSC)
a) Rohit
b) Sonia
c) Rupa
d) Anjali
Answer: b) Sonia
17. What important event changes Gogol’s life and draws him closer to family? (NET, UPSC)
a) Moushumi’s betrayal
b) Ashoke’s death
c) Ashima’s illness
d) His career struggles
Answer: b) Ashoke’s death
18. Which Russian author’s book Ashoke was reading during the train accident? (PGTRB, NET)
a) Dostoevsky
b) Tolstoy
c) Nikolai Gogol
d) Pushkin
Answer: c) Nikolai Gogol
19. Which story by Nikolai Gogol especially influenced Ashoke? (CUET, NET)
a) Dead Souls
b) The Overcoat
c) The Nose
d) The Inspector General
Answer: b) The Overcoat
20. The Namesake was adapted into a film directed by? (TNPSC, CUET)
a) Mira Nair
b) Deepa Mehta
c) Gurinder Chadha
d) Aparna Sen
Answer: a) Mira Nair
21. Who played Ashoke in Mira Nair’s film adaptation of The Namesake? (NET, SET)
a) Irrfan Khan
b) Anupam Kher
c) Om Puri
d) Naseeruddin Shah
Answer: a) Irrfan Khan
22. Who played Ashima in the film adaptation of The Namesake? (TNPSC, CUET)
a) Konkona Sen Sharma
b) Tabu
c) Shabana Azmi
d) Nandita Das
Answer: b) Tabu
23. What is the final scene of The Namesake centered around? (PGTRB, NET)
a) Moushumi’s wedding
b) Ashima’s decision to split time between India and the US
c) Gogol’s return to Maxine
d) Sonia’s marriage
Answer: b) Ashima’s decision to split time between India and the US
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