GENERATIONAL TRAUMA AND ALIENATION IN LAHIRI ‘S NOVELS

Abstract

Jhumpa Lahiri’s works, particularly The Namesake and The Lowland, explore the profound psychological and emotional
impacts of immigration on identity, specifically focusing on second-generation immigrants. Her novels examine the
intergenerational struggles and psychological residue that shape the identities of immigrants, navigating between their
inherited cultural values and the pressures to assimilate into their host country. Lahiri’s portrayal of second-generation
immigrants reveals a complex dynamic where nostalgia, cultural dislocation, and the sense of rootlessness play crucial
roles in shaping identity. Through her characters, Lahiri provides insight into the fluidity of immigrant identity and the
emotional alienation that comes with the search for belonging. At the core of Lahiri’s exploration lies the question of
identity construction, as her characters struggle with a fractured sense of self, a product of their parents' migration and
their own experiences in a new land. Lahiri’s narratives delve into themes of nostalgia and trauma, not just as personal
experiences but as generational forces that affect the second generation. Such characters as Gogol Ganguli in The
Namesake represent the profound feeling of alienation and inner conflict that is inherent in the second-generation
immigrant condition. The dislocation arising from the gap between two worlds—Bengali and American—is a constant
preoccupation that affects the character's inner life, sense of self, and relationships. As a result, Lahiri’s novels serve as a
deep exploration of the emotional and psychological landscapes of those who must navigate dual identities, balancing
between their parents' past and their own present. Through these narratives, Lahiri asks critical questions about the
formation of identity in a diasporic context. Can one ever fully reconcile multiple identities? How do you come to terms
with the trauma inherited from what you have seen through your parents' experiences, more so if what they have been
through is displacement, loss, and violence? The condition of second-generation migrants underlies all of Lahiri's work
and provides an optic through which to better view the protracted emotion and cultural unease of beings suspended
between worlds.