He could live this lifestyle instead of avoiding the

he could live this lifestyle instead of avoiding the traditional
life his parents live. Maxine’s relationship with her parents is
the relationship Gogol wishes he had. Maxine’s parents Gerald and
Lydia show that kind of affectionate and American type of love
Gogol’s parents never openly displayed. Gogol soon moves in with
Maxine leaving behind his connections with his home and his
parents, yet he enjoys living this kind of life without his
parents. However, this also bothers Gogol because he spends so
much time with Maxine’s parents and not his own. He knows Gerald
and Lydia are nothing like his parents and as Lahiri observes,

“his immersion in Maxine’s family is a betrayal of his own”
(141). Gogol would never attend his family dinners and does not
even communicate with his parents anymore. As Gogol sits at the
dinner table, he knows that he won’t be able to enjoy a moment
like this with his family. His family is always so traditional
doing puja’s, speaking Bengali and eating Indian food which is
something Gogol doesn’t do at all. He chose to become close with
Maxine’s family because he can enjoy being himself. Gogol begins
to feel more distant from Maxine after his father, Ashoke, dies
because Gogol begins to shift more towards his family. Maxine has
never known anything of this side of Gogol’s identity, and this
causes a misunderstanding between them. This sudden death causes
Gogol to turn to his family for comfort which is something he has
never done. All his life he tries to rid himself from his
parents’ culture however, things change for him as he no longer
feels an urge to escape anymore. Gogol soon realizes that this
identity is no longer something he can run from.
Despite all his attempted relationships that failed, Gogol
continues to seek love. However, he takes a different approach
this time. Gogol has spent his whole life rebelling against his
mother and her culture. His romantic relationships which he has
used to form this new identity is now being used to drive him
back to his original identity he shares with his family. Instead
of trying to find that Americanized love he has been searching

for his whole life, Gogol gives in to his parents wishes and
starts a relationship with someone of the same culture. Moushumi
is someone Gogol and his family had known for quite some time.