The major connection
between these two texts comes in the way that both Kathy and Gogol, as the protagonists of the
two novels, have to move towards acceptance and discovery of their true identity. Of course, the
true identity of both of these characters could not be more different. For Gogol, he battles
against the Indian identity that is somewhat forced upon him by his parents, who, even though
they live in America, do not embrace American culture. The rejection of his name given to him by
his father is symptomatic of the way in which Gogol rejects the Bengali culture that his parents
are so keen he adopts, and the novel is the story of his struggles with his identity and his
eventual acceptance of who he is, that tragically only comes after his father's death when he
reads the work of the author he was named after.
For Kathy in Ishiguro's
classic, the novel charts her slow acceptance of her identity as a clone who is not meant for
happiness and can only expect an early death as her...
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