Sripathi’s intolerance of spending money on anything but himself leads to the disgust of his wife. During the planning of Maya’s engagement, he worries about “how much that [would] cost” (102) and even calls his wife a “foolish woman” (102). This is significant because it shows that Sripathi cannot bear the thought of splurging on his daughter’s engagement. This shows that he does not care about pleasing other people who are invited to ceremony; rather, he cares about his own financial future. Through the exchange between him and his wife, Sripathi is portrayed as a selfish person who only cares about his own opinions. He even belittles his wife for not accepting his opinion as the best idea. However, after Maya’s death, Sripathi copes by becoming more empathetic. He recalls what he has done to Maya and wonders how he will be able to face his grandchild with the knowledge that he is responsible for her mother’s death (245). This is significant because Sripathi begins to reflect and consider how others feel. Through this personal thought, this reveals how much his character has changed since the death of Maya. He now understands that he will not be able to face his grandchild because of how disowning Maya contributed to her death. Sripathi now tries to atone for what he has done to Maya by attempting to get closer to Nandana. This helps him to
Imagine being a true cultured foreigner, who comes to live in a new country.You do not know anyone in this country and have left all your luxeries back home. You think your culture can help you blend in, but it makes you stand out even more. You see people doing things you never thought you had to do. You are being treated like an outsider, when all your life you thought everything was perfect. You slowly drift away from home, culture, and the person you were before coming to the new land. In the novel, The Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri, Lahiri mentions loneliness throughout her three works: A Real Durwan, Mrs. Sen’s, and When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine. Lahiri presents isolation through a little girl who doesn’t know
Jhumpa Lahiri was born on July 11, 1967. She has the Bengali background by her parentage. She is interested in learning various languages, which she mentioned in her recent work, “In Other Words”. She possessed a number of awards to her credit in the literary field. She is a leading diasporic writer holds a distinctive place in the literary world. Her short stories represent the experiences of the various set of people both in India and America. Most of the research articles on Lahiri focused only on the viewpoint of feminism, culture and gender studies, thematic approach etc. “The narrative is not the story itself but rather the telling of the story” (miamioh.edu). According to the above saying, Lahiri’s way of storytelling is something related to her personal touch. Since she too is an immigrant she perfectly explicit the feelings in her narratives. This research paper focuses her "A Real Durwan" one of the short stories in her famous collection "Interpreter of Maladies" in narratological point of view by
But when the inner reality surfaces, the protagonist become disillusioned and soon distances himself from such ostentatious lifestyle. The story talks about immigrant Indians, their nostalgia, their lifestyle, and the fixation that Indians have with the Western world. It brings to light the secret that individuals live with simply to continue their married life intact. Moreover, it also reveals the sort of adjustment that a couple maintains in America where husband and wife divide their responsibilities and appear as rivals to each other. The lifestyles of Mr. and Mrs. Das hinge on the foundations of co-operation and not on cordiality. Life for such couples becomes a continuous “bickering, the indifference, the protracted silences” (53). Mr. Kapasi, the interpreter’s description brings to light the various aspects of how American life had blunted the Indian way of the couple. It is, of course, a matter of pity for children who become the victim of such void that their parents
The main character is Mrs. Das whom is flirtatious, careless, and needy. She and her husband take their family to see the country India for the first time. The tour guide Mr.Kapsi whom is curious, understanding, and quite aware. He sees something unusual at the beginning of the trip, but does not say anything. As the children continue their site seeing, the husband takes picture with his camera as if he lost in his own world. Meanwhile the wife gets to know the driver instead of site seeing. Mr.Kapsi is aware that the family is not like most Indians which lead him to be attracted to Mrs.Das. It states, “The family looked Indian but dressed as foreigners did, the children in stiff, brightly colored clothing and caps with translucent visors (29). This quote shows the difference in cultural clash as well the difficulty of communication. Mr.Kapsi tells Mrs. Das that he is an interpreter for a doctor which makes her believe she can discuss her personal business without him telling anyone. It states, “He decided to begin with the most obvious question, to get to the heart of the matter, and so he asked, “Is it really pain you feel, Mrs. Das, or is it guilt?”(39) Made the wife realized what she was truly feeling about her mistakes. After the conversation Mr.Kapsi did not look at the Mrs.Das the same way. The unusual
In the Interpreter of Maladies there is a short story called, “Mrs. Sen’s”. In the short story Lahiri shows how Mrs.Sen searches for her identity in a new place. She tries to hold on to how she did things in her past home and struggles to let go. Mrs.Sen says “Everything is there (Lahiri 113)” as she explains who she used to be and what she used to do. She struggles to find her identity and she holds on to her traditions in fear losi...
The novel ‘Interpreter of Maladies’ by Jhumpa Lahiri is comprised of many short stories including ‘This Blessed House’ and ‘The Third and Final Continent’. ‘This Blessed House’ is centered on a newlywed Indian couple moving into their house and finding Christian trinkets all over the house. ‘The Third and Final Continent’ is about another newlywed couple and their move to America. Both short stories are told from the point of view of the husband and have the recurring element of tradition, therefore the effects of tradition and culture on the daily lives and relationships of newlywed couples are highlighted.
A foreign stranger that they have never met captivated both Mr. Kapasi and Miranda, and they did not care what stood between them. Mrs. Das being from America already stood out from many of the women that Mr. Kapasi knew but she truly stood out as one of the only people to take an interest in his job. Mrs.Das even describes his job as an interpreter as “romantic” (50 Lahiri) and a “big responsibility”
An Epidemic of Empathy in Healthcare: How to Deliver Compassionate Connected Patient Care that Creates a Competitive Advantage was the book I chose to read for this assignment. I chose this book because in reading the reviews of the book and the summary, I found it to be a topic of current discussion among my associates and colleagues. The title of this book stood out to me and, after further inquiry, I realized it gave insight to one of the major problems in the delivery of healthcare today.
Relationships are as essential to humans like any basic necessity such as food or water. Throughout history, relationships have assisted human beings in persevering together through both physical and emotional challenges in life. However, the stability of these relationships are incessantly vulnerable to deterioration. This unfortunate outcome has been investigated in numerous works of literature. In two of such works, “Interpreter of Maladies” published in 1999 by Jhumpa Lahiri and “Aguantado” published in 1996 by Junot Diaz, the authors reveal through various tones as well as diction the respective themes of each story how selfish desires lead to the demise of relationships.
Misinterpretations happen on a regular basis in The Interpreter of Maladies. Mr. Kapasi incorrectly assumed that Mr. Das was born in India. Mr. Kapasi asked, “You left India as a child?” (Lahiri 45). This was a misconception by Mr. Kapasi. When Mr. Kapasi explained to Mrs. Das about his job as an interpreter, she was aroused and said, “But so romantic” (Lahiri 50). Mr. Kapasi thought that Mrs. Das was giving him verbal and behavioral cues that she was interested in him, and he began to fantasize about her. Mrs. Das wanted to hear more about his job at the doctor’s office, and showed him how impressed she was by stating “So these patients are totally dependent on you” (Lahiri 51). Mr. Kapasi created a non-existent relationship in his mind between him and Mrs. Das. When Mrs. Das asked for his address to send him copies of the photos she took, he started to imagine they would start a relationship. Mr. Kapasi thought “In time, she
The comparison of Jhumpa Lahiri’s “A Temporary Matter” to “Interpreter Of Maladies”, converges upon a single, salient point of thematic interest: issues like double-sided swords in life. Conventionally, a double-sided sword performs both favourable and unfavorable consequences of an issue on the protagonists. Nothing is absolutely positive or negative. The protagonists of these stories, both meet struggles in their lives, but these struggles also provide opportunities for them to solve more important problems they previously had. Double-sided swords most aptly describes the roles of Shoba, Shukumar, Mrs. Das, and Bobby. They all meet matters that also bring positive sides to them. While these people all meet problems in their family, they
“Pleasure may come from illusion but happiness can come only of reality.” –Anonymous. Although finding pleasure by means of illusion may be effective temporarily, a relationship is incapable of flourishing without the assistance of reality. In the book Interpreter of Maladies, there are constant battles of characters escaping illusion involving Indian culture, told through short stories. Indifferent relationships will cause a couple to stray from reality and separate themselves from reaching mere happiness. In the stories, “A Temporary Matter” and “Interpreter of Maladies,” the use of alliteration and symbolism emphasize the failing relationships of Shukumar and Shoba and the two marriages of Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi with the common theme of
The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee is an in-depth analysis of the history of cancer. The book discusses the beginning stages of cancer when it was merely a confusing phenomenon for doctors that occurred for over a century. For example, "Childhood leukemia had fascinated, confused, and frustrated doctors for more than a century. The disease had been analyzed, classified, sub-classified, and divided meticulously” (Mukherjee 12). Mukherjee is a passionate physician and displays this in his work as a cancer researcher. Mukherjee book consists of his professional experiences working at the Dana-Farber
Lakunle was a poor village school teacher who had greater admiration for Sidi, “THE VILLAGE BEAUTY WHO WANTED EVERYMAN TO LOOK AT HER SO, SHE MADE A SHOW OFF” when carrying a pail of water, through her way of walking and improper dressing which did not cover the parts of her neck and shoulders. Sidi wanted to attract Lakunle also and “BEING LITTLE INFLUENCED BY HIS LOVE BUT DID NOT ACCEPT HIM FULLY AS HE WAS NOT ENOUGH TO PAY A BRIDE-PRICES FOR HER”.