Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland describes a Bengali family’s struggle to maintain stability as their world shatters in the instant of the sudden and brutal death of a treasured son, Udayan; the continental separation of the family headed irreversible changes between relationships that caused the greatest rift in the family: a young woman’s inability to love her fatherless child. The trans-atlantic variation in setting from Calcutta to Providence, Rhode Island inspires a progressive evolution for the travelers-Subhash and Gauri-while the mourning parents continue to dwell in their loss by staying in India where civil war is on the rise. The glue that keeps Udayan and Subhash’s parents living in India is the memories of Udayan’s life in the country. …show more content…
In the 1960s, the young brothers spent their time humbly playing football in the muddy dirt of the lowland in Calcutta. Their modest upbringing influences a greater excitement in sneaking into the Tolly club, an exclusive resort for the rich. Their need to continuously come back to the private “swimming pool, stables, and tennis court (pg. 2)” is indicative of their desire to live a successful life with opulence which hints to their unassailable value of education- the way to the riches. The brothers share an incredible bond that is broken when one’s motivations conflict with the other’s; the dutiful Subhash decides to continue his scientific research in America while the impulsive Udayan chooses to continue his studies in India and pursue his political ambitions. Over time, as Subhash continues his studies in Providence, the situation in India gets worse and Udayan joins a group of revolutionists called Naxalbari. His strong belief to end inequality and poverty leads him to be a culprit in the death of a corrupt police officer and “since then he’d waited for his own blood to spill
Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies traces the lives of Bengali people, mostly immigrants, living their lives with the hardships that they face. In the eighth story, “The Treatment of Bibi Haldar”, the wives of a village tell of Bibi Haldar, a young woman put into the most unfortunate of circumstances. The ailment she suffers from, the lack of a loving home, her disgraced ending, and, most of all, the ability to become victorious through these hardships makes Bibi the most sympathetic character in Lahiri’s short story collection.
By facing down the sea of unreactive twins, John challenges the predestined path of the advanced society, which is too far separated from his way of thinking for him to change, showcasing how the radical one holds little power of the dulled, herd-mentality minds of many. One of the most interesting clashes of ideologies comes from the Mustapha Mond and John’s discussion, for despite their similar views on the arts and conditioning, Mustapha was still brought up following the ways of the Ford Society and, like John’s own mother, is unwilling to give that up. Whereas Mustapha is content to keep from going against the grain, to live out his life in comfort away from the islands he was threatened with in his youth, John, who is unable to return to the Reservation expresses his desire to continue living what his childhood at the Reservation his deemed a worthy life,
Traditions control how one talks and interacts with others in one’s environment. In Bengali society, a strict code of conduct is upheld, with dishonor and isolation as a penalty for straying. Family honor is a central part to Bengali culture, and can determine both the financial and social standing of a family. Usha’s family poses no different, each member wearing the traditional dress of their home country, and Usha’s parents diligently imposing those values on their daughter. Those traditions, the very thing her [Usha] life revolved around, were holding her back from her new life as an American. Her mother in particular held those traditions above her. For example, when Aparna makes Usha wear the traditional attire called “shalwar kameez” to Pranab Kaku and Deborah’s Thanksgiving event. Usha feels isolated from Deborah’s family [Americans] due to this saying, “I was furious with my mother for making a scene before we left the house and forcing me to wear a shalwar kameez. I knew they [Deborah’s siblings] assumed, from my clothing, that I had more in common with the other Bengalis than with them” (Lahiri ...
It is implied immediately that these boys are the troubling type. The era that the story takes place puts a microscope over the problem of these youths. They are frustrated in their efforts to find a suitable outlet for their passions and energies in America’s shiny new suburban jungles (Ross pg 63).
He talks about seeing police officers, the official ones that shouldn’t be biased over race, but there to support justice, harm physically to the point of bruises and death of individuals of color.
Subsequently, the death of Trayvon Martin is seen as the motive to construct a response to anti-black racism, similarly known as The Black Lives Matter movement. To clarify, Shaun King author of ‘Black Lives Matter opposes police brutality, not police’ states, “I believe that brutal police officers should be held to the highest ethical standards and find it deplorable that abusive officer after abusive officer in America is far too often set free without punishment” (King). The author uses powerful diction such as
Events and notions are gradually entwined together - Anil’s memory of her father links to Dr Perera, Leaf’s postcard links America to Sri Lanka. Throughout the novel, significant events resonate with minor events, often subtly foreshadowing the future. The private war between Sarath and Gamini mirrors the public war between the Sri Lankan revolut...
In the novel Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri, nine distinct stories are told that depict families or people of Indian descent who experience different situations and circumstances that affect their lives. Many themes arise throughout the stories, but one that is prevalent in two specific stories, “Mrs. Sen’s” and “Interpreter of Maladies,” is the idea of cultural assimilation. Both stories, however, portray the idea of cultural assimilation in different ways. “Mrs. Sen’s” is an example of a woman who resists cultural assimilation in order to preserve her Indian heritage, while “Interpreter of Maladies” is a story that depicts a family who falls victim to cultural assimilation, thus losing a sense of connection to their Indian roots
He never truly picked a side on this issue. He understands the frustrations of people within the community who are aware of the policeman’s brutality among African American men. He believes that law enforcement should not abuse their power and attempt to understand why there are people who are outraged at the actions of those in their profession. However, he states that “ whenever those of you who are concerned about the failures of the justice system attack police, you are doing a disservice to the cause” (Berwick). The Black Lives Matter group has a right to speak about unfairness in the criminal justice system, however they should do this through nonviolence. The actions of one person caused others to see members in the Black Lives Matter movement as encouraging and participating in violence rather than protesting
“Running in the family,” is a fictionalized memoir, written by Michael Ondaaji. Michael Ondaatje is a writer from a Ceylonese origin. Due to his parents’ divorce, He was forced to leave his native country with his mother at a young age. After living in Canada for twenty five years, he decides to visit Ceylon; and learn about his family and ancestors. The memoir represents glimpses of the author’s family history. It presents a story about the author’s great grandfather, who is an immigrant physician. It describes his grandfather, a rich lawyer, and his extravagant Grandmother Lalla. Furthermore, it contains multiple stories from the author’s childhood. It predominantly focuses on the author’s parental conflict. It indicates his father’s dipsomania and solitude; as well as, his mother’s suffering.
According to Tanveer Hasan in his case study of Amitav Ghosh’s novels of Indian-American Diasporic Literature, One might argue that there are instances in the characters created by Ghosh who cling to memories more than they cling to their sanity. One cannot of course deny the important role memories have to play in framing or reframing the psyche of an individual, par when they have undergone a harrowing experience such as ‘cultural displacement, factional uprooting, secession claims, and ethnic refugees.’ The clarity with which the characters and the story tellers seem to get in and out of the realms of rational arguments about memory and irrational theories concerning the nostalgia is what makes Amitav Ghosh an author who narrates the tales of experience and not just of plots and
“If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance,” transcribed George Bernard Shaw in Immaturity. ‘The Lowlands’ portrays the life of two siblings, born 15 months apart, in the late 1950’s themed land called Calcutta. Jhumpa Lahiri excerpts the book’s title from the section of the city called Tollygunder. During every north-eastern monsoon, the lowland fills with water reaching the height of a bicycle, which remained for the rest of the year. Udayan and Subhash grew up together in this marshland, each bound to be together and often mistaken for the other. This novel shows how two people who are considerably identical can be so much different when faced with distinctive circumstances and life choices. It complicates the age old tale of sibling rivalry and enriches the readers with true love and captivates the way both the brothers swear by each other. Lahiri’s works are usually based on characters who journey to another country and the challenges they come across; deriving from her own personal experience as being born in London to her Bengali parents and the way of life she has overcome. This tale takes us on a high tide while teaching us the bitter reality of the highs and lows of actions which would haunt families for the rest of their lives.
"The development of the story in A Passage to India is thus in many ways the development, or rather the deterioration, of the relationship between rulers and ruled in the sub-continent between 1912 and 1922: perhaps the most formative decade in Indian history". ( A Passage.P.74).
The story portrays their experiences with their heaps of troubles and tragedies. The narrative portrays their present day interaction that is balanced by the awful profundity of their past encounters. This is a novel that permits Mistry to introduce the tragic beauty of the city of Mumbai and venture out into the rural Dalit detestations of India's oppressive caste system. It is a novel where the middle class and faceless common labourers meet, sensitize each other, and figure out how to overcome their preference and manufacture obligation of friendship, fondness, and mankind among them. Wadhawan says: “Mistry gives an insight into rural Indian Caste politics that survives the post-independence democracy” (80). He stresses the trouble of battling against this profoundly established restricted Casteism in India, which is discrediting to the possibility of innovation. Genestch in his book The Texture of Identity: The Fiction of MG Vassanji, Neil Bissoondath, and Rohinton Mistry observes: “A Fine Balance demonstrates and explores the effects of untouchability on individuals with respect to caste and the injustices of caste and probes the implications of defying it”
In the novel, parental absence escalates sibling conflict, which leads to the characters escapement, ultimately resulting in Bim’s anger. While some readers may think that Clear Light of Day just represents a single family’s struggle, the novel clearly represents India’s struggle as well. India’s independence from Britain consequently leads to the formation of Pakistan and continual religious and political conflict. This novel is an allegory that explains political combat in an accessible way because everyone is part of a family. This novel not only models the reasons for conflict in India but for other nations and even families as well.