In "Once in a Lifetime" the two Indian American families find themselves living under the same rooftop. Hema's family lives in a suburban home outside Boston, while the Chaudhuris, come back to America after spending seven years in India, and need a place to stay while they search for another home. "Once in a Lifetime" is interesting by they way it portrays the interaction between two Indian American families and what they distinguish as home. The story is narrated from the point of perspective of Hema, who thinks back on the winter of 1981, when she was twelve. Her family"s family relates to the Indian image of an affectionate family, with a daughter who determinedly helps around the house, gets her work done and complies with the expectations …show more content…
As children, talking about India, Hema and Kaushik briefly discuss the Taj Mahal and its geographical position (241). This early say of the Indian world's most famous mausoleum brings this image to mind when one reads the depiction of the Chaudhuri home. In addition, Parul's conclusions concerning the beauty of religious buildings in Rome, and her desire to have the capacity to inhabit them, recommend that coming to rest in a building of great beauty would be a favored end to her life. After having been in the Sistine Chapel she communicates that it made her " want to be a Catholic, only to be able to pray in them " (233). In any case, far from belonging to the Catholic faith, she is an Indian who in spite of her westernized ways remains bound by Hindu traditions. The similarities between their home and the Taj Mahal are notable, for example, the fact that the Taj Mahal was worked to commemorate the favorite spouse of a Shah, a rationale which is reflected in Dr Chaudhuri's desire to accommodate his better half's desires for a beautiful home. At the point when the Taj Mahal was manufactured, it was amongst the most present day and forward-thinking architecture on the planet, and moreover the house on the North Shore is an example of current architecture, outlined by a famous architect. The whiteness and its sheer size also bring to mind the colossal extents of the Indian landmark. In the event that one reads this cutting edge home as a perfect representation of the ancient image of Indian culture, the Chaudhuris' decision of house is not such an un-Indian decision after all, yet rather a way of commemorating their Indian heritage, and the memory of Parul. Hema's home is in many ways a blend of Indian and American influences, and the distinctive aspects are highlighted and downplayed as particularly her mom sees fit. For instance, her mother proclaims the importance of children
She argued and fought for all women to have access and with it freedom to choose when and or if they wanted to be mothers.
Also, the fact that she debuted this speech at the National American Woman Suffrage Association is critical because it stirred up a certain determination and emotions that other groups may not have had, as well as the logical reasoning behind relating women’s suffrage and child labor laws.
In short, Mrs. Pontellier was not a mother-woman. The mother women seemed to prevail that summer at Grand Isle. It was easy to know them, fluttering about with extended, protecting wings when any harm, real or imaginary, threatened their precious brood. They were women who idolized their children, worshiped their husbands, and esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals and grow wings as ministering angels. (p.29)
It allows them to barricade themselves from a weak distraught mind, to be able to overcome the complexity of being the mother’s society doesn’t make them out to be, a sense of being heroic. However, is the same said for Edna Pontellier in the book The Awakening? Does she follow the guideline of what deems a mother to be or does she create her own? Edna prominently ignores the role of motherhood to find herself by leaving her own children behind. An act of greed and selfishness or self-individuality? “I would give up the unessential: I would give my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn’t give myself” (page 47). To be able to surrender yourself, your hope, your hope that one is able to perceive themselves for better or worse. From critical thought and the emergent of the mind, to suppress your own individuality is an action people stray away from. To exploit the form of human intellect and a human’s worst trait. It is the monument to our collective sins. But what this quote exacerbates is the quality of how Edna is portrayed as pathetic figure. How she is not able to give herself up for what people say give life to them. Their children. A form selfishness act to preserve that Edna is incompetent for not being able to give up what she is and who she wants to be. Society wants to deem her into something she’s not. Society
She states to the audience that she is a wife, and a mother, to first, let the audience know that she has personal experience with her subject, and also, to reach out and connect with the readers.
The goals that mothers set for their young daughters while trying to protect them displays a thin line between protecting and overprotective. In the book Bossypants by Tina Fey, she talks about her life experience. Tina Fey devoted a whole chapter of “prayers” she has for her daughter in “The Mother’s Prayer for Its Daughter”. The prayers contain different standards, and goals that she made for her daughter. When a woman becomes a mother she must take full responsibility for the upbringing of a small human. The baby’s upbringing is then based around a list of goal the mother makes based on her life when she was younger. The goals need to be set when the baby is younger because once the baby reaches the age of womanhood, she should be able to follow her own path. If she
A traditional extended family living in Northern India can become acquainted through the viewing of Dadi’s family. Dadi, meaning grandmother in Hindu, lets us explore her family up close and personal as we follow the trials and tribulations the family encounters through a daily basis. The family deals with the span of three generations and their conflicting interpretations of the ideal family life. Dadi lets us look at the family as a whole, but the film opens our eyes particularly on the women and the problems they face. The film inspects the women’s battle to secure their status in their family through dealing with a patriarchal mentality. The women also are seen attempting to exert their power, and through it all we are familiarized to
“Like many immigrant offspring I felt intense pressure to be two things, loyal to the old world and fluent in the new, approved of on either side of the hyphen” (Lahiri, My Two lives). Jhumpa Lahiri, a Pulitzer Prize winner, describes herself as Indian-American, where she feels she is neither an Indian nor an American. Lahiri feels alienated by struggling to live two lives by maintaining two distinct cultures. Lahiri’s most of the work is recognized in the USA rather than in India where she is descents from (the guardian.com). Lahiri’s character’s, themes, and imagery in her short stories and novels describes the cultural differences of being Indian American and how Indian’s maintain their identity when moved to a new world. Lahiri’s inability to feel accepted within her home, inability to be fully American, being an Indian-American, and the difference between families with same culture which is reflected in one of her short stories “Once in a Lifetime” through characterization and imagery.
women and children that they must keep in mind that there are various types of understanding
She also appeals to the ethos at the very end of the speech by identifying three separate and conflicting social classes that are based on intelligence and wealth. She describes the first class as being “intelligent and wealthy members of the upper classes who have obtained knowledge of birth control and exercise it in regulating the size of their families.” She then compares the highest class to the mid-level group by saying they too are “equally intelligent and responsible” but can not gain knowledge and therefore can not plan their families. By comparing the first two alone it appeals to ethics as two groups with equal knowledge and wealth should both have knowledge and control over the size of their families. She ties in the last group by saying that the lowest group is “irresponsible and reckless” and states that this group reproducing in large numbers is bad for society as it will spread disease and the increase in size of this “feeble-minded” group.
Eva’s lack of value for motherhood shaped the lives of her family as well as her own. Because of her negative feelings toward motherhood, many of the people surrounding her have similar values. Eva reflects her community’s negative perception of motherhood by being straightforward about it and passing it down through her family
When women are kept in their classical role of mother and caretaker, all is well and their lives are simple. Children relate positively to their mothers in this typical setting; while Dantés was in prison, during a time of distress, he remembered something his mother had done for him. For example, Dumas writes, “He remembered the prayers his mother had taught him and found meanings in them which he had formerly been unaware.” (41). Mothers teach their children to the best of their ability, evidenced in Dantés, as well as when Caderousse says Mercédès is instructing her son, Albert. It is in these moments that a mother’s love, compassion, and necessity are revealed. Lives are calm and enriched as long as women are in their niche. This includes non-maternal nurturing roles, for example, Mercédès attentiveness to Dantés father and Valentine’s special ability to care for Nortier. This loyalty is valued and shown as essential for the stability of life. Though The Count of Monte Cristo depicted women as best suited to the home, they intermittently stepped further out of that r...
...eals the mother’s attitude towards her new role. Just as in the Victorian era where women were limited in their development as individuals and mainly served as wives and mothers, the speaker feels as if she is confined to her new role as a mother and is denied her creative freedom.
Women throughout time have been forced to cope with the challenges of motherhood along with society’s expectations as to what a mother’s relationship should be with her child. Novelist, Agatha Christie said of the relationship between mother and child, “A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.” In Beloved, Toni Morrison examines the same idea; ultimately showing that the mother’s willingness to protect her child at all costs often endangers the mother herself. Beloved is set in the late 1800’s but Sethe’s experiences as a mother ring true with the experiences of mothers throughout time because the act of being a mother is timeless. As a child Sethe was separated from her mother both physically and mentally because of slavery, so when she has her own children she is determined to keep her family together. In her attempt to free herself and her children from slavery Sethe finds herself separated from her daughter, Beloved as a result of Beloved’s death. When Beloved returns, Sethe’s guilt causes her to overcompensate for their lost time. Her attempts to make up for this lost time with Beloved lead her to become too dependent on her children’s happiness and to abandon any of her own pursuits in favor of ensuring that her children are content. She gives her children everything she has, but is eventually sucked dry with nothing left to give. This struggle is similar to the struggle of modern women who must leave their children while they work then try to make up for the lost time when they are home. From the time they are girls women are led to believe that more important than their happiness, is their respo...
This essay will discuss the significance of the Taj Mahal on a global scale in context with the themes studied in lectures and tutorials. This essay will explore the architectural significance, along with the representation of religion, criticisms and will closely examine the themes of death and memory and the significance of the Taj Mahal on a global scale.