In Jhumpa Lahiri’s “Interpreter of Maladies” we go on a journey with the Das family, and their tour guide Mr. Kapasi; who brings the family on a tour of India’s temples and holy shrines. Early on we learn of the growing infatuation Mr. Kapasi has towards the young Mrs. Das. On several occasions, he fantasizes of how his relationship with her; would grow from simple friends to passionate lovers. Trying to extend his time with her, he desperately hopes the family will agree and be willing to see one of his favorite places. Lahiri goes on to show Mr. Kapasi’s desperation, through his sheer panic of not being able to see or hear from Mrs. Das, so much so he goes on a frantic internal dilemma. Lahiri goes on to say, Mr. Kapasi was beginning to dread
Jhumpa Lahiri composed the two short stories: “Interpreter of Maladies” and “Sexy” that conveyed the recurring theme of feeling like an outsider. During the first story, “Interpreter of Maladies,” there was a character named Mr. Kapasi, a “self-educated man,” who was a “devoted scholar of foreign languages,” who dreamed of becoming an interpreter for diplomats and dignitaries, where he could aid in “resolving conflicts between people and nations, settling disputes of which he alone could understand both sides” (Interpreter of Maladies). This dream became a fantasy after his parents settled his arranged marriage that turned for the worse. Mr. Kapasi’s wife “had little regard for his career as an interpreter,”and she despised the thought of him
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”
In the short story, The Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri signifies the importance of communication within relationships, families, and cultures. Also Lahiri signifies the dangers of romanticism. Lahiri proves this importance by showing the difficulties of the characters lives that are caused by lack of communication, also we are shown the romanticism caused by the non existing communication between the relationships in the story and the clashing of the two cultures within the story. Through symbolism and fanaticism, we are able to better understand these miss communications.
“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 Change 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.
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
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
Chronic pain is something many people deal with on a daily basis. At sometime in life,
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.
Some people believe that opposites attract. Others believe that people who are more similar will have a better relationship. Some prefer relationships with older people, and some prefer them with younger people. Jhumpa Lahiri, author of the short story collection Interpreter of Maladies, explores the dynamic of relationships in her works. In her short story “Interpreter of Maladies” a married woman confesses a secret to a man she barely knows. In her story “This Blessed House” a couple fights over the religious relics they find in their new home. While one reads Lahiri’s stories, a theme begin to emerge that shows the woman of the relationship behaving like an adolescent and the man behaving like her father due to the internalized idea of
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
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (2013) mental illness is defined as a health
Before their deaths, Mr. and Mrs. Das were preoccupied and inattentive to their four children, Raja, Tara, Bim, and Baba. They spent most of their time at the club, playing “their daily game of bridge” (Desai 50). This pastime is so important to them that they neglect to take care of their kids. For example, Mrs. Das tires of “washing and powdering” Baba, her mentally disabled baby, and she complains, “My bridge is suffering” (103). Mr. Das also does not focus on his children and “he [goes] through the day without addressing a word to them” (53).
Suffering includes a broad scope of things and is often different for everyone. Despite the different ways that people can suffer, virtually every individual on the planet will experience some form or level of suffering in his or her lifetime. Suffering is inevitable. The question is not if you have suffered, it is how. Suffering is personal, handled in different ways, can alter who you are, and changes your relationship with God.
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”.