Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

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Recommended: The impact of cultural assimilation

"Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Through her tasteful selection of contemporary Indian influenced prose pieces, Jhumpa Lahiri traces the unique journey of Indian families established in America. Focusing on the intergenerational aspect of traditional households, Lahiri conveys the emotional rollercoaster that accompanies a person who is branded as a foreigner. In America, there exists a common misconception that immigrants who arrive in this country fully assimilate or seek to assimilate as time progresses. The category I chose was "The Dot of true Happiness." The dot which signifies the bindi, a traditional red mark worn by Indian people, is the source of true happiness among these immigrants.

Although these newly arrived immigrants are expected to be content only after assimilating to the American culture, Lahiri attests that it is the experiencing of the Indian culture in America which truly gives these immigrants satisfaction.

As revealed through the eyes of the main character Eliot in the Prose piece "Mrs Sen's," "Eliot understood that when Mrs. Sen said home, she meant India, not the apartment where she sat chopping vegetables."(p.116) India is still very much alive in the daily routine of the Sen Household. Mrs. Sen seeks to find a fish market that sells cod as fresh as her memories of the sea coast in Calcutta in order to make a traditional dish that she once relished back home.(p.123) Mrs Sen's longing to recreate the same gratification she felt as she ate her favorite dish is the ultimate motivation for her to drive to the market on the lake side. She refuses to drive when her husband demands her to. His explanation that driving is a necessary skill in America is not considered an adequate justificat...

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... home. It is these thoughts that give him some sort of contentment and allow him to lead a somewhat satisfactory life until his wife arrives.

America is a land of immigrants from various origins. Although these immigrants may appear to be living a satisfactory life when they learn to assimilate to mainstream America, this often is not the case. Even if an individual establishes themselves socially and economically in one place, they still live in a place far from home. This is the reason that although assimilation seems to be the apparent goal of these immigrant people, assimilation is not the ultimate form of joy. Rather the occasional moments in which their lives back home are revived through scents, or tastes or simply fond memories are the moments which immigrants learn to live for. The hope of these moments is ultimately what allows these immigrants to live.

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