Interpreter of Maladies is just one of the many short stories written by Jhumpa Lahiri. Interpreter of Maladies is the story of an American family and an Indian tour guide, Mr. Kapasi. Driving from location to location, Mr. Kapasi revealed his second job as a translator of symptoms of patients who speak a different language than the doctor. Mrs. Das declared his job romantic. Mr. Kapasi became smitten with the woman because he himself suffered from a broken marriage. Seeking help from Mr.Kapasi, Mrs. Das wanted a remedy for her malady; therefore, Mrs. Das admitted that her middle child wasn’t conceived by her husband. However, Mr. Kapasi could not find a solution to her problem. He could only diagnose her with the feeling of guilt. There are many themes that contribute to Interpreter of Maladies including the importance of communication, broken marriages, and infidelity.
Communication is a very important aspect in one’s everyday life, yet, miscommunication is one of the most overlooked complications in today’s society. “Communication is a basic requirement for the development and maintenance of interpersonal relationships (Senn).” The story portrays the significance in communication with one another. Mr. Kapasi lost his ability to communicate in some of the languages he learned as an adolescent; in addition, he lost his ability to communicate with his wife. As a result, he would drink tea in silence at night and ended up with a loveless marriage. The Das family also had a terrible time communicating, which led to Mrs. Das committing adultery, and having no compassion for her husband or children.
Communication is one of the most important variables in keeping a healthy marriage. Without healthy communication, marriages could e...
... middle of paper ...
... Doris. "School performance and disciplinary problems among abused and neglected children." Developmental Psychology 29.1 (1993): 53-62. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
Iwaniec, Dorota. The Emotionally Abused and Neglected Child : Identification, Assessment, and Intervention. 1995. Web. 23 Feb 2014.
Norment, Lynn. "Infidelity II: Why women cheat." Ebony. Vol. 54. 2. Johnson Publishing Company, Dec. 1998. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
Ortman, Dennis C, PhD. "Post-Infidelity Stress Disorder." Journal of Psychosocial Nursing & Mental Health Services 43.10 (2005): 46-54. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
Senn, George Levinger and David J. "Disclosure of Feelings in Marriage." Merrill-Palmer Quarterly of Behavior and Development 13.3 (1967): 237-249. Web. 22 Feb. 2014.
Thomas N. Bradbury, Robert L. Weiss. The Developmental Course of Marital Dysfunction. Cambridge University Press, 2006. 22 Feb. 2014.
McCoy, M. L., & Keen, S. M., (2009). Child abuse and neglect. New York: Psychology Press.
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
In short story “The Cheater’s Guide to Love,” written by Junot Diaz, we observe infidelity and the negative effects it has on relationships. Anyone who cheats will eventually get caught and will have to deal with the consequences. People tend to overlook the fact that most relationships are unlikely to survive after infidelity. Trust becomes an issue after someone has been unfaithful. Yunior, the main character in this story, encounters conflict as he struggles to move on with his life after his fiancée discovers that he has been unfaithful. Over a six-year period, the author reveals how his unfaithfulness has an effect on his health and his relationships.
Communications generally occur in body languages: how the individuals interpret each other. Her essay is an event that is reoccurring more and more lately. The event results in a failure in marriage. In today’s society more and more people are splitting up or having divorces due to miscommunications. The essay, “Sex, Lies and Conversation,” that Deborah Tannen wrote is much use of today because it explains where miscommunications happen and she has her own studies and research to back it up. The essay goes into depth about her ideologies that cause miscommunications. Look at a miscommunication twice and do not be quick to judge because it will save plenty of
Sedlak, A.J. (February, 2001). A history of the National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and
Nock SL. 1995. A comparison of marriages and cohabiting relationships. J. Fam. Issues 16:53 76
It is widely believed that men and women respond differently to infidelity in the way they think and act (Buss, Larsen, Westen & Semmelroth, 1992; Takahashi et al., 2006; Walum et al., 2013). Past research has found that women tend to report more
Lahiri, Jhumpa. "Interpreter Of Maladies." The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction. Vol. 8. Boston [etc.: Bedford-St. Martin's, 2003]. 1024-1028. Print.
Kamentez, Kevin. “Facts about Child Abuse.” Baltimore, MD. Kevin Kamentez, 19 Jan. 2011. 6 May 2011. Web.
Infidelity is depicted as an extremely negative thing in the United States, and is often blamed for trust issues, psychologically damaging the spouse and their children, tearing apart marriages and families and more. People who commit adultery are often shamed and told how wrong what they did is and what a terrible person they are for doing it. According to the Journal of Martial and Family by the Associated Press, however, 41% of “marriages where one or both spouses admit to infidelity, either physical or emotional.” Clearly, while infidelity is generally viewed negative by society, many people either decide that it is not as negative as it is portrayed, or do not care and do it anyway. “The Lady with the Pet Dog” and “The Storm” both go against the typical view of adultery being a negative thing in a relationship by showing that it can actually have a beneficial outcome and leave some, if not all people happier.
Lamont, A. (2010). Effects of child abuse and neglect for children and adolescents [Family study]. Retrieved from Australian institute of family studies: www.aifs.gov.au
" Family Relations 52.4 (2003): 363-72. Print. Hanson, Richard R. "Optimizing Marital Success: The Conscious Couple Uniting Process. "
There was a time when more smart-conscious decisions were made relating to sexual relationships. In particular, sexual relationships within a marriage. However, times have changed. The pillars that hold up our individual sexual values have started to crumble. It is estimated that two out of three marriages fail due to infidelity. This is a scary statistic considering that people believe a marriage can survive infidelity. This brings us to our first myth: Everyone has affairs.
Child abuse has enduring consequences that may continue to haunt the victim long after the abuse. The effects of child abuse can manifest in childhood, adolescence, or adulthood and may affect an individual’s development in many forms including physical, cognitive, psychological and behavioral aspects (Briere, 1992).
This article, “An Examination of Potential Attractions of Women’s Marital Infidelity,” was published in 2014 in The American Journal of Family Therapy. The purpose of the article is to examine the process of infidelity and the steps that women take in order to cheat on their spouses. The question regarding what defines infidelity is widely debated in today’s world, particularly with the growth and use of technology. Because marital infidelity is on the rise, this article serves to examine the reasons that it occurs in order to help solve the problem. Women were interviewed about the process of infidelity and reported that three factors largely influenced their behavior. These factors that contribute to cheating are the developing of an extramarital