Lilia's Use Of Television

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A television in simple terms, is a form of communication used for transmitting moving images. In the story of Mr.Pirzada and Lilia, it is a lifeline into another world. The television forces both characters to confront their emotions about living safely in America while others are suffering in Dacca. The television also highlights to Lilia how and why she is different. Lilia has a unique perception of both an American and India perspective. She tells the story as she is navigating through this middle ground. The mention of the television indicates Lilia realizing something about herself or others within her surroundings. Lilia uses the television to compare herself to others, notice differences, and expand her knowledge of the world.
The first …show more content…

This shows that in Lilia’s family dynamic, the television is a central part of their life. In this story, it is important that Lilia’s family is not from America. They appear to fit into an American stereotype of sitting around the television to eat dinner. Their reason for sitting in view of the television is different from their counterparts. Lilia’s family is intensely following the war in Dacca. Lilia noticed that her family is different from others when she visits her friend Dora’s house after trick-or-treating. After calling her mother to tell her that she arrived safety, Lilia noticed that, “The television wasn’t on at Dora’s house at all” (39). She describes the atmosphere as relaxed with Dora’s father having a glass of wine and “saxophone music playing on the stereo” (39). These two scenes both depict households in America but one is facing a different reality than the other. Lilia’s family is on edge following a war while Dora’s family is relaxed and enjoying a quiet evening. Lilia is caught in between two worlds, one filled with war and the other with wine and soothing music. The only struggles she has known are sore hands from collecting so much candy, not the dusty …show more content…

Once the television is turned on and her parents and Mr. Pirzada gather around it, Lilia starts to notice certain things. Lilia says, “I began to study him…to try to figure out what made him different. I decided that the pocket watch was one of those things” (30) Lilia describes Mr. Pirzada’s character as different but she declares what makes his different is not that he is from another country, instead it is his pocket watch. Lilia comes to this conclusion because the pocket watch is set to the local time of Dacca, the place from the television. All Lilia knows of this place is tanks, dusty streets, and fallen buildings as displayed on the television. When Mr. Pirzada takes out the pocket watch, Lilia realizes it was already night in Dacca and Lilia says, “Life, I realized, was being lived in Dacca first” (30). She is realizing that life exists elsewhere and that they are completing their days before her. Lilia is forced to confront her emotions about the war, and this realization brings an uneasiness to her. She defines Mr.Pirzada as different due to this pocket watch. This shows that unlike her parents she does not define him by religion or nationality, but instead by the experiences he has such as his life in Dacca. Mr.Pirzada helps Lilia to discover that life occurs even in the places she has not been to and these unknown realities bring a discomfort to her. This discomfort leads Lilia to wonder, “What

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