Relationships in Mississippi Masala and Persuasion

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Relationships in Mississippi Masala and Persuasion Although they occur in extremely different times, I think that there are parallels between the relationships of Mina and Demetrius in Mississippi Masala and Anne and Captain Wentworth in Persuasion. In both mediums, the women are torn between their families and their relationships with their lovers. In Mississippi the prejudices that Mina's family has are racial, while in Persuasion, Anne's family is prejudices by wealth and social class. There are also many differences between the two. In this paper I will discuss, Mississippi Masala, Persuasion, and the ideas of marriage in both of them.

In Mississippi Masala, Mina was born and raised in Uganda until the age of six, when dictator Idi Amin decided to expel all South Asians (Indians). After six years over moving around, Mina and her family end up in a small town in Mississippi. Mina works in an Indian-owned motel while her mother runs a liquor store and her father continues to battle the Ugandan government for their lost property.

Mina meets Demetrius, an African American carpet cleaner, after a car accident. Smitten by Demetrius' smashing good looks, Mina is immediately attracted to him, something her father, Jay, intensely objects to. His wife respects current times a bi...

... middle of paper ...

... and his ignoring her. Nair does not seem to agree with arranged marriages. This is shown in the marriage between Patel and his wife. Every night his wife refuses to sleep with him. Their marriage lacks all the qualities that an ideal marriage should have. I find it interesting that Nair never mentions having children when discussing marriage.

In conclusion, while living and writing in different times, Austen and Nair seemed to have similar ideas as to what constitutes a good marriage. Mississippi Masala shows the strain that racial prejudices can have on a relationship, while Persuasion show the strain social and wealth prejudices can have on a relationship.

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