"The Disappearance" by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
1. In Chitra Banerjee’s story “The Disapperance” The husband was a very old fashion guy who was looking for this typical and loving wife. He wanted this girl to be smart; he wanted to feel proud to introduce her to his friends. He also wanted her to be submissive to him, let him make the most important decisions at home. This man was getting help from his man to find a perfect woman that would fit his wish list. He felt in love with this girl that was just the way she wanted. He felt in love with the fact that she fitted what he wanted, but he did not even know her as a person.
In this story the 3rd person narrator says, "He was a good husband. No one could deny it." I believe he/she was being sarcastic, as I keep reading the story, I can see the things that this husband was doing with his wife. He would even “forced her” to be with him.
2. In the story, this men’s wife was very quiet, she always showed respect to the husband. Every time she wanted something or try something new he did not like, he would try to change her mind right away. “But he would always softened his no’s with a remark like What for, I’m here to
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take care of you.” (585). Once in a while he would let her make small decisions in the house, such as the color of the tiles, but nothing major. He wanted a quiet girl, but on the other hand, she used to run through the house playing with her little boy but would stop as soon as he arrived. Even sex was not a mutual agreement between them. He had to be firm and literally drag her into bed because she would find anything to do before that. “She was always saying, please, not tonight, I don’t feel up to it” (585) He would grab her by the elbow, without “hurting” her of course to bed. In my opinion, the marriage of this couple did not started with real love. I think he had more an attraction to his wish list that she happened to fulfill. The sad part is that as a result of all this, she left a little boy without a mother with no idea of why his mother left him. "The Bane of the Internet" by Ha Jin 4. In Ha Jin’s story “The Bane of the internet” the narrator in this story is the older sister, who is talking about what is happening between her and her sister. This writer looks to me as the independent, and responsible person, who had a sister that was always taking advantage of her. She was the kind of person that plans, saves, and was realistic. Her younger sister Yuchin, is very manipulative, and knows how to get ways in every situation. Yuchin, was the only sister she had, therefore, she felt a responsibility to always be there for her. Even though, she knew she was being used, she kept helping Yuchin with all her problems. Every time her sister would come to her with a problem, she always had a solution. Solution that most of the times, Yuchin would disagree. Yuchin on the other hand was not at all like her sister. She kept making bad decisions without thinking about anybody else but her. She envied what others had, and always wanted to have something better to show off. She would do anything just to get what she wanted. “Sister, I must have a car. Yesterday Minmin, our little niece, came to town driving a brand-new Volkswagen. At the sight of that gorgeous machine, I felt as if a dozen awls were stabbing my heart. Everybody is doing better than me, and I don’t want to live anymore” (595). 6.
In the story the narrator who is the bigger sister, explain with frustration how unrealistic image her family had about her monetary status. “My family always assumes that I can pick up cash right and left here. No matter how hard I explain, they can't see how awful my job at a sushi house is.” (595). She moved to America, the place where you dreams come true. The American dream for some reason seems realistic to some people. Another reason I believe her family was assuming she was more than financially stable, was because of who she was as a person. She was the type of person who would plan things, she was responsible, realistic, and did not get in trouble like her sister; I guess she was the mature and the adult one. She was very independent and already had some savings for her future
place. She already realized that no matter how much she would explain to her family they would never understand she was not as rich as they thought she was. She had a job that she hated, and was working hours for a small pay. “I waitress ten hours a day, seven days a week. My legs are swollen when I punch out at ten p.m. I might never be able to buy an apartment at all. I'm eager to leave my job and start something of my own — a snack bar or a nail salon or a video store. I must save every penny.”(596) She was a hard working woman that just was trying to save to have a better life, a better job, and her own place. "Eveline" by James Joyce 8. In the following story “Eveline” by James Joyce, Eveline’s feelings were all over the place. She was trying to convince herself that she had the right to be happy and escape from there. She realizes that her father is making threats against her, but she also remembers all the times he was there for them as well. The times he made them laugh, and how sweet he could be at times. But at the same time, she believed Frank was the one that could save her, and give her a different, and respectful life. But besides her father, she remembered that she made a promise to her mother to keep the home together. “..To remind her of the promise to her mother, her promise to keep the home together as long as she could” (599). She also did not know how everything was going to turn out with Frank in Buenos Aires. What if she wanted to come back? After all she did for her. In this story, I can see a girl who wants to escape from her actual situation, but at the same time she is afraid to start a new life. After all, she had a home where she was raised, and food. She was trying to convince herself to go, but was finding reasons of why not to go. What would they say about her? “What would they say of her in the stores when they found out that she had run away with s fellow? Say she was a fool perhaps” (597) She was afraid, and worried about all this reasons. She was unsure about the decision, and she was already used to her life. It was not the easiest life, but for her to leave everything and start a new life was a little bit risky for her. I think that she was just trying to find the perfect excuse to drop this new life that was ahead of her, furthermore, she felt she was ok there. 9. From the beginning of the story, I can see the attachment Eveline had for everything that was surrounding her. The memories, the two children that she was going to leave behind, and the promise she made to her mother to keep the house running were some of the reasons bothering Eveline’s heart. At the end of the story, I can almost see the entire scenario, this young girl trying to leave everything behind to find a new life. Her mind was trying to figure out why she should go, while her heart was telling her to stay. She was still praying for God to show her what to do at the last moment before leaving. “She prayed to God to direct her, to show her what was her duty” (599) She was still having doubts, but at the same time she felt she needed to go with Frank because all he did for her. At the end, to my understanding is that Eveline stays. He called her name but she looked so different, like she never loved him. I can almost see Frank surprised by Eveline’s reaction towards him. He called her, and called her, even after he was getting shouted to go on. “She set her white face to him, passive, like a helpless animal. Her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition” (600).
Summary of “The Money” by Junot Diaz In this essay, the author recounts a life event from his childhood. The story begins with Junot describing his family's financial status and living arrangement. Diaz and his four siblings lived with their two parents in a catchpenny apartment in a rough urban borough. Not steadily employed, his mother and father were in a constant struggle to keep the family afloat monetarily; to the point where decent, alimental food was not a likely sight in the household. Despite their meager inhabitance his mother was stowing $200 to $300 monthly and sending it to her parents in the Dominican Republic.
The protagonist is Ann who has lived on the farm with her husband of seven years. Her life is tedious and lonely. Her nearest neighbor is Stephen, a bachelor living on a farm about two miles away. John, Ann’s husband, has little ambition other than make his farm work. He loves Ann and is very proud that she is his wife. On the other hand, Ann finds much that she is
The story is about two sister who currently lives in America. It has to deal with moving to the United States in the 1960’s. Both sisters moved to the United States in hope to pursue their dreams and to achieve they goals with college and further education. Both having similarities in appearance and religious values. Both Bharati and her sister Mira had planned to move back to their homeland India after their education. This story relates to our point of culture having a major impact on how people judge each other because it has a huge impact on how people view the world differently because, in this example, I feel manipulated and discarded. This is such an unfair way to treat a person who was invited to stay and work here because of her talent” it is basically stating on how even immigrants (like the sisters themselves) who have come into the U.S., are sometimes given fewer benefits and rights than everyone else and that they feel discluded from being able to express themselves if they wanted to, or to have good thoughts that America is as good as people has said it was, with all this freedom. The last example is, I feel some kind of irrational attachment to India that I don’t to America. Until all this hysteria against immigrants, I was totally happy.” This demonstrates that it isn’t the country itself that makes people unsafe or unsure, it’s the people running it who try to put limitations
In Junot Diaz’s essay “The Money” he explains where his family stands economically. Stating that his father was regularly being fired from his forklifting jobs and his mother 's only job was to care for him and his four siblings. With the money brought home by his father, his mom would save some. Her reason was to raise enough to send to her parents back in the Dominican Republic. When his family went on a vacation, they came back to an unpleasant surprise; their house had been broke into. Eventually Diaz was able to get back their money and belongings. Diaz returned the money to his mother although she didn’t thank him for it, this disappointed him. Like Diaz I have also encountered a similar situation where I was disappointed. When I was in second grade, my life life took a completely different turn. My dad took an unexpected trip to Guatemala, on his return, the outcome was not what I expected.
One girl who chases the American Dream is Lena Lingard, a small farm girl from a poverty-stricken family. "Lena gave her heart away when she felt like it, but she kept her head for her business and had got on in the world." (192). Lena had one thing on her mind: money. To her the American Dream was wealth. She wants freedom from worry about where her next meal would come from. Lena begins her journey to wealth by becoming one of the many hired girls in the town of Black Hawk. There she was apprentice to a dressmaker and before long began to show great potential. Soon she began making money with her hard work, dedication and talent, but she uses this money not to indulge in her own desires, but to benefit her family. She spent her excess funds buying clothes for them, and paying their bills. But this wasn't enough to gain society's approval. She is a hired girl. Because she went to many dances over the summer months, many young men began noticing her, as they never had before. Because of this Lena earns a reputation like those of the hired girls; that ...
His wife’s old friend, Robert’s, wife had died so he came to stay the night before visiting her relatives. When the narrator’s wife tries explaining Robert’s situation, he say’s things like, “Right then my wife filled me in with more detail than I cared to know.” While his wife is good at communicating, the narrator just doesn’t care. Towards the end of the story, another example of his selfishness is when he says, “My wife opened up her eyes and gazed at us. She sat up on the sofa, her robe hanging open. She said, ‘What are you doing? Tell me, I want to know.’ I didn't answer her.” Subsequently, his comment displays his lack of respect towards her and he literally ignores what she asks him.
In the essay “Suitcase Lady” by Christie McLaren, she proves that even people you least expect to be successful can be. Although the main character may not be successful in the business aspect, she is successful! She may be in an uncomfortable situation but as she states here: “I...always try to do the best to help people- the elderly, and kids, and my country, and my city of Toronto, Ontario” (5). Even though she is homeless, she still is relatively happy and she is respectful of other people, making her successful. However, she is unsuccessful when it comes to her family. The suitcase lady seemed to have struggled with money for quite sometime making it hard for her to start a family, “We never got along well because I didn’t bring him up. I was too poor. He never called me mama” (4). She seems quite upset about the fact that her own son and her do not get along. She clearly does love her child but she had a hard time making sure he had a high quality of life so she had to give him away. Therefore, she is unsuccessful with her family, making her lack the happiness she
To people, when you achieve the American Dream, it means you have a proper home, family, pet(s), and a car/van. In document A Esperanza says, “This was the house Papa talked about when he held a lottery ticket and this was the house Mama dreamed up in the stories she told us before we went to bed.” With this evidence, it is clear that Esperanza’s family is facing the obstacle of not having enough money to buy a proper house that they can all enjoy living in. In document B, Esperanza’s mother is talking to Esperanza and says, “You want to know why I quit school? Because I didn’t have nice clothes. No clothes, but I had brains.” This is another way of showing that having financial problems can be an obstacle. Esperanza’s mother felt embarrassed and didn’t feel encouraged in the cause of not having the money to buy nice clothes. The documents A and B prove that having financial issues is an obstacle when trying to achieve the American
As the story begins, the narrator's compliance with her role as a submissive woman is easily seen. She states, "John laughs at me, but one expects that in marriage" (Gilman 577). These words clearly illustrate the male's position of power in a marriage t...
“Like a river flows so surely to the sea darling, so it goes some things are meant to be.” In literature there have been a copious amount of works that can be attributed to the theme of love and marriage. These works convey the thoughts and actions in which we as people handle every day, and are meant to depict how both love and marriage can effect one’s life. This theme is evident in both “The Storm” by Kate Chopin and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Gilman; both stories have the underlying theme of love and marriage, but are interpreted in different ways. Both in “The Storm” and in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the women are the main focus of the story. In “The Storm” you have Calixta, a seemingly happy married woman who cheats on her husband with an “old-time infatuation” during a storm, and then proceeds to go about the rest of her day as if nothing has happened when her husband and son return. Then you have “The Yellow Wallpaper” where the narrator—who remains nameless—is basically kept prisoner in her own house by her husband and eventually is driven to the point of insanity.
The husband was also selfish in his actions. With good intentions, the wife had planned a surprise for him, but he was not pleased. “Instead, he was hotly embarrassed, and indignant at his wife for embarrassing him” (13). When the narrator describes the husband at the beginning, he has a “self-satisfied face” (3). Embarrassment is a result of feeling self-conscious. Because of his self-conscious nature, he assesses first how the few people in the restaurant will view him because of his wife’s actions. He does not prioritize appreciation for his wife’s effort and care, but rather sees the worst in her misguided actions. The husband’s selfishness causes him to be prideful, which in turn causes him to destroy his relationship with his wife through his actions.
"My mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America" (491). This ideology inspired Jing-mei’s mother to work hard to create a better life for herself and her family in a new country. The search of the American dream exerts a powerful influence on new arrivals in the United States. However, realizing that they may not achieve the dream of material success and social acceptance, parents tend to transfer that burden to their children. It is a burden where dreams usually fall short of expectations.
Later the poor and inculpable man came outside to throw the garbage. The clear night and few stars in the west and the steady, light traffic on EL Camino made him to see the life and the question in another perspective. He though about the old days and though about the future. Eventually he found how precious his wife to him and he loves his wife so much. He feel that he argue with her and make her unhappy. He feel regret, so he changed his mind. A man who loves his wife really much would so something like him.
This story is a great representation of how relationships have changed over the years. Weather its the female dominance or the relationships are given up. Shoba and Shukumar are great examples of this phenomenon. This couple can be related to a typical American relationship. Jhumpa Lahiri does a good job of detailing this failure of a relationship and explains how this couple breaks apart.
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy tells the story of the communist state of Kerala and the forbidden love between two castes, which changes the lives of everyone. In the novel an ‘Untouchable’, Velutha is a carpenter and works at Paradise Pickles and Preserves for much less than he deserves because of his status as an Untouchable in the caste system. Velutha falls into a forbidden love with a divorced woman, Ammu who is associated with an upper caste Syrian Christian Ipe family. Marriage was the only way that Ammu could have escaped this life, but she lost the chance when marrying the wrong man, as he was an alcoholic and this resulted in them getting a divorce. Ammu breaks the laws that state ‘who should be loved, and how and how much’, as their affair threatens the ‘caste system’ in India, which is a hierarchal structure and social practice in India in which your position in society is determined and can’t be changed. Arhundati Roy portrays the theme of forbidden love within the caste systems and shows how they are t...