Bahmanpour: Female Subjects and Negotiating Identities in Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies

Bahareh Bahmanpour's article, "Female Subjects and Negotiating Identities in Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies," analyzes four of Lahiri's nine stories in Interpreter of Maladies: "Mrs. Sen's," "This Blessed House," "The Treatment of Bibi Haldar," and "Sexy." The way Bahmanpour intends to use these stories is described in the abstract as "...findings revolve around the fact that by allowing the female subaltern to be voiced, Lahiri’s stories prepare a space through which the subaltern can speak," (Bahmanpour). Bahmanpour intends to speak about female voice in Lahiri's work and how women in these stories are "Dealing with the trauma and the possible success, failure or resistance of female subjects who in their confrontations with the culture of the Other negotiate their new identities," (Bahmanpour). The author organizes her essay in a simple manner and divides the essay up with section headers telling her audience what she will be writing about in that section. Before starting her discussion of Lahiri's stories, Bahmanpour has a section where she writes about "theoretical background." In this background paragraph, she mentions some key terms that must be kept in mind throughout the article, such as "diasporic identity," "hybridity," and "liminality." She begins her body section with her analyzation of the story "Mrs. Sen's." Bahmanpour discusses how Mrs. Sen has trouble adjusting to her future "hybrid identity" in America. The next story analyzed is "This Blessed House," where Bahmanpour discusses how the couple, Sanjeev and Twinkle, are different in how they are at "different stages of their transformative identities," because Twinkle is an American with Indian heritage and Sanjeev had been born in India. The next story discusses is "The Treatment of Bibi Haldar," where Bahmanpour discusses that this story is a commentary on the Indian view of femininity.  The final story analyzed is "Sexy." This story takes a different approach by being told in the point of view of a white woman, Miranda, has an affair with a married Indian man, Dev. This is a native Self/immigrant Other relationship according to Bahmanpour but it is a failing one because the immigrant Other is not as open as the native Self.
The way this article is structured is a great example of what we have aiming at for our own articles in class. Bahmanpour is very clear about what she wants to discuss and excellently executes her argument.

Lahiri: This Blessed House

Jhumpa Lahiri's short story, "This Blessed House," tells the story of a newly wed Indian American couple Sanjeev and Twinkle. In this story, the couple has recently moved into a new home after their wedding in India and discovers various items of Christian paraphernalia left behind by the previous owners in their new home. These various items bring out different reactions from the couple; Sanjeev finds these items ridiculous and wants to be rid of them immediately whereas his wife, Twinkle, finds the items to be good luck and insists on holding onto them. The importance of these items is shown in how they bring out the differences in Sanjeev and Twinkle. Upon the discovery of these items, Sanjeev is very adamant about being rid of them because he is afraid of what his colleagues will think when they come to the housewarming party they will be hosting. "Twinkle, I can't have the people I work with see this statue on my lawn," (Lahiri 147). Sanjeev says this in response to Twinkle's insistence on keeping a statue of the Virgin Mary she found in their backyard.  The effect that these items have on Twinkle is quite the opposite. She believes that these things bring good luck to their household and that every time she finds a new piece it is like a "treasure hunt." She is even able to involve her husband's guests at their housewarming party with her enthusiasm to where they begin to search for items around the house (Lahiri 153-157). The differences between the couple cause Sanjeev to question whether or not he loves Twinkle although he told her he did when she asked him before their marriage. In the end, however, he seems to agree to follow her despite how feels about the things she wants to hold on to.

Bandyopadhyay: Negotiating Borders of Culture: Jhumpa Lahiri's Fiction

In this article written by Debarati Bandyopadhyay, she analyzes two of Jhumpa Lahiri's novels, The Namesake and Interpreter of Maladies, in relation to the cultural borders of India and the United States. One of the reasons for "Negotiating borders, moving across continents and the seven seas" Bandyopadhyay says is for when "an individual is in search for a better life..." (Bandyopadhyay). In this essay, she speaks about how Lahiri's works often combine the ideas of the first world and the third world, East and West, and about how they are united with similar ideas such as "India with her concept of 'unity in' diversity and the USA as the melting pot of cultures and races..." (Bandyopadhyay). In order to show this, she begins to discuss the story "When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine,"and how people, like Mr. Pirzada and Lilia's parents are willing to assimilate to American ideas like Halloween, but when it comes to situations such as educating children about other cultures, the sentiment is not reciprocated. She then moves on to discuss Lahiri's character Mrs. Sen from Interpreter of Maladies and Ashoke from The Namesake and how relocating themselves from India to the United States are more than physical relocations but they also very emotional and leave behind "permanent fault-lines," meaning that there is a piece left behind in their original home. Bandyopadhyay mentions throughout this article how Lahiri brings different aspects of her cultural connections in this story such as her background as a second generation American born Indian, and how she has a longing for her cultural home in Bengal. The ideas that Bandyopadhyay shares in this are very well shown and is another great example of what I aim to do for my final paper. It is especially helpful to me because it analyzes Interpreter of Maladies, my chosen text for the semester.

Lahiri: When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine

In this specific story of Jhumpa Lahiri's the question of logistical borders and the difference between people on both sides of those borders is the question in mind of ten year-old girl Lilia. In her own words, Lilia describes her confusion by listing the things that she notices are similar between her parents and Mr. Pirzada, "It made no sense to me. Mr. Pirzada and parents spoke the same language, laughed at the same jokes, looked more or less the same," (Lahiri). In this excerpt, Lilia only sees the cultural similarities that her parents and their guest share, so when her father insists that they are different she does not believe how. In order to show her the difference, Lilia's father "insisted that [she] know the difference, and he led [her] to a map of the world taped to the wall over his desk," (Lahiri). The reason behind Lilia's lack of understanding between the logistical borders between India and Mr. Pirzada's home country of Pakistan is because of her youth. She becomes more knowledgeable of the logistical difference of India Dacca as she participates in the viewing of the evening news with her family and Mr. Pirzada, but as for the cultural differences, she sees no difference other than the pocket watch that her parents' guest carries with him. Although there are no significant cultural differences between her parents and Mr. Pirzada, she begins to understand the logistical border differences as she sees Mr. Pirzada miss his family in Dacca and see the worry in his eyes because of the violence occurring when they see the evening news at dinner.

Walcott: The Sea is History (how it connects to Children of the Sea)

I think the connection between these two works lies with the sea, being that it is something that both the story and the poem seem to revolve around, and what the sea means in both works. In Walcott's poem he describes the sea as a "grey vault" that "has locked them up," alluding to the lives that have been lost at sea. In the story "Children of the Sea," Danticat's young man talks about how the sea is deadly and merciless "...like the sharks that live there. It has no mercy."

Davis: Oral Narrative as Short Story Cycle: Forging Community in Edwidge Danticat’s Krik? Krak!

Rocio G. Davis' article, "Oral Narrative as Short Story Cycle: Forging Community in Edwidge Danticat’s Krik? Krak!" is her literary analysis of Edwidge Danticat's novel, Kirk? Krak! Davis states her thesis by saying "This article will explore the short story cycle as a vehicle for the development of ethnic literature by analyzing Haitian-American writer Edwidge Danticat's Krik? Krak! to show how the drama of identity and community is mediated through a genre that is linked to the oral narrative, itself a way of fostering imaginative communities and developing identities," (Davis). Throughout this article she greatly focuses on how Danticat uses the mother daughter relationships in the stories that she writes as well as how these stories tie into each other and her people and she uses the works of Amy Tan, Gloria Naylor, Julia Alvarez, and Louise Erdich as examples of how mother-daughter relationships have been used in ethnic literature over time. Davis believes that "Danticat's narrative presents the voices and visions of women, usually mothers and daughters, whose personal tragedies impel them to form community in the midst of oppression and exile," (Davis). Davis shows this by summarizing and analyzing the stories in Krik? Krak! such as "Children of the Sea," "Nineteen Thirty-Seven," and "Wall of Fire Rising." Davis also talks about important symbols in these stories of Krik? Krak! such as the sea, butterflies, and death. This type of article is an excellent example of what this English class will be aiming to achieve for our literary analyses. The thesis was clear and easy to find and Davis' argument follows what she tells her audience what she intended to write about.

Danticat: Children of the Sea

Edwidge Danticat's story, "Children of the Sea," is the first story in her collection of narratives Krik? Krak! This story is shared by two narrators, a young man and a young woman who are in love with each other. They write letters to each other that will never be read by the other because they have been separated by the horrid events occurring in their home town which caused the young man to flee because of his opposition of the Haitian government. The young man is on a boat to America, along with many other passengers hoping to escape Haiti. The young woman is left in Haiti with her family but leaves their home in Port-au-Prince to Ville Rose in order to save themselves from the macoutes. Besides the constant violence and death, a common motif in both sides of the story is the sea. At the end of one of the young man's letters he writes: "Maybe the see is endless. Like my love for you," (Danticat). Quite similar to what her lover wrote, the young woman writes at the end of the story: "behind these mountains are more mountains and more black butterflies still and a sea that is as endless as my love for you," (Danticat). These two quotes show that the sea symbolizes the strength of their love for each other despite the distance that has been forced between them.

Pulitano: Landscape, Memory and Survival in the Fiction of Edwidge Danticat

In Elvira Pulitano’s, “Landscape, Memory and Survival in the Fiction of Edwidge Danticat,” she analyzes several of Edwidge Danticat’s literary works such as: Brother, I am Dying, “Caroline’s Wedding,” “Children of the Sea,” The Farming of Bones, and “Nineteen Thirty-Seven” three of these works are from Danticat’s novel Krik? Krak! Out of these literary works, Pulitano focuses on three specific elements that she believes is important in Danticat's work, which is her description of landscape, the importance of memory, and the struggles her characters endure in order to survive, hence her title. Pulitano describes Danticat's purpose behind her works as "Addressing both Haitians at home and in the Diaspora, Danticat grounds her narratives on Haitian soil thus w/righting her island history against colonial and neocolonial discourse on islands," (Pulitano). Throughout this article, Pulitano talks about the Diaspora, which is the dispersion of people from their homeland and in this case, the dispersion of the Haitian people from their island. The reason Danticat sets her narratives on Haitian soil is because she wants to share what her people have truly endured. Pulitano uses the term "w/righting," quite interestingly. It implies that Danticat is not only writing stories of literary merit but she also wants to right the history of her home against the colonial or neocolonial control over her homeland. This article is another prime example of what we will be aiming to write for our genre analysis in class. Pulitano uses her sources effectively has a strong argument to defend which is something that I aim to do in my analysis at the end of the semester. 

Danticat: Nineteen Thirty-Seven

In Edwidge Danticat's short story, "Nineteen Thirty-Seven," she tells the story of a young girl, Josephine, whose mother has been imprisoned for being responsible for the death of another woman's child. This story is full of colorful imagery, being told from the point of view of a child, but a very important motif in this story is the Madonna that Josephine takes with her when she goes to visit her mother. The Madonna, which is a statue of the Virgin Mary that is usually holding a young Jesus, is often a symbol of faith and motherhood in Catholicism, and represents that as well in this story. In this specific tale, Josephine believes that the Madonna cries because her mother has died even though she knows that the tears are only oil being released from melted wax placed by her mother behind the eyes of the Madonna (Danticat). Her mother insists that she bring the Madonna with her on every visit, and at these visits Josephine believes that "At times, she seemed happier to see the Madonna than she was to see me,"(Danticat) which emphasizes the value of the statue to Josephine's mother. Her mother, as she begins to become even more ill in her imprisonment, tells Josephine to "Keep the Madonna when I am gone...When I am completely gone, maybe you will have someone to take my place...But if you don't, you will always have the Madonna," (Danticat). This quote emphasizes the Madonna statue as a motherly figure since Josephine's mother is hoping that it will take her place for her daughter once she has passed away. This story mainly focuses on the relationship between mother and child, something that the Madonna statue encompasses.

Alexie: The Toughest Indian in the World

Alexie's story "The Toughest Indian in the World," is a story of a man who becomes disconnected with his Indian culture. This story is about an Indian man who lives a simple life and was raised with Indian morals of how people will "shoot you in the heart." Because of what he was taught by his father as a child, he learns that it is okay to pick up Indian hitchhikers. He is a reporter for a newspaper that writes human-interest pieces and while on a trip to interview someone for an article, he picks up an Indian hitchhiker heading to Wenatchee, his home reservation. They converse and he discovers that the hitchhiker is a fighter and that he was returning from a fight against the supposed "Toughest Indian in the World." This relationship takes an interesting and unexpected turn after the man offers the hitchhiker a place to stay the night. After they had gone to sleep the reporter awoke to find the hitchhiker in bed with him, naked and aroused. Although the reporter claims he is not gay he allows this encounter to happen and says "But I wanted him to save me." The question though is save him from what? This could show that he wants the hitchhiker to save him from the type of life he has been leading and in a sense, bring him back to the culture he left quite some time ago.

DeVoss & Rosati: "It Wasn't Me, Was It?" Plagiarism and the Web

In this article, DeVoss and Rosati divulge in the phenomenon of plagiarism among students today. Their audience for their work is directed towards fellow educators of writing and how this situation can be handled. These writers start their article with three stories of their encounters with plagiarism among their students in their time as educators. In the first story, Rosati was skimming a paper mill online to see what was being said about King Lear, while doing this she was familiar with some of the essays she was reading on the paper mill. When she asked for the three students to come forward she had more than those three come to her office and ask: "It wasn't me, was it?" In the next story, DeVoss was giving a tour of the library and notices that an older student did not show for the tour. When he turned in his assignment, all of his sources were from websites and not the most credible of sites either. She has a meeting with this student and shows him all of the resources the library has to offer as well how to find sources in the library. At this, the student was astonished with the work that goes into research. In the final story, DeVoss has a foreign student that although he does not quite have a grip on American writing, he proves to be bright and has a spark in his writing. Until on one assignment he turns in work that is lacking his "spark." She addresses the issue with the student and he reluctantly admits that he did not write the paper. According to the authors, the reason for sharing these stories is to remind educators the issues of research and plagiarism are interconnected to each other. The writers explain a theory by Rebecca Moore Howard that seeing some instances of plagiarism as "patchwriting" or "kidnapping" helps students grow with their writing skills whereas labeling is as theft is simply clarifying as stolen work. The authors explain how the readiness and ease of the internet has made plagiarism even more tempting. This is because of the plethora of information on a multitude of subject that can be found online and the simplicity of "copy and paste." In this work, the authors also mention that by focusing on plagiarism and seeing writing as intellectual property helps the students understand why plagiarizing is wrong. This article applies to this course do to the upcoming research we are about to embark on for our final work.

Rosling: Let My Dataset Change Your Mindset

In this video, Hans Rosling, a Swedish doctor and professor, gives a presentation at the US State Department for a video series called TEDtalks about the mindset of people versus what is actually true when it comes to the differences between first world and third world countries. The reason he gives this presentation is because of the preconceptions of his students that the Western world contained long life in small families and shorter lives with large families. According to Rosling, the preconceptions have not been true since the years that these students' professors were born. He goes on to disprove this misconception with a bubble chart that shows the relationship between life expectancy at birth and children per woman and income per person, child mortality and yearly income, as well as how HIV relates (or does not) to income over the span of different years. Approximately ten minutes into this presentation, Rosling presents a chart showing the relationship between child survival and GDP per capita in different regions of the world in 2003. When showed by region, it only makes sense that the African region is at the bottom, but when Rosling breaks the regions down by country the results change, showing countries from the regions at the bottom move to the top. By doing this, Rosling shows that these developing regions are slowly moving upward an improving their health and development. Breaking away from these assumptions is necessary in order to change the mindset of the world. Based on what Rosling has presented, once we have collected thorough and specific data that there should be a new mindset around convergence.

Alexie: Class

Edgar

Alexie's character Edgar Eagle Runner is a Native American from Spokane, Washington, and despite his ethnic background and upbringing, was able to overcome and become a corporate lawyer. Not only is Edgar the protagonist in Alexie's story, but he also represents what many people in America could experience: a cheating wife, revenge, the loss of a child, a loveless marriage, and even a life-changing epiphany. Told in Edgar's point of view, Alexie tells the story of Edgar and Susan, the white woman that he marries, from how they met to the morning after Edgar's bloody bar fight. This shows how Edgar evolves over the relationship. Towards the end of the story, Edgar experiences an epiphany while being intimate with his wife "that she'd been faking her orgasms all along since [their] child had died, and probably since the first time [they] made love," (Alexie, 46). This epiphany causes him to leave his wife in bed and leave the house to a bar and allow himself to get into a fight that he is certainly outmatched in. After this fight, he returns home to his wife in more ways than one. When Edgar answers his wife's question of where he had gone he says "I was gone...But now I am back," (Alexie, 56). This shows that his physical return is also a metaphorical return, that he had not truly been there in the relationship since he discovered her secret affair.

Work Cited:

Alexie, Sherman. "Class." The Toughest Indian in the World. New York: Grove, 2000. 35-56. Print.

Sommers: Responding to Student Writing

In this article the writer, Nancy Sommers, is trying to show her audience of fellow writing teachers that students are not getting the help they need with their writing. Sommers explains that comments are very important to writers because writers "need and want thoughtful commentary to show that we have communicated our ideas and when not." (Sommers, pg. 148). According to Sommers, teachers comment on their students writing to only show them whether or not they are communicating effectively but also to teach them to question themselves. Sommers also makes note of how teachers are "appropriating" their students' writing. What she means by this is that the way teachers comment or correct the students' papers is not very helpful and often vague. In this article, Sommers makes it clear that the use of generic comments on grammar and spelling is not useful to a writer. Instead, a teacher should ask the questions and showing the confusion another reader would ask on befuddling passages. As a writer, I must agree with Sommers on this issue. I can recall having teachers whose corrections were less than helpful.

Ramsdell: Language and Identity Politics: The Linguistic Autobiographies of Latinos in the United States

In this work, Lea Ramsdell compares three authors who wrote autobiographies that focused on their "home" language in order to prove that "language is identity and that identity is political" (Ramsdell 166). What Ramsdell means by this statement is that language is a part of our identities as humans. It is the way that we communicate with one another and it shapes up us as human beings. However, it becomes political when that language is under public scrutiny. As stated earlier, Ramsdell wrote this comparison after reading three different works with language as the common factor. Those works are Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodríguez, Heading South, Looking North: A Bilingual Journey by Ariel Dorfman, and "How to Tame a Wild Tongue," by Gloria Anzaldúa. In these stories language is at the premise of each. Language has shaped each one of these authors in one form or another and it is why these authors put it as the focus of their works. According to Ramsdell, Anzaldúa's relationship with her language differs from the other works studies is through the way she "takes pride in her ability to express herself with such a range of linguistic codes." (Ramsdell 174). In the stories of the other two authors they encountered a struggle with their language, even grew to hate it at some point, for Anzaldúa it was the exact opposite. I agree with the author's stance of "language is identity and that identity is political." Like the authors of the autobiographies I have had my own relationship with the language I speak and the language of my culture, and I see the the struggle of both sides, much like Anzaldúa has.

Anzaldúa: Borderlands / La Frontera: The New Mestiza

In this article, Anzaldúa wishes to show her audience the new "mestiza," as stated in her title. She tackles issues such as the self-identity in the Latina culture for both men and women as well as the controversial border issues. In the issue of the border, Anzaldúa uses the physical border as a metaphor for that of cultural borders and differences. Differences such as the difference of "machismo" and "macho" of then and now and how is challenges a man's ability to take care of his family. According to Anzaldúa, one of the important effects of having a mestiza consciousness is "developing a tolerance for contradictions, a tolerance for ambiguity."It is this tolerance that aids one in dealing with the social and economic problems that affect oppressed groups in the United States today. By adopting the this consciousness, the mestiza will endure a great struggle but according to Anzaldúa, it is a mindset that can "bring about the end of rape, of violence, and of war." Personally, I agree with Anzaldúa on this subject. Although tolerance is not the easiest trait to develop, it is something that could have a great effect on any culture. If we, as humans, were to become tolerant of each others beliefs, skin colors, social statuses, and religions, maybe there would be less hate in the world. Perhaps it is hate itself that should be the one thing that should not be tolerated.

Bartholomae: Inventing the University

In this work, Bartholomae is writing to the audience about students writing at the university level and is trying to show his audience the difference between an advanced writer and a beginning writer. Bartholomae mentions how a student must "invent the university." This statement may be interpreted as a student should be comfortable with that they are writing, not just what he or she believes the professor wants see on paper. The author also mentions how students must "learn to speak our language." What Bartholomae means by this statement is that beginning college students must learn to write effectively with the correct vocabulary rather than writing what is believed to be desired. Bartholomae mentions an interesting metaphor when he uses "carry the bluff." What he means by this is that the students must be brave or daring in their writing. As in, if they have not yet mastered the language, then they should be brave enough to try. However, these two concepts contradict each other and later on cause problems, according to Bartholomae. In this essay, Bartholomae brings up a term, "commonplaces." The context of this term in writing implies that commonplaces are "interpretive schemes," according to Bartholomae. This means that there is a certain vocabulary that can be used to describe most things in a more advanced or descriptive vocabulary. With all of these different terms that Bartholomae uses, he shows the audience the difference between an expert writer and a beginning writer. The difference, based on this essay, is the vocabulary (or language) used in their writings.