Summary:
An analysis of Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies, a collection of stories that trace the unique journey of families from India who establish themselves in America. The book conveys the emotional roller coaster these people experience from coming to America and being labeled as foreigners. It also shows how these people gain true satisfaction from their experiencing Indian culture in America, rather than from assimilating to the American culture.
Through her tasteful selection of contemporary Indian influenced prose pieces, Jhumpa Lahiri traces the unique journey of Indian families established in America. Focusing on the intergenerational aspect of traditional households, Lahiri conveys the emotional rollercoaster that accompanies a person who is branded as a foreigner. In America, there exists a common misconception that immigrants who arrive in this country fully assimilate or seek to assimilate as time progresses. The category I chose was "The Dot of true Happiness." The dot which signifies the bindi, a traditional red mark worn by Indian people, is the source of true happiness among these immigrants.
Although these newly arrived immigrants are expected to be content only after assimilating to the American culture, Lahiri attests that it is the experiencing of the Indian culture in America which truly gives these immigrants.....
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