Sex and Love

Much of Kailash’s character arc is dictated by his personal discoveries regarding physical and emotional intimacy, and the relatively open sexual politics of the United States provide Kailash’s first entry into these areas. Kailash was born in India, and he lived their through the end of his undergraduate education. When he arrives in the United States, he is struck by how frankly and openly people discuss sex and sexuality, for India’s culture is more repressed on the basis of sexual matters. In narration, Kailash states, “In America, the land of the free and home of the brave, it was possible, figuratively speaking, to discuss genitalia in public” (6). Kailash readily embraces these sexual politics, and he soon pursues romantic and sexual relationships of his own. Through these relationship, Kailash becomes better acquainted with the profound dynamics—such as fulfillment, euphoria, pain, and...