Family

Family is an important theme in the short story collection “Unaccustomed Earth” by Jhumpa Lahiri. Thematically, family encompasses the love, loyalty, and compassion shared by individuals who may or may not be blood-related. Family also include the emotional, physical, and spiritual support between individuals who act as a family unit. In the collection, family appears important in positive and negative ways.

In “Unaccustomed Earth,” Ruma and her father are dealing with the death of Ruma’s mother. Her death was unexpected, and it has left a large hole in the family. Ruma’s father, reeling from the loss, travels as a way of escape. His travels are also fulfilling a plan the family had prior to his wife’s passing. It is during these travels that he meets a new woman and begins to reorganize his life. Part of that includes a visit to Ruma and...