Dedicated to the study of literature.
1. What seems to be the author’s intention or purpose for writing the narrative? Try to think of several purposes and consider varying audiences in your response.
2. Describe the role of faith in the author’s ordeal or in the narrative as a whole.
2a. In general, what would a Puritan say about God and his providence in their everyday lives?
3. Describe the relationship between Mary and her captors.
4. Based on the reading, what do you think the characteristics of a “good” Puritan are?
5. How do you think Mary feels about her captivity by the end of it?
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Shukmar and Shoba are a young Indian couple who are struggling with the death of their unborn child, and the distance that had grown between them as a result. The two get an alert in the mail that for five nights, the power will be shut off for a couple of hours. During these periods of darkness, Shoba suggests that they share a secret with each other each night. Ceremoniously, they joined together over dinner and shared a part of themselves, for the first time since the baby's death. Shukmar finds that during these times, sharing bits and pieces of the unknown in the candle light, that he can see what he had missed out of their relationship. Since the incident, he had avoided any confrontation with Shoba, and because of these secrets he was able to look forward to spending time with her. If even for only a moment, things felt comfortable to him. On the fifth day, Shukmar recieved notice that the electrical company had fixed the problem and the power would not go out. Sorrowed by the thought of not having another moment with his wife, he made a special dinner and contemplated on what would happen. As she got home, she announced to him that she had decided to move out and had just signed on an apartment. In response to that, he betrayed himself by telling himself the sex of their baby, something that he had promised himself he would never hurt her by doing. The title of "A Temporary Matter" not only relates to the obvious matter of the power outage, but many other matters throughout life. Each part of life is so temperamental and so vital. Throughout life, there are the newlywed Shukmars and Shobas; the happy times, the times of discovery. Just as quickly as those arrived, however, the post-incident couple can unveil; times of sorrow and regret. Each phase of life is essentially a temporary matter, each having its purpose. Through their "game", these phases are laid out. The secrets start off as innocent details of the passion they once held for each other, "'the first time we went out to dinner...i forgot to tip the waiter...by the end of the meal i had a funny feeling that i might marry you,' he said, admitting it to himself as well as to her for the first time. 'It must have distracted me.'" (Lahiri, 13-14) As the nights went on, however, the secrets got more tender, wearing with time and stress. Although releasing these secrets to each other allowed comfort to set in, the damage done is enough to make years of love and care nonexistant.
When Mr. Pirzada Came to Town
In this section, Lilia, the daughter of an Indian couple residing in northern Boston, is introduced. Being born in America, Lilia is all but familiar with studies of her families' home country. Lilia recalls the Autumn of 1971, when a man by the name of Mr. Pirzada had entered her life, befriending her family and visiting for dinner each night. After mistaking Mr. Pirzada for being Indian, Lilia's father told her that he was from Decca, an area of Pakistan. He continued to educated her on the history of Pakistan and India's rocky relationship. After that lesson, she was captivated in the idea that tiny differences could make such strong enemies. Mr. Pirzada had left his country to study in America, leaving behind his wife and seven daughters. As his visits continued, it is evident through his interest in Lilia's life how much he misses the life that he left back at home. "'Is there any danger?...Perhaps i should accompany them?' Mr Pirzada suggested. He looked suddenly tired and small,standing there in his splayed, stockinged feet, and his eyes contained a panic I had never seen before." (Lahiri 38) Each night during his visits, it beoomes habit for Mr. Pirzada to bring Lilia a small treat, and the four would then sit and watch the news reporting on the violence between India and Pakistan. Lilia valued these treats given by Mr. Pirzada, so much that she felt that she should not consume something given to her out of such care. Eventually, it was announced that war had broken out between Pakistan and India. During the 12 days of war, Lilia recalls her parents and Mr. Pirzada in a very sorrowful state, "I remember the three of them operating during that time as if they were a single person, sharing a single meal, a single body, a single silence, a single fear." (Lahiri 40) After Pakistan had surrendered, Mr. Pirzada returned to his home. For quite some time, the family didn't hear from him. After several months, the family recieved a letter from him telling that all was well, the city was being built back up, and his family was just as he had left them. At that time, when Lilia felt inside that Mr. Pirzada would never be returning, she realized how much his presence meant to her, how much those small tokens of his appreaciation of the relationship he helf with her family meant. These instances lay out the message of appreaciation that are dispersed throughout the details of Mr. Pirzada's visits.
Interpreter of Maladies
Mr. Kapasi is a middle age man from Konorak, India who spends most of his days acting as a travel guide to the many tourists that pass by the area. One day, he is assigned to the Das family, and interesting American family who were originally from India. Unlike Mr. Kapasi's usual lack of interest in his group, he was swept away by the attitude and relationships held within the Das family. "They were all like siblings, Mr kapasi thought as they passed a row of date trees. Mr. and Mrs. Das behaved like an older brother nad sister, not parents." (Lahiri, 48) As he watched them more closely, he was awe strucken by the ways of Mrs. Das, realizing that he had never felt the affection towards his wife that he felt towards this total stranger, a married stranger. Mr. Kapasi tells the family that when he is not a guide, Mr. Kapasi interprets the maladies of the Gujarati people to the local doctor, who can not otherwise communicate with him. After hearing this, Mrs. Das felt that it was an honorable job of romantic background, and found special interest in Mr. Kapasi, as well. Mrs. Das disregarded her family throughout the trip, acting rude and uncivilized, isolating herself to the companionship of Mr. Kapasi. Caught up in this "attraction", Mr. Kapasi suggests taking another stop on the tour so that he can spend more time with Mrs. Das. During this time, the two stay away from the family. Mrs. Das tells Mr. Kapasi that Bobby, her second oldest son, isn't her husband's child. She continues on to tell him the story of how Bobby was concieved with a close friend of Mr. Das' while he was at work, and how she felt as if she wanted to escape from the life she had built every time she looked at her family. At this, Mr. Kapasi questions her reasons for feeling so desperate, and suggests to her that maybe guilt was the reason why. At that, she got highly offended and ran off to be with her family. As she returns, however, she finds that Bobby is missing. He ends up being surrounded and beaten by monkeys, and Mr. Kapasi rescues him. The story of the "Interpreter of Maladies" made me realize that sometimes what is the best and what is meant to be dosen't always seem important. Whether it be jobs, relationships, or emotions, nothing quite measures up as much as it does when there is a missing element. For example, Mrs. Das had felt for years that she needed to escape from this life. When the suggestion came up that it was her guilt feeding her these emotions, however, she ran from the chance to escape. On the same note, Mr. Kapasi had realized during that day that he didn't have passion for his wife. However, when the chance to comfort and flirt with Mrs. Das came up, he denied that chance;realizing that the things that are built up are worth more than a little bit of pride or praise.
A Real Durwan
Boori Ma is an elderly woman who spends her days cleaning the stairwell of an apartment complex in Calcutta. She tells of her old life before moving to Calcutta and of her old riches. "The turmoil had seperated her from a husband, four daughters, a two-story brick house, a rosewood almari, and a number of coffer boxes whose skeleton keys she still wore." Although often contradicting of herself, she is entertaining to all of the residents, and keeps the area respectable. Over time, she came to act as a real durwan, taking care of her duties without asking for anything in return. One day, Mrs. Dalal notices that Boori Ma's blankets and bedding was falling to pieces and swore to her that Boori Ma would soon own a new set. Meanwhile, Mr. Dalal was given a new job opprotunity, purchasing two water basins as celebration. At seeing this piece of elegance, the residents of the apartment complex began to crave more, becoming thoughtless and greedy. Boori Ma, in attempt to avoid all of the passer-bys and hired help, decides to move up to the roof. She begins to travel around the city more, until one day her life savings and skeleton keys were stolen. As she arrived back to the apartment complex, she becomes bombarded by the residents. They tell her that because of her, the water basin was stolen. They put the blame on this innocent old woman, who had taken care of their complex, protected them, entertained them, and asked for nothing in return. It seemed that as they came to know money, the stories didn't matter anymore. The feelings around them grew to be about as important as the bugs on the ground. The "real durwan" that they had depended on for so long needed to be improved, so they threw her away, just as they had done with all that had mattered before the sudden improvements in their lives.
In "Sexy", we are introduced to Miranda, a young woman who had fallen in love with Dev, a married Bengali man, while shopping at Filene's one day. Throughout the story, it is evident how wrapped up she is in him, not understanding that she couldn't belong to him. Her perspective made me think deeper to the minds of those within situations such as hers, the pain that she held knowing that he had a life outside of theirs, and only knowing that she was in love with him like she had never been in love with anybody else. One day, Dev brought Miranda to the Mapparium at the Christain Science center, a favorite place of his. While there, to proove that a whisper could be heard across the room, he her that she was sexy. About a week later, Miranda's co-worker Laxmi asked Miranda to babysit her nephew Rohin. Rohin's father had recently left their family for a young american woman who he had met on a plane. Rohin had admired Miranda's beauty, and asked her if she would put on a dress, one that she had bought because she felt that it was something a mistress should own, but she had never worn. After she put the dress on for him, he told her that she was sexy. At this, shock flowed throughout her. She asked him what he thought sexy meant, and he told her that it was being in love with somebody that you didn't know. Miranda then realized how different she was from Dav, how much of a life that each of them had away from each other, and that only damage could come out of her relationship with Dav. After that day, Miranda knew that she didn't need Dav. This portion of the book made me think about how, within relationships, greediness sometimes overrules the obvious, and that honest emotions sometimes need analyzed to be read correctly.
Mrs. Sen's
Eliot is a young boy whose mother send him to Mrs. Sen, a babysitter. Unlike the past babysitters that Eliot had, Mrs. Sen was a young Indian woman, exposing him to her culture. Each day, Mrs. Sen would work with her blade, preparing meals and a little something for Eliot's mother. Mrs. Sen wasn't exactly comfortable with the american ways, making that clear through her refusal to learn how to drive. "Mr. Sen says that once I receieve my license, everything improve...Could i drive all the way to Calcutta?" Her uneasiness about the American culture had taken a toll on her relationship with Mr. Sen, as well. When he was not ignoring her due to frustration, they simply did not have that spark neccecary for any type of relationship. While on a trip to the sea, the two posed for a picture, hardly smiling, making no direct contact. Although all of these things came across as odd to Eliot, he felt oddly at home at the Sen's. His mother was often too busy to really care for him, and he felt like he had a companion with Mrs. Sen, like somebody else understood loneliness. One day, Mrs. Sen decided that she would try to drive to the market to pick up some fresh fish, and she and Eliot got into an accident. After that incident, Eliot's mom never sent him to Mrs. Sen again. Instead, she gave him a key to get him into their house, stripping him of the companionship that he once had.
Sanjeev and Twinkle are a newlywed Indian couple who have just moved into their first house together. Soon after they moved in, they began to find Christian Icons and statues throughout the house. Twinkle became wrapped up in the beauty of these items, as well as the search for each one. Due to their Indian background, tension grows between the couple, each treasure found becomes a battle of faith and love. Seeing the admiration that Twinkle holds for the items. Sanjeev begins to grow irritated with her, wondering if he really is in love with his wife. A couple of weeks later, the couple throws a house warming party with all of Sanjeev's co-workers and acquaintances. All of the guests are blown away by Twinkle's aura and personality. "'Your wife's wow.' added Prabal...once at a dinner party, Prabal had pronounced that Sophia Loren was wow, as was Audrey Hepburn." Seeing the admiration that his friends held for his wife made him grow even more uneasy about their relationship, after realizing that he hadn't thought of his wife as "wow" since before they had gotten married. However, within that night, something changed within Sanjeev. While Twinkle led the party to the attic in search of more religious paraphenelia, Sanjeev noticed her shoes tossed upon the floor. Rather than feeling annoyed, however, he felt that spark that had been put out. Once they came down, she revealed to him a beautiful silver carving of Jesus, a statue so extravagant that he couldn't deny the beauty. Through this moment, it becomes obvious that he is in love with his wife, and although conflicts may arise and problems are evident, the beauty of love overpowers these things.
At the age of twenty-nine, Bibi Haldar had spent most of her life as a medical mystery. Not knowing what was wrong, she had been advised to kiss the tombs of martyrs and saints, to both gain and loose weight, hypnosis, had been perscribed tons of homeopathic perscriptions, and everything in between. Not being able to cross the street without risking passing out, Bibi worked at the top of an apartment complex, taking inventory for her cousin's cosmetic shop in exchange for a wardrobe each year. All that Bibi had wanted in life was a husband, a wedding, to know that she was both loved and protected. However, Bibi felt that this would never be possible because she would never be healed. Soon after, Bibi had an attack in the third story of her apartment complex, and the doctor then perscribed that a marriage would actually cure her illness. As Bibi got excited about her hopeful marriage, her cousins became repulsed by her excitement. They felt that Bibi had already caused the family enough trouble and expenses, and these wedding dreams were useless. Finally, Haldar, her cousin's husband, placed an add in the newspaper. However, everybody knew that the add was referring to Bibi, and nobody was willing to take that chance. Nonetheless, the women in town trained Bibi to become a wife. Bibi's cousin became pregnant, and once the child was born it became sick, and they sent Bibi to live on the roof in fear of Bibi's illness spreading. Soon after, the family packed up and left Bibi with nothing but three hudred repees. Bibi shut herself out from the world, and several months later it was discovered that she was pregnant, although refusing to tell who had done it to her. After she gave birth to a boy, she began to sell Haldar's cosmetics half price, earning money to raise her child, and she was cured. I think that this section showed that there are all types of relationships, and sometimes what you really need out of life isn't what you expected. Bibi had always had support of her family and always wanted a husband, but when both of these fell through she found that her child gave her everything that she had needed.
The narrator of "The Third and Final Continent" is a young, newlywed man who had moved from Calcutta to Boston to work in the Dewey Library at MIT. After spending a couple of weeks adjusting to the American way of life and staying at the YMCA, he decides to rent a house. He rents a room from Mrs. Croft, a very conservative 103 year old woman, for 8 dollars a week. Months passed, and finally his wife, Mala, was able to come to America with him, and he moved out of his rented room with Mrs. Croft, into a larger apartment, wanting to comfort his wife. They spent quite a bit of time trying to adjust to each other, trying to find the sense of marriage within their relationship. At the end of their first week together, the man took his wife to meet Mrs. Croft, and realized then how much sympathy he held for her, how he knew how it felt to be so far away from home. During their visit, their relationship had improved. "Mrs Croft declaired...'She is a perfect lady!'...for the first time, we looked at each other and smiled." After that night, their relationship only improved, as they began to explore the city together, meeting other Bengalis, and sharing little stories about one another. Years went by and the man and Mala had a son, and couldn't imagine being strangers to one another as they once had been. Their relationship and lives together had grown into something extravagant.
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