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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This Blessed House
The marriage between hindus Sanjeev and Tanima, "Twinkle, is a very strange one. The roles in a normal marriage appear to have switched. Twinkle is a laid back free spiritm while Sanjeev is very feminine, very much concerned with little matters like what others think and cleaning. For most the story, Sanjeev appears to regret marrying this woman. There doesn't seem to be any love connection between the two at all. The couple met only four months before, and jumped into marriage after only knowing one another for two months. Sanjeev is clearly an intelligent fellow, an MIT graduate, with money to spare. He seems very unsatisfied and disappointed with his marriage and life. It isn't until later in the story that he is reminded of how great a person Twinkle is. It takes the jealousy of others at his party to spark his attraction to Twinkle. Even so, Sanjeev is unsure whether he loves her. This is most likely due to the short longevity of their marriage thus far.
When Twinkle and Sanjeev begin to find the "hidden treasures" throughout the house, their marriage is tested. Twinkle is open and free to new things, and enjoys displaying the Christian objects on the mantle. All the while, Sanjeev voices his strong opposition. The marriage seems strained, almost forced by their parents. The future of this couple seems futile until near the end of the story, at which point Sanjeev confronts Twinkle and states that he will throw the statue of the Virgin Mary out the next day. Twinkle begins to cry, and Sanjeev shows, for the first time, that he cares about Twinkle. Sanjeev immediately apologizes and conforts her. This small act of care shows that the marriage has hope after all. Another instance of Sanjeev's deep down care for Twinkle is at the conclusion to the story. Sanjeev shows his caring for Twinkle by removing her shoes, to prevent her from tripping and injuring herself when she returned. This silent, unnoticed act of kindness proves that although Sanjeev gets aggrivated with Twinkle he still deeply cares for her. When she returns from the attic with the Jesus head, and requests that it be put on the mantle, for that night only, Sanjeev is once again furious. But, his care for Twinkle allows him to overcome his anger. In the end, he gives in, and permits Twinkle to display the item on the mantle. Even though Sanjeev realizes that the Jesus head will probably never leave the mantile, he does what he must to make the marriage work. This act shows that even though the marriage appears to be broken, Sanjeev is willing to make sacrifices to work on it.
Throughout the story, the marriage appears to be broken. The two hindus seem to be complete opposites, and just wrong for each other. But in the heat of all the fighting, there are small moments when Sanjeev shows that he actually cares for her and is willing to sacrifice his wants for the good of the marriage. It is from these moments that the reader can conclude that this marriage might actually have a chance of making it. The theme of perseverance and endurance can be drawn from such moments.
The Treatmean of Bibi Haldar
Bibi Haldar is a deeply troubled girl. Not only does she suffer from an unknown, seemingly untreatable condition, but she also is obsessed with getting married and being a mom. Bibi undergoes many seizures, injuring herself in the process. Countless doctors, miracle men, and scientists have offered possible cures; none of which worked. What is peculiar is that even though Bibi seems to be suffering a life altering disease, she is still on the hunt for a husband. To make matters even worse, Bibi is too unstable to live alone, so she lives with her unpleasant and unsympathetic cousin Haldar. Haldar and his wife seem set on bashing any small amount of hope that Bibi somehow manages to posses. Bibi's life is a lonely one, she works in a storage closet, keeping inventory for Haldar's shop. But somehow, magically, Bibi still has hope for a husband and child.
The story is told from the point of view of one of Bibi's neighbors, giving the reader an outsider's view on Bibi's story. The narrator is a very human perspective, and resorts to poking fun at Bibi every once in awaile. But, the narrator also shows his/her caring side when all of Bibi's neighbors decide to boycot Haldar's shop, because of how poorly Haldar treats Bibi.
The whole story gets out of hand when Bibi undergoes a severe seizure and is brought to the hospital. There, doctors run blood tests and determine that the cure to Bibi's illness is marriage. This diagnosis seems too far fetched to be feasible. This is where the story drifts from reality and loses my attention. Anyhow, Bibi is very pleased with this diagnosis. The story continues with Bibi learning from the narrator and fellow neighbors how to be a woman. But, all this teaching seems to be in vain when Haldar and his wife ban Bibi from living with them. This is due to Haldar's baby getting sick, so naturally Haldar blamed the sickness on Bibi. So, Bibi starts living in the storage closet and shuns herself from the world. While the neighbors believe that she has gone into depression, she is actually pregnant. Bibi never reveals who inpregnanted her, and gives birth to the child. With her son's birth, Bibi's seizures cease, and she is cured. Even by the end of the story, however, the father is never revelaed. Because of this discretion, the theme of this story is a tough one to contemplate. The story seems to not posses any writing pattern or moral throughout. The only possible message one can draw from this passage is the theme of never giving up. Even though Bibi's situation seemed bleak, she endured and stayed hopeful for a spouse with whom she could bear children. No matter what trials she faced she remained dedicated and reached her goal in the end.
The Third and Final Continent
This story follows the first person account of yet another foreigner who migrated to the United States. This time, the protagonist is a Bengalis originally from Calcutta, India. The author does not provide a name for this character, most likely thinking that a name was not needed to complete the story. The author was indeed correct, and the lack of name adds a sense of mystery to the story. The man is a drifter, traveling by boat to England, and living with other poor Bengaili immigrants. The protagonist soon gets a job offer from the library at MIT in America. And so, the main character travels by plane to the states and settles in a boarding house with a rather obscure old woman. From the conversations between the elder and the main character, one can conclude that the protagonist is a polite gentleman. Not only does he continue to call her "madame", but he also lays the rent money in her hands every Friday, to save her the painful walk to the piano, where rents were usually deposited. The day he moved in, the old woman, Mrs. Croft, sat on the piano bench, told him to sit, and stated that there was an American flag on the moon. The protagonist, thinking little of the accomplishment, merely replied "Yes, madame." The seasoned woman then instructed him to say it was "splendid", and so he did. The man lived in the boarding house for six weeks, having the same conversation about the lunar landing almost every day. The man thought little of the Mrs. Croft's lifestyle, until her daughter stopped by at the end of the week, and revealed that the old woman was one hundred and three years old. This news shocked the man, who was awed at the glory of living an entire century.
The protagonist moves out after 6 weeks, and settles into an apartment with his new wife, Mala. Mala and his wedding was arranged by the protagonist's brother, leaving the two married strangers. For most the story, the man show little enthusiasm towards his marriage, regarding it as a chore, or as something that's going to happen whether he liked it or not. It isn't until the end of the story that he really starts to love and appreciate his wife. But, as he and his wife grow older, he remains affected by his short stay with Mrs. Croft. So much so, that when he hears of her death, he mourns for the first time in America. This is where the moral of the story is really made clear. The man really admired how long she had been on Earth and how much she had gotten out of this lifetime. The theme of the story is to live life to the fullest, and to achieve as much as possible. The name of the story even derives from this common theme. The main character journeyed across Africa to Europe, and finished his adventure moving to North America, all the while, getting a wife in the process. North America was this man's final exploratary continent, and the place he chose to settle down. By the very end of the story, many years have gone by, and Mala and him have a grown up son, and are very satisfied with life. Even if his achievements were ordinary, they are were magnificent.
A Real Durwan
This story focuses around quite an interesting character by the name of Boori Ma. Boori Ma is an elderly woman refugee who often tells very exaggerated stories of questionable truth about her immigration to Calcutta. She resides in the lobby of a small out-of-date apartment building. She keeps busy, cleaning the stairs and keeping watch over the entrance, protecting the apartment from robbers and criminals. Though she does not officailly live there, and does not own a room, the other residents accept her with open arms, as she brings a sense of security and character to the apartment building. Boori Ma gives the other residents a sense of pride in their home. Boori Ma's stories offer simple entertainment to the residents; but often they are too far fetched and sketchy to be believable. The residents enjoy her enough to refer to her as their "durwan" (Lahiri 73).
This all changed, when one day when Mr. Dalal installed two sinks in the apartment. This upgrade provided a sense of higher class living to the tennants. This, in turn, led to a quest for the higher things in life, affecting Boori Ma as well. So much, in fact, that instead of keeping watch for criminals she too walked about the streets, spending her savings on high class items. Boori Ma was affected just as much as everone else by the change. One day, when Boori Ma returned the sink was stolen. Naturally, needing a scapegoat, the residents blamed Boori Ma for the robbery. When Boori Ma denied, the tennants did not believe her. "For years we have put up with your lies, you expect us, now, to believe you?" (Lahiri 82). And so, Boori Ma was tossed out on the streets, and thus the story ends.
From the passage, the reader can learn one thing: lies lead to nothing but bad things. Because Boori Ma had lied so much throughout her stay at the apartment, the residents had no way of believing her. Even though she wasn't at fault for the robbery, the tennants felt the dire need to blame someone, and so they picked the most qualified applicant. Even though just a moment ago they refered to Boori Ma as their "durwan", they quickly threw her out on the streets, and began to search for a new "durwan". One more theme can result from this incident: don't jump to conclusions, because a costly mistake is almost certain.
A Temporary Matter
This story paints the picture of a couple, once in love, now torn apart by the stillbirth of their child. Even though both pretend to have gotten over the miscarriage, neither has properly coped. Both were heavily affected by the event. The wife, Shoba, used to be overprepared and interesting, but now overworks and does little to prepare. "It struch him as odd that there were no real candles in the house. That Shoba hadn't prepared for such an ordinary emergancy." (Lahiri 9) A change also occurs in Shukumar, as he gives little effort to complete his schooling, and instead spends his time reading novels. Together, the once loving couple, now seems to be trying to avoid one another. Shukumar retreats to his study every night, and Shoba works deligently in the living room. Instead of uniting in mourning after the stillbirth, it appears that the couple isolated themselves, drifting apart in the process. Both realize what is happening, but neither make an effort to change anything. Shukumar reflects on how passionate they once were, and compares it to the present. There just seems to be no spark left.
A beakon of hope is shed, however, when the power starts going off at eight every night. This hour in the dark helps the couple bond again, in a way they had thought was never possible again. They start telling confessions by candlelight, and it appears that the marriage might be saved. At the very end of the story that Shoba was actually planning on leaving, and was looking at apartments that entire week in which Shukumar was under the belief they were bonding. Shukumar makes one final confession: that he had been there when the child was born dead, and that he knew the sex of the baby. He revealed that the baby was to be a boy, and then, for the first time in the story, they bonded in sorrow, and wept together.
The one theme the reader can take from the passage is to never isolate yourself from the people you love. Both Shoba and Shukumar tried to deal with the loss alone, and their marriage paid the price. The phrase "misery loves company" is valid here. If either person had made a slight effort to console each other, and tend to each other's feelings, the story may have ended completely different.
When Mr. Pirzada came to dine
This passage is written in the future, from the point of view of Indian Lilia looking back, remembering the daily dinner visits of a Pakistani named Mr. Pirzada. Mr. Pirzada was a botanist from Dacca Pakistan, who revieved a grant from the Pakistan government to study foilage in New England. Back home, he had seven daughters, each with a name starting with the letter "A". Throughout the story, Mr. Pirzade was riddled with loneliness, missing and longing for his family's safety back home. This misery rubbs off on Lilia's family, as they find themselves watching the news with him twice every night. Lilia's family is Indian, a country that soon declares war on Pakistan. Rather than letting the distant hostalities ruin their friendship, Mr. Pirzade and the family share in the tragic event. They console each other, and try to help Mr. Pirzade through this difficult time. Mr. Pirzade knows nothing of the whereabouts of his family, but does not lose his cool, and does not allow saddeness and worry to overtake him. He is lucky to have a caring family like Lilia's, without such caring friends, he would have most likely surcome to misery. Even little Lilia did what she could to aid him. Every night, Mr. Pirzade gave her a different candy, and each night Lilia stored the candy in her treasured box. When war was declared between the two nations, she started a tradition of eating one piece of candy before bed, and praying whilst she chewed.
For most the story, Mr. Pirzade says he does not understand the purpose of the words "Thank you", and believes they are very much overused. By the end of the passage, in his farewell letter to the family, he states that he has finally realized the meaning of these words. He is extremely thankful for the family's support and friendship. "Although he now understood the meaning of the words "thank you" they still were not adequate to express his gratitude." (Lahiri 42). With his letter, Mr. Pirzade shows what an impact good friends can have on a person. Even though he declares that his family is safe and well, he cannot thank the family enough for help. The theme of the story can be drawn from said letter: one may never know how big of an impact they may make on a person, so treat everyone in the best possible way, and don't allow unimportant issues to impact your friendship. Mr. Pirzade and the family were on opposite sides of a war thousands of miles away, but were uneffected by the conflict. This is a perfect example of the theme in action.
Interpreter of Maladies
Mr. Kapasi is an underappreciated man. He works thanklessly as a doctor's interpreter, and gives tours of a temple on the side. It is on his tour that he encounters the Das family. Right away, he seems a little annoyed by the family, thinking that Mr. and Mrs. Das are unfit parents. He regards them as seeming like temporary parents, rather than responsible full time parents (Lahiri 49). But as soon as Mrs. Das shows a little interest in Mr. Kapasi, he immediately changes his opinion. When he explains his job as an interpreter of maladies, Mrs. Das refers to it as "romantic". This reference reminds Mr. Kapasi about his wife, and the little interest she shows in his job. Mr. Kapasi seems almost desperate in this way. He is reminded of growing up, working relentlessly, trying to become a translator between nations. When he failed to achieve his dream, he had never considered his interpreter job important in the least. This tiny bit of interest in his life really changed his outlook. Lahiri really shows how pathetic and desperate a person can get when they give up on their dreams.
Later in the story, Mrs. Das reveals the true reason for her unusual interest in Mr. Kapasi's job: she herself needed help. She feels depressed mentally for cheating on her husband many years ago, and was hoping that Mr. Kapasi could interpret her malady. Mrs. Das does not understand the difference between mental and physical problems, and seeks a physical cure for her mental ailment. This revalation leaves Mr. Kapasi confused and disappointed. He realizes that he was nothing more than a source for advice to this woman. He feels mislead and foolish for jumping to conclusions about his false love for Mrs. Das. By the end of the story, Mr. Kapasi is forced to retreat back to his disappointing and sad life; making the theme of the story: never give up on your dreams, if you do, you will never forgive yourself and live in sorrow. The other theme that can be concluded from this story is to not mistake mental problems for physical problems. Mental ailments are very real, and should not be underestimated. Mrs. Das sought a physical treatment for a mental trouble, and ended up suffering all the more. Learn from the story's character's mistakes.
Sexy
The word "sexy" means loving a person without knowing them. This word summarizes the story of Miranda. Miranda, a radio station fund raiser, begins to have an affair with an Indian man by the name of Dev. What's ironic about the affair is that her close radio station friend Laxmi's cousin's wife is getting cheated on. This situation puts Miranda in limbo, caught between her affair, and Lazmi's zero tolerance for affairs. So, naturally, Miranda choses to keep Dev a secret, and finds herself missing him very often. She even starts exploring Indian culture, to help her understand Dev more fully. She believes that she is in love with this man. She buys fancy clothes, to prepare for his visits, and spends her time worrying about what his wife looks like. What really makes her feel close to Dev is when he calls her "sexy" on the bridge. At the time, that word made her hot, but by the end of the story we learn the true, hollow meaning to that term. At first, Miranda celebrates at hearing that word, but is later brought to tears once learning its true meaning. "Miranda felt Rohin's words under her skin, the same way she'd felt Dev's. But instead of going hot she felt numb." (Lahiri 108) After hearing Rohin's definition for the word, she felt like scum. She felt like she deserved better, and most of all Dev's wife deserved better. She realized that this "sexy" relationship of theirs was not fair to anyone and should end.
The morale of the story is thus, choose love over lust, and do not give in to the "sexy" things. The little boy Rohin was hurt by his father's pursuit of "sexy" things, just as Miranda felt ashamed for her lust as well.
Mrs. Sen's
"Mrs. Sen's" follows the account of Elliot, a shy young boy. As he grows up he loses his way, and thats when the Mrs. Sen come to the rescue. From his stay at Mrs. Sen's Elliot learns to be more selfless, and to care for others a little more. Elliot, being a quiet lad, prefers to observe rather than get involved himself. By the end of the story, Elliot's mother believes that he is old enough that he no longer needs a sitter. This decision seems to be the effect of the trauma Elliot's mother had from Mrs. Sen's accident. She felt that it was her fault that Elliot was involved in the accident, since she was the one who kept insisting that he have a baby sitter; it was her fault Elliot was even with Mrs. Sen.
Mrs. Sen seems to be at struggle to fit in. She is from a different culture, and although her intentions are good, her actions are not always appropriate in this culture. It seems like she does not give very much effort towards adapting to her new home. An example of which is when Mrs. Sen makes excuses for not driving. My Sen asks her "Why don't you drive today?", and she replies "Not today. Another day." (Lahiri 126) She refuses to adapt and practice driving to get her license. Mr. and Mrs. Sen's relationship appears to have been damaged when they moved to the States. Mrs. Sen is homesick, and misses their life in India. Mrs. Sen just doesn't seem capable of living a happy life in the States. The theme of the story derives from this: don't be held back by a former life, live life to the fullest, don't waste time regretting and remembering how good life was or could have been. The theme is similar to that of the movie "Joe Dirt"; home is where you make it.
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