Although many of the stories in Interpreter of Maladies finish with the same general sense of discontent and ambiguity that characterized the stories in Drown, the final story of Lahiri's collection, "The Third and Final Continent," actually ends triumphantly. This in itself was a shock. I'm used to working hard to reach hopeful readings of renown literature; it was refreshing to have the author actually spell one out herself. However, Drown could have arguably had this same conclusion if "No Face" was the final story rather than the penultimate one. After our class discussion on Diaz' work, I had the impression that his perspective of the immigrant experience does not end on such a high note, hence his choice to end the compilation with "Negocios." Lahiri's choice, on the other hand, to conclude her compilation with "The Third and Final Continent" provides a different view of the immigrant experience. With the narrator encouraging his son that "there is no obstacle he cannot conquer," his family's achievement is proof that it is possible to find happiness three continents away from home. It is interesting to note how powerful the order of the stories is in determining the ultimate tone and message of the collection.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
The Third and Final Continent
I enjoyed following nJunot Diaz' Drown with Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies. Though both collections address the dynamic of the American experience for foreigners or individuals with foreign backgrounds, the styles of the two authors could not be more different. The fact that both collections are so highly acclaimed illustrates the salience of this topic in modern America; as the United States becomes more and more diverse, the clash of different cultures and the search for individual identity through heritage have become increasingly pertinent. However, the conclusions of the two compilations provide two very different perspectives on the ultimate result of the immigrant experience in America.
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Yes! Absolutely, the structure of a collection is essential to grasping it as a collection. Each of these stories is a world unto itself, but in relationship to one another they transform.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the opening post's comparison of Drown and Interpreter of Maladies. It does give a look into a different set of immigrants, living in the same country now. Though, I thought poverty seemed to be a major difference in both the "clashing" cultures within a foreign nation. For example, Diaz mentions the hard life for an immigrant, such as drugs, poverty and maybe even lack of education. On the other hand, Lahiri portrays most immigrants from India having decent enough jobs in the US, and also having some excellent educational opportunities (Harvard, MIT, Stanford and many more). While Drown portrays both poverty and emotional hardship for immigrants, Interpreter of Maladies reflects, for the most part, emotional conflicts rather than extreme poverty of Indian immigrants.
ReplyDeleteYes, I thought it was really interesting to seem complete different sides of immigrants in the United States. They are both struggling with their adaption to United States culture but staying true to their original culture. These people were going through completely different problems that Yunior. I did enjoy the contrast between the two books.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I found quite interesting was the not the differences between cultures but the similarities. While "The Interpreter of Maladies" is amazing at illustrating the increasing amount of diversity that is present in the United States, I enjoyed seeing themes and characteristics that are found throughout all cultures.
ReplyDeleteOne example can be found in the story "When Mr. Pirzada Came To Dine." Mr. Pirzada exhibits a great amount of concern for Lilia because he has a strong need to love on a daughterly figure since his family is in danger in Dacca. Mr. Pirzada instinct to be a father no matter what exhibits a emotion that is universal.
Another example of the similarities that exist between cultures can be seen in "This Blessed House." One internal thought of Sanjeev was how he disliked that we was of an average height and when Twinkle wore heels she would be taller than him. I know I have thought about this many times. I find it quite interesting that the social norm of the male being taller than the female is present also present in other cultures.
I liked that "Interpreter of Maladies" ended on a hopeful note. It seems to me that most books, or at least most books that receive recognition, end with sadness. I think this is usually a reflection of the author and his or her view of life. Reading two somewhat similar books with almost opposite endings suggests the ambiguity of life. It meant to me that there is an equal chance that you find happiness or despair in your life. Life isn't simply good or bad, but life is unpredictable. I think each chapter in this story pointed that out pretty well.
ReplyDeleteI also noticed the difference between the structures in the two books. The way Lahiri chose to end Interpreter of Maladies really stuck out to me, quite possibly because of the direct comparison that was available with Drown, because I felt that this specific structuring of the stories was almost an overall comment, about the struggles that immigrants can go through. It seemed like it was possibly a reflection of the authors belief that with immigration, with change, or even more generally with all things in life, things may not start off wonderfully, but as time goes by, and you adjust, and work through obstacles, and problems, eventually you can make them work, you can make life work.
ReplyDeleteWhile many of the other stories in interpreter did not end on the happiest of notes, very few of them seemed nearly as completely desolate, and hopeless, and circle of poverty reinforcing as the ones n drown. As has been suggested in some other posts, I saw this as telling of the different points of views the authors may have had.
I do not feel as though Lahiri's work was as much geared towards critiquing American culture as the initial post here suggests. Granted, there are several stories that introduce American culture into it but I feel as though the main concern revolved around cross-cultural relationships more than anything else. The consistent theme acros sthe board is that each short story in Lahiri's work closely examined a different type of relationship. "A Real Durwan" as well as some of the other stories have very little or no connection to the United States. Due to this, I feel that it is not as simply compared to Diaz's work as the initial comment suggests.
ReplyDeleteI did not intend for my initial post to show how Lahiri's work is geared towards critiquing American culture; I agree completely that the cross-cultural relationships are the focus of her collection. I merely wanted to discuss how both collections "address" the immigrant experience, mainly in relation to the United States (though both collections have stories that take place outside of the U.S. and with little to no mention of it).
ReplyDeleteI agree that it was definitely interesting to follow Diaz with Lahiri. I really enjoyed reading this book and felt that although the stories were not directly connected, the overarching themes were a connection enough to carry the book. I also agree that ending the story on a hopeful tone was very refreshing, and that the book seemed much more positive after both ending on a positive note and reading "Drown" right before this book. I was impressed by Lahiri's exploration of the dynamic of Indian and American cultures, and her ability to both mesh them together and have them clash- even in just one story.
ReplyDeleteI thought that the "Third and Final Continent" was especially interesting because its theme is different when compared to most of the other stories in the book. While so many stories talk about a dissolving or broken marriage, the narrator and his wife move from strangers to being in love. This story holds a direct contrast to the first story, "A Temporary Matter," in which Shoba and Shukumar moved from being in love to essentially being strangers. I feel that the placement of "A Temporary Matter" in relation to "The Third and Final Continent" is to move from a more empty and negative feeling to a more hopeful one, unlike "Drown." Overall, I enjoyed this book the most of any we have read.
I feel I must also touch upon the numerous parallels (and diversions) of Diaz and Lahiri. As some others have previously mentioned, the books both function as literary manifestations of socio-cultural anthropology. Though both focus largely on characters attempting (and largely failing) to assimilate into American society, nobody could possibly assume Yunior is bestowed with the same ability or probability to "succeed" as Lahiri's characters. Furthermore, while both works independently focus on their respective subjects' attempts to cope in America, we learn much more by contrasting America's reaction to them. Imagine Diaz's Yunior calling Mrs. Croft about the room for rent. Even in her senility she likely would have refused his request to rent her room in disbelief of his status as either "Harvard or Tech."
ReplyDeleteAs disappointing as it is, Americans' perception of Hispanic and Indian immigrants varies substantially. Based solely on popular stereotypes, who would be more likely to attend college? Make over $100,000? Own a business? Have health insurance? Maybe these generalizations are the reason Diaz's Yunior struggles for mere survival, clinging to the lowest rungs of civilization, while Lahiri's characters, despite being cultural square pegs in round holes, have no difficulty supporting themselves.
Lahiri and Diaz present incredibly similar themes from incredibly different cultural perspectives. We can't help but ask how their characters have such different results adapting to the same setting, and we can't help but look at ourselves for the answer.