Lahiri and Communities in America
Two of Jhumpa Lahiri's stories so far, "When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine" and "Interpreter of Maladies", both hit on he sense of community, or lack thereof, in the United States. To me, these stories showed how isolating it can be to be immigrants in the US and how their unfamiliar experiences affect their everyday actions.
In "When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine", Lilia's parents feel so lonely that they look through the university directory for people with Indian/Pakistani last names. Lilia says in the story that this loneliness mainly stemmed from how little people interact with their neighbors in her neighborhood, and by extension, seemingly all of Boston. Mr. Pirzada too when he first came seemed to be missing his community and in need of some human interaction. The feelings of these two groups of people is, I think, why they latch on to each other so hard. Obviously they some in common with their interests, as Mr. Pirzada and Lilia's father talk so much. But I think this isn't the primary cause for their friendship.
"Interpreter of Maladies" was quite different in the way it depicted loneliness and need for community. Even though Mr. and Mrs. Das were both raised in the United States, they seem to have inherited "missing" a community that seems to be quite strong where their parents grew up in India. When they were younger, Mr. and Mrs. Das and their two families was their community, but because of their severe "drifting" and their parents have left the United States to move back to India (which seems to indicate that something was missing in the US, they no longer have any sense of community. Mrs. Das especially reminds of us how much some lack community (Mr. Das seems pretty content with his travel guide). Her actions seem to be somewhat caused by her lack of ability to speak to others about what's going on in her life. She says in the story how she lost touch with everyone who could have been helpful to her to feel supported.
I think we'll continue to see this theme pop up in other Lahiri stories if they're set in the US (or if they're set in India on vacation). She's very talented at highlighting what's missing for many of these families in America and showing the experience of many immigrants and first-generation's in the US.
In "When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine", Lilia's parents feel so lonely that they look through the university directory for people with Indian/Pakistani last names. Lilia says in the story that this loneliness mainly stemmed from how little people interact with their neighbors in her neighborhood, and by extension, seemingly all of Boston. Mr. Pirzada too when he first came seemed to be missing his community and in need of some human interaction. The feelings of these two groups of people is, I think, why they latch on to each other so hard. Obviously they some in common with their interests, as Mr. Pirzada and Lilia's father talk so much. But I think this isn't the primary cause for their friendship.
"Interpreter of Maladies" was quite different in the way it depicted loneliness and need for community. Even though Mr. and Mrs. Das were both raised in the United States, they seem to have inherited "missing" a community that seems to be quite strong where their parents grew up in India. When they were younger, Mr. and Mrs. Das and their two families was their community, but because of their severe "drifting" and their parents have left the United States to move back to India (which seems to indicate that something was missing in the US, they no longer have any sense of community. Mrs. Das especially reminds of us how much some lack community (Mr. Das seems pretty content with his travel guide). Her actions seem to be somewhat caused by her lack of ability to speak to others about what's going on in her life. She says in the story how she lost touch with everyone who could have been helpful to her to feel supported.
I think we'll continue to see this theme pop up in other Lahiri stories if they're set in the US (or if they're set in India on vacation). She's very talented at highlighting what's missing for many of these families in America and showing the experience of many immigrants and first-generation's in the US.
I really like this post! I definitely noticed this theme of community (and cultural identity) throughout the stories, especially in "When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine". I do agree that she's very very talented at highlighting an immigrant/ first-generation experience in the US because it does feel very relatable to my family's experiences of looking for an Asian community too (my parents met lots of our Chinese friends through a university like Lilia's family !)
ReplyDeleteNice post. I agree with what you said, and I'd also like to add how when immigrants find people like them, they might value those relationships a lot more and hold onto them tightly. For instance, even though Mr. Pirzada is from Dacca, and so Pakistani and not Indian, he and Lilia's parents still share the same affinity for each other, because their cultures are similar.
ReplyDeleteI also observed the loneliness. I thought the fact that Lahiri's family searched through the directory was one of the best examples when talking about the loneliness for a far away people and culture. We also see that theme of loneliness come up in Mrs. Sen's, reinforcing your point that we will see the theme later in the book.
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