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