Interpreter of Maladies

Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri

This page was created by Lauren Bates and Gabi Romanoski, WGS 201 students at Vanderbilt University.

"When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine" it was with the family of a young Indian girl named Lilia. During dinner they watched TV in order to keep Mr. Pirzada updated on the events surrounding the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. He was a Bengali man who had recently left his family in Bangladesh to study in Boston for a year. Once Lilia learns the significant difference between the labels of Indian versus Bengali, she begins to understand that her “safe” American lifestyle may be preventing her from learning about her own culture (see Partition of India). As her relationship further develops with Mr. Pirzada, she shows compassion despite her age and chooses pray for the safety of his family.

“At six-thirty…the national news began…Usually I occupied myself with a book, but that night my father insisted that I pay attention. On the screen I saw tanks rolling through dusty streets, and fallen buildings, and forests of unfamiliar trees into which East Pakistani refugees had fled, seeking safety over the Indian border…a barricaded university, newspaper offices burnt to the ground.” – Lilia, (31)

Thoughts in relation to today

My own lack of knowledge of the historical events mentioned in this story shocked me. In my 14 years of education I had never heard them mentioned until now, and I found it difficult to find information online. Do you think that as a society we too slow to educate ourselves about world events? Are we uninterested and ill-informed until a situation becomes a crisis?

I think with so much happening in the world it is easy for people to get soaked-up in their own lives. In general, we worry about our own well-being and that of our loved-ones before helping complete strangers. While this is a natural, animalistic approach to survival, it can unfortunately cause us to be ignorant or disinterested in issues that do not directly affect us but need our attention.

Do we shelter American children in a way that keeps them unaware of events taking place in other countries?

I think that we severely underestimate the intellectual capacity of children. We often assume that kids are simply “too young” to comprehend war, heartbreak, suffering, and death, when in actuality kids are experiencing these concepts on a daily basis in other parts of the world. One example of this in America is that we attempt to protect children from such issues by screening what they watch on TV. Instead of sitting down and explaining them in a “kid-friendly” manner, parents let their kids learn about such world dilemmas from high school teachers and movies. My view is that if a child can understand happiness when she opens her birthday presents, she can understand suffering. I am not suggesting that we show children gruesome images and videos, but I think simplified explanations of world events would not be harmful, and maybe even beneficial to them later in life.

In what ways do we rely on maps to create characterizations of the types of people that live within their lines and color-coded regions?

I believe maps guide our perceptions of people. When we learn that someone is from Mexico, the first image that pops into our heads is the image of Mexico on a map. Maps help us classify and ultimately segregate people. In many ways I think this is a negative result because it instills stereotypes by lumping large groups of people together. For instance, the stereotype that everyone from France is a snotty, American-hating individual is obviously an exaggerated and unfair categorization. However, despite such unfair labels, I think it is human nature to categorize things and maps seem to be an efficient way to categorize people.

"The Third and Final Continent" signifies a 39-year-old Indian man’s move to the United States in 1969 after previously living in India and England. North America becomes our unnamed protagonist’s “third and final” home. Here he takes a job at MIT after his arranged marriage to a woman named Mala. Before Mala arrives, he moves into the house of 103-year-old woman named Mrs. Croft. By the end of the story, it is apparent that he and Mrs. Croft have developed a fondness for one another despite their differences in age, culture, and gender. This gradual development of his relationship with Mrs. Croft parallels his adjustment to his own arranged marriage and growing bond with his wife Mala.

“While the astronauts, heroes forever, spent mere hours on the moon, I have remained in this new world for nearly thirty years.” – Unnamed protagonist (198)

Thoughts in relation to today

In this story I am intrigued by the idea of an arranged marriage in India being so quickly transplanted into American society. What are your perceptions of arranged marriages?

I think the American population perceives arranged marriages as loveless and marked by unhappiness. Ironically, according to a report done by the CNHS the divorce rate in 2005 was 54.8% in the United States and a mere 1.1% in India. These statistics suggest that arranged marriages may not be such a bad idea after all. Personally, I think the idea of starting a marriage as friends and developing a loving relationship seems like a more secure way to happiness than marrying someone because of intense passion that may die out later on. However, I do not think I would ever agree to have my marriage arranged for me.

Do Americans really not take part in arranged marriages, or are there “Americanized” forms of arranged marriages that simply do not carry the negative title of “arranged”?

I believe that any of the dating websites, such as Match.com or eHarmony, can be seen as an “American-form” of arranged marriages. These companies use a person’s listed interests to match them with potential partners in a manner similar to arranged marriages. The traditional arranged marriage involves a person’s family choosing his partner for him. In my experience, I would probably trust my parents’ judgment over the judgment of a computer while allowing them to choosing a potential spouse for me.

“When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine” and “The Third and Final Continent” are two stories in which Lahiri chooses to focus on unlikely relationships between characters in these two stories. She shows that people can form positive friendships with anyone despite their respective culture, gender, age, education, or beliefs.

Works Cited

"Images of Partition of India." Library Research Guide for English 170.01. Cornell University Library. 9 Apr. 2008 . 

Lahiri, Jhumpa. Interpreter of Maladies: Stories. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999. 23-42, 173-198.

Mazumdar, Tulip. "Honour crimes 'widely under-estimated.'" BBC Newsbeat 4 Feb. 2008. 14 Apr. 2008 . 

The 1971 India-Pakistan War. 2003. 8 Apr. 2008 http://www.freeindia.org/1971war/>.