Interpreter of Maladies Essay

In the short story “Interpreter of Maladies” the narrator is inside Mr. Kapasi’s head, so we see the story from his point of view; moreover he is one of the protagonists in this short story. However, in this story we can see another protagonist – this is Mrs. Das. Mr. Kapasi observes the Das family, their habits and manners, their relationships within their family and comes to some conclusions about Mrs. Das after their tet-a-tet conversation. In this conversation, Mrs. Das has partially opened up her soul for Mr. Kapasi; however, Mr. Kapasi will not help Mrs. Das because his sympathy for her diminishes when he hears her confession about her son Bobby. Even though Mr. Kapasi does not truly understand Mrs. Das, this trip through India is

The situation of the story starts of splendid and merry until the wife’s “little surprise” results into a more saddening conclusion. The husband’s identity is much like a controlling, punishing introvert. The wife’s identity was opposite to her husband, a loving, open hearted extrovert. These opposing identities

“They wept together, for the things they now knew.”(104) The last sentence of the first story in Interpreter of Maladies, reveals the cruelty of the elapsed romance in a marriage. In the two collections, A Temporary Matter and The Third and Final Continent, Jhumpa Lahiri demonstrates that a marriage can be either uplifting or discouraging depends on the mindset held by the couple and the strength of human bonding. Lahiri emphasizes the significance of mindset and human bondings through the ending of the two stories. The endings of the two stories are polar opposite : In A Temporary Matter, Shukumar and Shobha weeps for the termination of their relationship; The Third and Final Continent, by contrast, the protagonist(MIT) enjoys a fairytale-like

Broken marriages are also a major theme in Interpreter of Maladies. Mr. and Mrs. Das married at a young age. Although the story doesn’t state whether they had relationship issues in their early states, it is almost evident they were not the happiest couple before marriage either. That would explain why Mrs. Das is not in love with Mr. Das. “… The more premarital conflict, the less satisfaction couples reported with their relationships at the follow-up assessment and the less the wives reported being in love (Thomas N. Bradbury).” Another reason we could predict Mr. and Mrs. Das did not have a healthy early relationship is their lack of communication skills. “…several studies have found evidence that later communication can be predicted from early satisfaction (Thomas N. Bradbury).” If their relationship was built upon a strong foundation in the early stages, it would have been easier for them to communicate in their later marital stages.

Interpreter of Maladies focuses on communication as one of the universal themes throughout the book. The stories demonstrate how communication is the key to the success or failure of relationships. While there are instances when communication is effectively employed and therefore enabled the characters to build strong and intimate connections, there are examples of where communication was superficial or ineffectual, leading to unstable, limited relationships. Jhumpa Lahiri illustrates the importance of communication within relationships by allowing readers to experience the consequences and advantages that have developed as a result throughout the short

Doris husband believes that Doris has a high value, moral values according to the way that she raised their children and address her life now. For Doris husband, her arrest is compared to having a death on the family showing the deep pain he feels. Doris husband, even though, she has been lying to him, he still loves her very much.

In everyday life, a relation is always identified as trust and support. In this novel, a relation between a husband and a wife is shown in a different way. Min, one of the characters in the story, is shown losing her mental stability and is living with her two children. She did not have any contact with her husband in few years and neither did he try to contact

him, therefore, she lives with her sister and his husband as a result. This shows the mother’s priorities

While Mrs. Das wears her sunshades, she is portrayed as a distant mother and wife. Tina, the only child to have the most communication and response from Mrs. Das, is ultimately ignored by her mother despite her actions or pleas. Mr. Kapasi witnesses Tina begging her Mrs. Das to paint her finger nails, but instead Mrs. Das says, "Leave me alone. You 're making me mess up" (48). Mr. Kapasi notes that "she had still not removed her sunglasses" (49). Mrs. Das 's distinct mothering skills are uncertain. Instead of scolding or disciplining her children, she reacts cold and aloof. Mrs. Das 's unfavorable attitude towards Tina proves that she does not want to be a mother to her or even be around her. Mrs. Das marriage is slowly falling apart, but instead of acknowledging and attempting to fix the problem, she pushes Mr. Das further away. Mr. Kapasi recognizes the problems

The book mentions about the mental confusions, insecurities and the effort to understand their spouses. The writer has expressed simple and usual emotions of a womanhood, fidelity and family. A tint of Indian culture is reflected in each chapter indicating how a bridegroom and groom select each other, the nature of an Indian woman and how she takes up challenges in her life, reconciling the roles of a daughter, an ex-wife, a wife and a mother, the strength of the human spirit and their passion to survive and fight for a good life. It also features the distinctive qualities of Indian relatives highlighting their interest in an individual’s marital life and how offensive it is to the society to find a married woman talking to an unknown man. The book also focuses on the pain of a mother to see her unhealthy

On the one hand, Tannen’s logic maybe problematic, as she assumes that communication is the heart of the greatest marital problems. Even though this was in written in 1990 many aspect of marital problems have risen, into many different problems. For instance, marriage does not always end due to the lack of communication, anything

His arranged marriage is struggling because his wife cannot recover from her sorrow over the loss of their young son. Mrs. Das’s sudden interest in his job makes him start his romantic imagination journey. When the Das family has lunch, Mr. Kapasi is invited to join with them. Then, they take the photograph which Mr. Kapasi happens to sit next to Mrs. Das. At the time, Mr. Kapasi feels that he is the best match with Mrs. Das as both of them have the same maritally unsatisfied circumstances. Mrs. Das asks for Mr. Kapasi’s address to send the photograph that they have taken. For her, asking Mr. Kapasi’s address is nothing, but for Mr. Kapasi, writing his address on the scrap paper becomes the way to begin his romantic relationship.

1. Interpreter of Maladies: Think about the status and the role of children in this story: most obviously the fact that Bobby is illegitimate, but also that Tina and her mother (Mina) have rhyming names, that Mr. Kapasi became an interpreter because of his son 's illness and remains one to support his growing family. Think also about the relationships that seem skewed because the adults are acting like children: Mr. Kapasi thinks the Dases are “all like siblings,” that “Mr. and Mrs. Das behaved like an older brother and sister, not parents.” Similarly, Mrs. Das thinks Mr. Kapasi is old enough to be her father, or, as she puts it, “You probably have children my age.” That is, she is uncomfortable when he defers to her, and she thus (unwittingly?) insists that he think of her as a child. How does thinking about children and about the relationships between parents and children in this story help you determine the story 's theme?

In Jhumpa Lahiri’s ‘Interpreter of Maladies’ Mr. Kapasi , the main character, seems to be a person with mixed feelings. He does not seem to have fixed stand neither in his job nor on his thoughts. His thoughts and experience are structured by the strict cultural society of India. His hidden wants and desires suppressed by the community rules are looking for way to come out. The consequence is his changing thoughts and desires which at different parts of the story appear differently and brings

“Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody,” says  Mark Twain. Twain’s concept shines through in multiple stories of Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. Human vulnerability glimmers in the dark, while harsh public facades gloom over the daylight. Lahiri utilizes darkness to display true selves, personalities the individual desires to be seen are showcased using light. These devices are especially relevant in the text which is a tribute to human emotion and interaction as well as the power knowledge as on the heart. Two stories this is mainly true in are “A Temporary Matter” and “Interpreter of Maladies”.