Text Response - Interpreter of Maladies (please mark)

[Reckoner]

Could someone please take a look at my essay and give me some feedback/mark? English isn't my strong point but I desperately want to improve so any and all tips would be greatly appreciated. I gave myself 90 minutes and originally it was handwritten.


In Jhumpa Lahiri’s collection “Interpreter of Maladies” it is the strength within these characters that decide their fate.” Do you agree?

Throughout Jhumpa Lahiri’s compilation of short stories entitled “Interpreter of Maladies”, many of the characters are faced with difficult situations. Whether it is through the process of migration, or in some instances events outside of the characters control, these hardships affect the characters in varying ways. Some characters have the fortitude to overcome their afflictions, while others succumb to their problems.

The Inner-strength present in some of Lahiri’s characters is exemplified in their ability to overcome challenges. The narrator from “The Third and Final Continent” experiences significant change in his life; from migration, to marrying an apparent “stranger” in Mala. However, he was able to find happiness due to his ability to adapt and grow. He “ate cornflakes and milk, morning and night” which illustrates his assimilation into western culture. A process of which Lahiri had previously demonstrated was no simple task in “Mrs. Sen’s”. Mrs. Sen was “brought” to America by her husband, but the alien culture soon became too much for her. In an attempt to lessen her feelings of isolation, she constructs a miniature India within her home by making the temperature “too warm”, preparing her food using a “curved blade” like all the women in India, and having her wardrobe “filled with saris”. Mrs. Sen’s ultimate car accident results in the loss of her only connection to American life, in Eliot. In an evaluation of both these characters, it can be seen that the stronger a person is mentally, the more positive their fate may be.

Physical disabilities make life difficult for those affected. Bibi Haldar suffered from an illness in which she could enter into a “shameless delirium” without any notice. As a result, she must live a lonely life, which Lahiri demonstrates “storage room…in which one could sit but not comfortably stand” where she spends her time “confined” and alone. While other beings made “efforts to cure her”, Bibi Haldar only overcame her “malady” when she found a “man” and “carried a baby”. The townsfolk “wondered” who the father was, which suggests that she found the man and hence the cure to her ailments independently. It is apparent that Bibi Haldar possessed much strength as she succeeded where many others had failed. Opposing Bibi Haldar is Mrs. Das from the title story. Mrs Das was “in pain eight years” after conceiving a child who was “not Raj’s son”. Having not told anyone her secret, Mrs Das hides her emotion behind her “sunglasses”. Upon hearing that Mr Kapasi had a “romantic” career as an interpreter; Mrs. Das sees an opportunity for external assistance. Where Bibi Haldar looked to find her own “treatment”, Mrs Das tried to find a “remedy” in Mr Kapasi. She required someone to “interpret [her] maladies”, suggesting she does not contain the inner-strength to do so by herself.   In consequence, Mrs Das’s future still appears to be fraught with “pain”, while Bibi Haldar’s contains signs of hope. 

Emotional strength may be present in an individual, but does not necessarily mean that they will overcome their adversity. “A Temporary Matter” follows the dissolution of Shoba and Shukumar’s marriage after the still birth of their child. The couple soon find their relationship in a state where they had “become experts at avoiding each other”, having once been “so thrilled to be married”. It seems that neither of them could get past the tragic death of their child. Shoba began to “treat the house like a hotel” and her “smudged cranberry lipstick” suggests she no longer cares what Shukumar thinks of her. The image of darkness shown through the power outage mirrors the “darkness” that has enveloped their relationship. However, when forced to reveal their secrets to each other, the reader is given a sense of hope for the relationship through the perspective the story is written in. In Shukumar’s eyes, “they had survived a difficult time” in not only the blackouts, but also their troublesome relationship. Despite their re-ignited relationship, Shoba still ultimately reveals that she “found an apartment” and will leave him. Although they possessed the strength to reconcile, it was only “a temporary matter” and this ability did not prevent their marriage from concluding.

Boori Ma also had little control over her fate. An immigrant to India, she finds solace in a “flat-building” where she acts as a “durwan”. Despite being forced to leave Pakistan, she is still able to lead a somewhat peaceful life, where she was “always welcome” in the residents’ households. When faced with the hardship of being exiled from Pakistan, Boori Ma was able to move on through the “rattling” of her skeleton keys from her past life which contained “such luxuries you cannot even dream them”. Mr. Chaterjee describes her as “a victim of changing times” which is true on two levels throughout the story. Not only did she fall “victim” during the partition of India, but she was also blamed for the robbery of the basin. Although Lahiri suggests that Boori Ma’s future does not hold strong. The fact that “nothing [rattle]” where her skeleton keys (the symbol of her past life) once were means that perhaps Boori Ma will not be able to recover from this like she had done previously. The strength within her did not make her future more promising.

Lahiri’s stories expose the reader to a diverse range of sufferings in many different situations. Although most characters determine their own reckoning through their own inner-strength (or lack thereof) and ability to evolve, there are those whose personal actions hold very minimal responsibility to their future. From this, Lahiri coveys that although one’s personal efforts are the key determinate in how their future will unfold, in certain cases things can be out of our control.