AP Prompt

Cultures and identities are often the driving force behind the actions of the characters in a novel or play. Select a novel or play of literary merit and in a well written essay explain how the cultures that the characters identify themselves with affect their actions and how their cultures either hinder or help their decision making process.

 

Once in a Lifetime

First, I'm intrigued to continue reading this collection of short stories because I'm interested to see how these next short stories tie into each other (seeing as it was titled Hema and Kaushik I'm assuming these next stories will somehow intertwine). Another thing I thought was interesting was how the perspective shifted from the beginning short stories to now part two. Part two is written in first person whereas the first stories of the novel were written in third person. I like the perspective change as it gives the reader a chance to better understand what is going through the character's minds. The third person perspective was limited in the earlier stories and I think if we could go back and read the stories written by the various character's points of view we would get completely different messages/themes. For me though, I enjoy reading the first person point of view because it allows Lahiri to give the reader a deeper understanding of the emotions and thoughts within a character.

Nobody's Business

This short story left me confused as to what meaning I was suppose to take from it. In the previous stories there has either been a prominent theme or a couple of different clear messages. This story left me a bit perplexed as to what I should have learned from it. I couldn't really associate my life with this story as much as the other ones. I didn't have a connection to the characters or the situations they were going through. I felt like the only message I got was to make sure you know who you're falling in love with because they might end up really being an awful person who has affairs with other people. That seems like a pretty common sense move though. Anyways, I can't find a meaning in this- and I know there has to be one. What was the significance of Sang abruptly moving to England at the end? Why was Paul's exam repeatedly mentioned? It seemed like that didn't effect the story, but it was brought up on a lot of occasions. What was the significance of the dog at the end? I don't know if I just didn't read this story as close as I should have or maybe I just don't understand the message Lahiri was trying to present in this story. 

A Choice of Accommodations

This short story really bummed me out. Throughout this story Lahiri comments on how marriage isn't something that lasts like it does in the fairy tales. Amit admits to a stranger, the person he is sitting next to at the wedding dinner, that his marriage has disappeared. It isn't like he is consoling his best friend, he just throws that comment out into the open during conversation. Megan doesn't ever say those words or talk about how their marriage has vanished a bit, but it is evident in her language and body language that she feels similar. She is a bit aggressive in her comments toward Amit. When she discovers the hole in her skirt and Amit asks her if she packed an extra out fit, she aggressively replies with "did you?" It's little things in her dialogue and body language that make it clear that she isn't as happy as she was. At the end of this story I guess there was some "reconcile." That doesn't make them fall into a better marriage though. I think the ending was put in to show that they both don't hate each other. At the end I would say Lahiri is trying to say that even if marriage is not always easy or great that you still have to stick by that persons side. In reality this I would assume is pretty true, but Lahiri doesn't hesitate to display how miserable people can be too. It was as if at some points in this story Amit and Megan were so distant that they didn't even know each other. It was upsetting to see how far a part they both became, driving silently in the car. Even though this story was sad, I think the overall message is good to take away. Even if the things aren't going as planned or as they should, you have to stick it out by that persons side, because even if you might not like them right now, deep down you hopefully still love them.

Only Goodness

This short story really played with my emotions. I hated Rahul as he became an alcoholic. I hated even more that fact that Sudah blamed herself for it. Was it really her fault that he became addicted to the substance? Even though she supplied his alcohol in his teenage years, she had no clue that he would become infected with this disease. Then when Rahul finally became sober years later and visited Sudah, Rodger, and Neel, I loved Rahul. He was a completely different person. He played with Neel like he was his own kid. He seemed like a genuinely great uncle He wanted to take him to the zoo and bathe him. He was being the best uncle ever, until he left him in the bath and passed out drunk. I couldn't help but wonder if maybe he put on an act the whole time. Was his playing with Neel and earning Sudah's trust an act so that they would trust him enough to leave him alone in the house so he could find their alcohol? I can't belive this would be true as he flew many, many miles and spent a lot of money getting to London. On the other hand if Elena was very strict with him staying sober maybe he realized this was the only way to get his fix. Either way I hated how Raul made me forgive him and love him only to go right ahead and shatter that trust. I guess Lahiri is commenting on how trust isn't a constant thing. People are always changing. No one can entirely count on someone else. She also is commenting on how everything isn't what it always seems. People aren't always completely honest with other people or really even theirselves. 

Hell-Heaven

I think this short story was a story about perspective. The mother, Boudi, resented Deborah for taking Pranab Kaku away from her. She hated the fact the Prenab Kaku was marrying this American and that he was leaving his Bengali culture behind without any hesitation. She had fell in love with Pranab Kaku and this American girl, with no Indian background, had swept him off his feet. It wasn't until Pranab Kaku and Deborah got divorced that Boudi discovered that Deborah felt terrible for taking Pranab Kaku away from them. She had always been the one to invite Boudi and the family over for events, but Boudi hadn't known this. She even went to the extent to say that she was jealous of the relationship that Boudi and Pranab Kaku had. Deborah felt like she could never know Pranab Kaku on that level. She was not a part of the Bengali culture and she could never totally become a part of it. Boudi on the other hand was jealous of Deborah and how she was able to fall in love with Pranab Kaku and marry him. She hated that she never got to spend time with Pranab Kaku anymore. It's funny that both Deborah and Boudi were jealous of each other. They never thought about how the other felt. They never tried to see things in the perspective of the other. Both of these women only saw the situation from their perspective and thus they both had a little bit of resentment built up for the other. It wasn't until they both sat down to talk that they realized they weren't that different of people.

A Breath of Fresh Air

This book, or the first story out of it at least, was surprisingly very interesting. I think this was due to the fact that Lahiri does not write very complex sentences. Her syntax and diction make her writing very easy to read and easy to follow. This first story was a refreshing breath after reading Pride and Prejudice, where the writing style took many chapters to get use to. I also think that Lahiri also writes only one level deep. What I mean by this is that her story isn't one where she wants the readers to try and decipher complex symbols or try to critically analyze her words. Lahiri rather, writes to tell a story. She writes to explain what she knows. She tells the story of the immigrating Indian community. She was raised in America as part of an Indian culture and her story shares the experiences and emotions she has had during her whole life. I enjoy these type of books, where the story is more important than the underlying symbols. It's easy to read and easy to understand, but I also get more out of a story like this one. I am appreciative of this style of writing.