Hyphens and a River of Identities

Hyphens and a River of Identities

Cultural dissonances weave threads of confusion into the fabric of the lives of first and second-generation immigrants who must navigate both the traditional values of their immigrant parents and the mainstream American values of their peers. This is a fact that I have grown to appreciate, growing up in America under the supervision of parents who have aspired to raise children to uphold traditional Indian values. The essence of this experience, as well as its perspectives, is captured in Jhumpa Lahiri's short stories, as they subtly shape consistent themes of isolation and fumbling identity. She explores the disconnection encountered by those who are caught between the culture of their Indian birthplace and the unfamiliar practices of their adopted home. The power in all of Lahiri's work lies in the fact that she is able to create relatable characters and design plot lines that draw interest to her subject matter regardless of whether or not the reader has directly experienced the drudgery in the lives of Bengali immigrants and their children. As particularly evident in her short stories, in "Interpreter of Maladies" and "Unaccustomed Earth," Lahiri's work thrives on nuance and subtlety to address the complex question of identity. Lahiri has time and again acknowledged her personal experience with a hyphenated, split cultural background in interviews: "As a young child, I felt that the Indian part of me was unacknowledged, and therefore somehow negated, by my American environment, and vice versa. I felt that I led two very separate lives."

The sentiment "it's the little things in life" is commonly expressed, yet seldom truly appreciated. Jhumpa Lahiri, like many authors, shows a propensity towards this topic, and captures it with a rare clarity. Important, thoroughly life-changing events occur consistently throughout "A Temporary Matter," from "Interpreter of Maladies," such as the death of the child and the end of a once happy marriage, yet nearly everything revolves around mundane occurrences such as dinner plans, work, and dentist appointments. The manifestation of these circumstances conveys the pain since the change in the couple's relationship can be observed in what is implied and the small ways in which everything has changed and thus what appears to be a "temporary matter" is actually something truly significant and complex. When it seems that the power outage might actually bring the couple closer together, it is once again a fleeting respite to the distance and pain that the couple feels, a brief moment during which they can reflect on what has changed between them. True to the conviction that the subtleties are what matter, the narrator, Shukumar, discusses the changes he perceives, such as his wife's habits and his feelings about his work. However, the power outage is not a great life event, and therefore cannot trump all of the little things that have been signaling a problem with the couple's marriage. As evident in one of the more striking quotes in this story, "He ran his tongue over the tops of his teeth; he'd forgotten to brush them that morning. It wasn't the first time. He hadn't left the house at all that day, or the day before," these observations condition the reader to appreciate the extent to which he has become depressed and at a loss for how to cope with what is taking place. Shukumar is particularly conscientious, making his lack of regard for simple things such as brushing his teeth far more significant. Interestingly enough, when he recounts the day that his wife, Shoba, went into labor, a momentous day in both their lives, his mind constructs this memory with a collage of small, seemingly insignificant details. He says, "Each time he thought of that moment, the last moment he saw Shoba pregnant, it was the cab he remembered most, a station wagon, painted red with blue lettering. It was cavernous compared to their own car. Although Shukumar was six feet tall, with hands too big ever to rest comfortably in the pockets of his jeans, he felt dwarfed in the back seat." While this may seem slightly callous, this is usually how we realistically recall important events in our lives. They do not occur in our memory as sequential narratives, rather as a string of random senses, feelings, and observations. Lahiri captures the formation of memories with a great deal of grace, as she places the greatest emphasis on the "inconsequential."

"A Temporary Matter" is only a fragment of the mosaic of cultural interactions represented in Lahiri's "Interpreter of Maladies" and "Unaccustomed Earth." Viewed through a psychological lens, conflicts in cultural beliefs and dysfunctional relationships created by the influence of