The story “Interpreter of Maladies”, by Jhumpa Lahiri, the major theme is self-reflection. The main characters Mr. Kapasi and Mrs. Das, dwell on there past but once they meet they both were looking for excuses to move on. In comparison, the story “Half a Grapefruit” by Alice Munro has to do with the same concept, if you read in between the lines. Rose sees herself better than the people that surround her. She tries very hard to be better than them, but does not succeed. However, it makes her feel better about herself and her life in general, just like Mr. Kapasi and Mrs. Das are trying to better their lives. In the two stories, the authors illustrate the struggles to find happiness within their main characters lives; to stop living with regrets of the past, they both show that only an escape from reality will result in a realization of their meaningful existence.
The female characters in both stories are alike in some ways. They believe in a similar life style. Mrs. Das lives the life style that Rose fantasizes to have, which makes them similar in an odd sense. “Puffed Rice in the summertime”(Munro 41).
Throughout the tour Mrs. Das snacks on Puffed Rice, just as Rose pretends to have for breakfast, “She walked slowly, carrying some puffed rice tossed with peanuts and chili peppers in a large packet made from newspaper”(Lahiri 60).
The Essay on Family and Life Story Work
?In this assignment I aim to discuss life story work: which can provide the care worker, and care receiver a better understanding of each other’s needs, and provide the care worker with information that can help support the care receiver in the best way. The carer needs to possess certain skills sensitivity, confidentiality, empathy, trustworthiness, and have commitment to seeing the story to the ...
Even though Mrs. Das’ puffed rice is packed in newspaper, which means she probably bought it at the hotel, it still seems to be a common thing to eat for wealthy people, especially during summer times according to both stories. Rose wants to be someone she is not. She truly wishes to be at a higher rank than the people in her town.
This is likely to be the reason why Rose listed it in the breakfasts, because she believes it is a fancy food to eat, such as half a grapefruit is, “The first morning the Puffed Rice, light as pollen, came spilling into the bowl, was as festive, as encouraging a time as the first day walking on the hard road without rubbers or the first day the door could be left open in the lovely, brief time between frost and flies”(Munro 41).
Half a grapefruit is not available to buy in any of the stores in her town, which is why she announced that is what she ate. It is out of the ordinary for the children in her class to have eaten this. Rose accepts the fact that she is different than the other children in her class. This is what she wants. She wants to be different. It gives her mental pleasure. Eventhough the other children tease her for it, she is content to know this fact of differentiation.
In both stories there is secrecy. This secrecy shows in most ways that the characters feel guilty about something, that must have happened in their past. This quilt or maybe even regret is one of the big struggles within the stories. Both female characters have secrets from their close friends and/or families, whatever the case may be. Mrs. Das keeps one of the biggest secrets a married woman could keep from her husband. The reason she keeps it from him, is because the truth hurts her; the guilt. She claims it is pain she is feeling, but deep down she knows it is guilt, because when Mr. Kapasi confronts her about it she gets offended, “She turned to him and glared, mustard lips on her frosty pink lips. She opened her mouth to say something, but as she glared at Mr. Kapasi some certain knowledge seemed to pass before her eyes, and she stopped” (Lahiri 79).
This means that she is keeping the truth from her self, aswell. This terrible feeling eats her up inside. Mr. Kapasi’s response was not very appealing to Mrs. Das. Once she thought about what he had said, she realized the truth of the matter. She looked at the life she had now, and realized that it wasn’t that bad.
The Essay on Song Relates Life Mildred People
This song relates a lot to Mildred and her life. In the first verse, it says, "She's lost in coma where it's beautiful. Intoxicated from the deep sleep, deep sleep. Do you wonder what it's like Living in a permanent imagination, sleeping to escape reality, but you like it like that." Mildred is obsessed with her "parlor walls" and her "family." They are her life, and she seems happy because they ...
She could have been happy all along by not dwelling on the past.. She kept this terrible feeling, because it seems that she was very afraid of hurting her husband and tearing apart their family. On the other hand Rose only hides something from one of her best friends, because she is very ashamed of what she had said and the person she truly wants to be. “Flo enjoyed the episode of the Kotex, would ask about fresh developments. Half-a-grapefruit she never got to hear about”(Munro 42).
It is ok for her to hear other people make fun of her, but she does not want her best friend to do the same. Mr. Kapasi is neither happy nor unhappy with his life. He is content with everything, even though it is nothing special. This was until he met Mrs. Das. He realized how miserable his life was, “He wondered if Mr. and Mrs. Das were a bad match, just as him and his wife were”(Lahiri 67).
From his point on he starts fantasizing about a relationship with Mrs. Das. He is planning so many things he could do with her and enjoy. Throughout this part he is happy. There is nothing noting of his misery. This fantasy is his reality for now. He as escaped his everyday life. His job is not just a job anymore.
Every second when Mrs. Das is not around Mr. Das he is enjoying more and more every time. The reason why Rose wants to be better than the people she lives around, is because she thinks very little good of them, “…was relieved when responsibility was fixed on a big sullen country girl named Muriel Mason, who wore slub rayon housedresses to school, and had B.O.”(Munro 42).
The problem with Rose though is that she knows she is just like them. Her fantasy is to be a wealthy lady; her goal is to act more prosperous. She tries so hard not to be. The reason for that is that she was the one who put the Kotex on display, “Rose was afraid that she might be a leading candidate for ownership…” (Munro 42).
Rose gets a sort of excitement believing that she is better than her classmates or people in her town. It gives her that joy of life, which she needs. All she wants is to be successful in life and be better off.
The differences between the two authors stories, are the diverse meanings happiness and how to search for happiness. Since the authors both use fantasies to show an escape of the characters everyday life to find a sense of joy in life. Each character reflects on them selves and realizes that their lives are miserable. In this case Mrs. Das, “Eight years Mr. Kapasi, I’ve been in pain eight years”(Lahiri 78).
The Essay on Life Changing Experience Thinking Things People
Life Changing Experience Death. To people it means many different things. Some people may not think anything of it, until it strikes close to them. I know before I had my father pass away, I never thought once about it. When I first heard of my dad dying, it made me way sad. I was ten or eleven, not old enough yet to understand, why someone would want to take their own life. I was crushed when it ...
This realization of misery is the cause for the fantasies they have created. It seems as if both authors put a little bit of their own life experiences in their story, but that is not quite certain The search for life and happiness might be never ending sometimes.
But both authors realize that people don’t always see what is right in front of them. A way both authors have their characters find happiness is through different fantasies. People always try to search for something better, and in these cases it is something beyond reality. Mrs. Das is in search of more love, which she gets from her husbands friend. Rose searches for a different life style that people in her area don’t approve of. Mr. Kapasi thinks that having a long distance affair will better his life, but once reality hits and the fantasy comes to a stop, things are absolutely different and his hopes and dreams were crushed. Nevertheless Mrs. Das finds happiness within her children. Fantasies last for a while, but not forever. Life will always be tough, but true happiness will always find its way in.
