• Research Paper on:
    Story Comparison from The Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

    Number of Pages: 5

     

    Summary of the research paper:

    In five pages 'The Interpreter of Maladies' and 'A Temporary Matter' are contrasted and compared. Two sources are cited in the bibliography.

    Name of Research Paper File: TG15_TGintmal.rtf

    Buy This Research Paper »

     

    Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
    it frankly deals with gendered relationships from a distinctly feminist perspective. In Jhumpa Lahiris award-winning compilation of short stories, collectively entitled, The Interpreter of Maladies, the characters have cultural  or familial ties to India, but it is the complex relationships between men and women which take center stage. Two tales in particular, "A Temporary Matter," and a story  also entitled "Interpreter of Maladies," each feature the theme of communication, or lack thereof, as couples struggle to relate to each other not simply as spouses but as human beings.  In this way, people of all ethnic backgrounds can easily identify with the trials and tribulations of these characters. "A Temporary Matter" considers the strained marital relationship  after a Boston couples first child is stillborn. Indian-born Shoba and Shukumar have been walking on eggshells since the loss of their child, and the emotional distance is increasing  with each passing day. Of Shukumar, who had been sequestered at home writing his academic dissertation, Lahiri wrote, The more Shoba stayed out, the more she began putting in  extra hours at work and taking on additional projects, the more he wanted to stay in, not even leaving to get the mail, or to buy fruit or wine at  the stores by the trolley stop" (Interpreter of Maladies - Chapter One: A Temporary Matter). These two people had now become virtual strangers to each other, and Shukumar "thought  of how long it had been since she looked into his eyes and smiled, or whispered his name on those rare occasions they still reached for each others bodies before  sleeping... Now he had to struggle to say something that interested her, something that made her look up from her plate... He learned not to mind the silences" (Lahiri Interpreter 

    Back to Research Paper Results