Penn State Deluge - Vol. 2 No. 1 - Spring 2004

In her discussion of cultural differences, Lahiri's colorful descriptions of Indian food and the flurry of activity surrounding food preparation show her fondness for India. This fondness towards India suggests that perhaps the American and Indian worlds are not compatible and should remain separate. After all, when the two collide, the results are sometimes disastrous. A clear example of this collision of Indian and American cultures occurs in "Mrs. Sen's." The first clash occurs between Mr. and Mrs. Sen. Mrs. Sen loves fish as it reminds her of her home, and her only way to obtain fish is for Mr. Sen to drive her to the market. However, Mr. Sen has fallen into the pattern of American life. He places greater importance on his university job; once his schedule becomes too busy he tells Mrs. Sen, "No more fish for a while. Cook the chicken in the freezer. I need to start holding office hours" (124). Although Mrs. Sen obliges, cooking with frozen and canned rations, it is clear that Mr. Sen has chosen his professional life in America over his wife's attachment to her homeland when he refuses her request to pick her up and take her to the market because he has an important meeting.

The second clash occurs between Mrs. Sen, a pure symbol of India, and the American society that rejects her attempts to connect with her Indian roots. When Mrs. Sen takes the bus to the fish market, on the way back an old woman on the bus looks at her and Eliot suspiciously before complaining to the bus driver of the fish smell. Mrs. Sen gets into a car accident on her next and final trip to the fish market. This accident suggests that the American and Indian cultures cannot harmoniously coexist. Mrs. Sen tells Eliot that her true home is in India. She comments, "Everything is there" (113). When she tries to bring something from "there," it is painfully out-of place.

Despite the preference for India, Lahiri does not intend for her characters to be one-dimensional in their cultural identity; rather, her most grounded, well-adjusted characters have reached a successful balance between both heritages—heritage represented through food. For example, Lilia's mother has managed to retain the Indian half of her identity while participating in mainstream America. She makes both simple and elaborate Indian dishes although the supermarket does not carry Indian ingredients such as mustard oil. She helps Lilia and her friend celebrate Halloween, a very mainstream American holiday, providing them with "two burlap sacks that had once contained basmati rice" (37). The Indian influence she brings to this American holiday, although subtle, speaks of her ability to create a hybrid identity that draws from both of her cultures. Lilia follows the footsteps of her mother. Although born in America, she takes an interest in the plight of Mr. Pirzada's family. She questions why her school curriculum neglects to teach anything beyond American history while they are living through a monumental civil war that is dramatically changing political and economic boundaries around the world. Her curiosity becomes action when she finds a book titled Pakistan: A Land and Its People. She studies the chapter on Dacca, eager to find out about its population and geographical makeup. While she initially relies on the candies Mr. Pirzada gives her to feel connected to him and to India, by the end of the story, she no longer needs them because she has finally connected to her Indian heritage.

In contrast to Lilia and her mother, many of the characters have not attained a healthy balance between their two identities. As a tourist and Indian-American, Mrs. Das is emotionally and psychologically removed from Indian culture; she literally cannot understand the phrases from the Hindi love song that the shirtless men working the tea stall sing to her. Additionally, the interaction between Mrs. Sen and Eliot's mother reflects a lack of successful cultural duality in both characters. Mrs. Sen's blade is a prominent reminder of India and the Indian life that she left behind. The blade is both practical for cutting and preparing food as well as a source of entertainment for Eliot who greatly enjoys watching her chop things. However, Mrs. Sen makes sure to put away the blade and hide all traces of cutting; the blade is "scrubbed, rinsed, dried, folded, and stowed away in a cupboard with the aid of a stepladder" (117). For Mrs. Sen, her tremendous unhappiness in America stems from an unhealthy attachment to her homeland. Likewise, Eliot's mother seems out of touch with her Indian heritage. She is clearly uncomfortable in the Sen's home and only through Mrs. Sen's prompting does she sit down on the sofa and politely eat Mrs. Sen's concoctions—concoctions which she admits to Eliot she does not like. Eliot's mother does not appreciate the food of India, implying she is probably ignorant of the social significance of the blade as well. Through these characters, Lahiri suggests that a balance between American and Indian heritages is much more important than being assimilated to just one or the other.

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[ Contents | Absract | I | II | III | IV | V | VI | Works Cited | Appendix ]

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