Nina Reed

Jhumpa Lahiri is a realist writer of today. Her work is inspired by her experience as an Indian growing up in America and never quite fitting in with both her traditional Indian background and her new American community. Lahiri’s stories express her personal encounter with evading her Indian heritage. She involves in her work the everyday struggles of being stuck between two cultures and remaining true to one’s self. The majority of her stories incorporate her main character having an identity crisis. Lahiri herself, as well as some of her close friends, battled with defining her sense of self as well as how it affected her personal relationships. The author’s stories are relatable in a sense that it deals with the everyday struggles finding one’s true self.

On July 11, 1967, Nilanjana Sudheshna Lahiri was born in London England to Bengali Indian immigrants. At the age of three, Nilanjana and her family relocated to the West of the Atlantic to Rhode Island. Because her name was difficult to pronounce, her teacher called her by her nickname, Jhumpa. It was only a pet name that her parents called her, but in America, it became the name she was called by her friends and teachers. This event would mark the beginning of her struggle to assimilate in America. Her father was and still is a librarian at the University of Rhode Island, which influenced her love of reading and writing.

While growing up, Jhumpa was often conflicted between both American and Indian culture. “She's struggled for four decades to feel like she belonged in America.” (Jhumpa Lahiri’s Struggle to Feel American). This self-conflicted struggle of fitting in with her American friends would aid her to develop in-depth characters.

Jhumpa’s love for literature helped her to excel in the subject. She graduated from Barnard College with a Bachelors of Art in English Literature, following with masters degrees in English, Comparative Literature, and Creative Writing. She also received her Ph.D. in Renaissance Studies, from Boston University. Though she did well in her studies, it took earning her PhD to realize what she genuinely wanted to do with her life:

Eventually I had enough material to apply to the creative writing program at Boston University. But once that ended, unsure of what to do next, I went on to graduate school and got my Ph.D. In the process, it became clear to me that I was not meant to be a scholar. It was something I did out of a sense of duty and practicality, but it was never something I loved. I still wrote stories on the side, publishing things here and there. The year I finished my dissertation, I was also accepted to the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and that changed everything. It was something of a miracle. In seven months I got an agent, sold a book, and had a story published in The New Yorker. I've been extremely lucky. It's been the happiest possible ending.

Jhumpa’s success did not stop there. In 2000, she won a Pulitzer Prize for her debut Interpreter of Maladies, which is a compilation of nine short stories. These short stories help the reader gain an understanding of Indian immigrants’ life experiences in America. She has since the written two more books.

Her first novel, The Namesake, was published in 2003. The story is about an Indian family who struggle with their cultural and the generational barriers of their children. In the book, Lahiri uses the term “ABCDs” meaning “American born confused desi”. The novel has a similar pace of the writers that have inspired her, “she's elsewhere cited Thomas Hardy and Tolstoy, and that is believable, for her stories have that familiar great, slow build of narrative and detail. She's a miniaturist and has Munro's ability to create a whole world in each story.” (Writing Makes Me so Vulnerable) In 2006, The Namesake was made into a film, introducing the author’s work to a new audience. She published her third book in 2008, another collection of short stories titled Unaccustomed Earth. The stories contained a similar theme of immigration and person individuality and adjusting to the customs of America.

A constant theme in Lahiri’s works is the struggle of often a first generation Indian-American. She explores, in depth, how it feels to not belong to either culture. Her characters are faced with trying to honor the heritage and traditions of their forefathers of India as well as trying to fit into American society without disregarding who they are. Her writing is a form of therapy, allowing her to address the pain of her upbringing, while giving others perspective of what it feels like to be a misfit.

Lahiri draws from her own experiences as a child in creating the layers of her characters. Lahiri’s body of work is important today because she is creating a voice for first generation Americans that are trying to find a balance of adjusting to a new culture, while preserving their native traditions. She is an important literary figure because her work is relatable. Lahiri’s work revolves around exploring important relationships whether they are failing or flourishing and adapting to life changes, no matter how difficult they are. She is helping those who are unaware of the hardship of being mix-cultured to gain a better understanding through her writing. She is a pioneer of Indian-American literature. Lahiri has created a niche for herself. Her characters are not stereotypical; she brings to light the flaws of multicultural characters that her peers tend to shy away from. Lahiri’s bravery to do so will influence a generation of future writers.

One of Jhumpa Lahiri’s stories, “Sexy”, depicts the emotional struggle in which a young American woman named Miranda endures during the course of her short-lived extramarital affair with a married older Indian man named Dev. The story coincides with Miranda’s coworker Laxmi’s cousin, who becomes distraught over the recent discovery of her husband’s affair with a woman he meets on an airplane. Once the two sides of the separate affairs intertwine through the woman’s son, Rohin, who witnesses his parent relationship fall apart, Miranda realizes that she her once exciting romantic affair with Dev is will never flourish into the relationship she desired in the beginning. She knows that her affair must remain a secret, which is something that she cannot cope.

In “Sexy”, Lahiri concentrates on cross-cultural mixtures through her characters and the symbols to represent the theme, globalization. The author uses Miranda and Dev’s relationship to highlight the theme of globalization and its effects on human relationships. Miranda is immediately intrigued with Dev’s exotic features and his knowledge and awareness of the world and customs besides his own. Miranda’s interaction with Dev is a connection that brings diversity into her life. Even though he is married, she still partakes in an affair with him because of her instant attraction to his ethnic background. Their relationship brings some adventure into Miranda’s life, feeding her curiosity for cultures outside of her own. Lahiri writes, “The farthest Miranda has ever been was to the Bahamas once when she was a child.” (2863)

Another symbol of globalization is the Mapparium, which is a large walkthrough globe that fascinates Miranda. The author explains, “In the middle of the room was a transparent bridge, so that they felt as if they were standing in the center of the world.”(2863) She insinuates the beginning of Miranda’s new thrill of exploring, which begins shortly after she meets Dev. She visits new restaurants that she would have never gone to had she not met Dev. The more she becomes aware of the Indian culture in Boston, the more the story shows the postmodern mixture of culture in Miranda herself. She begins to appreciate other ethnicities and grow as a person.

The protagonist remembers the Dixits, Indian neighbors that she knew growing up and feels guilty for fearing the family. The Dixits' house was "the only one with vinyl siding" and "detracted from the neighborhood's charm." Lahiri reminds the reader how new cross-cultural mixtures are, their contemporary life comes at us in a socializing of culture. Lahiri does so by presenting two diverse cultures conforming contentedly. Miranda recalls being so frightened of the Dixits' painting of the goddess Kali, who was decorated with "a necklace composed of bleeding heads, strung together like a popcorn chain." For months after seeing the painting, Miranda had been too frightened even to walk on the same side of the street as the Dixits' house, which she had to pass twice daily, once to get to the bus stop, and once again to come home. For a while, she'd even hold her breath until she reached the next lawn, just as she did when the school bus passed a cemetery (2866). Lahiri uses this dichotomy of Miranda’s point of view to signify the thrill and the intimidation of that which is foreign to a person.

Jhumpa Lahiri interweaves the barriers and opportunities of communication, provides insight of loosing ones identity in imperfect relationships. The relationships in the story, Miranda’s sexual relationship with Dev, and the broken relationship of Rohin’s parent’s circumstances, ultimately bring to the forefront the details of imperfect relationships. Miranda seemed to lack a social life and exciting elements in her life; naturally, Miranda was in search of a sense of importance. During the course of the affair she doesn’t think too much about the repercussions she will face once his wife arrival. The excitement of a new relationship has the naive Miranda not questioning what will happen once Dev’s wife returns from India. Instead, Miranda feels as though she is a special priority as she is jaded by the attention he shows her. Miranda made an unethical choice to be with Dev. Lahiri shows that Miranda's isolated environment influenced much of her actions, showing the reader that relationships are important for our identity no matter the circumstance.

I believe Lahiri’s is portrayal of identity in the characters is based on the perceptions of others. While we are finding a true connection to others, sometimes we can make decisions based on the expectations of others. We change ourselves to live up to what we think others see in us. I think Lahiri is saying that we should not allow our identity to be formed to please others. An example of this is how Miranda tried dressing differently and structured her life around Dev and his desires, especially after hearing him call her “sexy”.

Lahiri shows, after the return of Dev’s wife, the intensity of their relationship declines. Before Dev’s wife returns from India, Lahiri explains, “During the day he called her every hour, it seemed, from work, or from his cell phone.” (2862). When his wife comes home, Miranda and Dev’s time spent together goes from romantic outings, where there is conversation, to short visits every Sunday. Dev begins to spend time with Miranda in his jogging clothes because he has to use jogging in Boston as an alibi. The phone calls are now limited and he would have to sneak them in between time he spent with his wife and their friends. This loss of connection, that Miranda once truly enjoyed, now makes her feel as though she is no longer adored by Dev as she was in the beginning of their relationship.

Jhumpa Lahiri’s main literary technique in “Sexy” is Miranda’s epiphany moment. She uses Miranda’s short relationship with Rohin as a parallel to highlight the message of the outcome it has on her relationship with Dev. Miranda felt no guilt for her actions until Rohin used the same word defining it in a way that she had never thought about. Miranda is easily led into the opinion of Dev, letting him guide her actions and her moral system. After Rohin describes his father’s affair, it becomes clear that Miranda realizes her ability to hurt people. She recognizes that she is mirroring the events of Rohin’s father’s affair. Miranda and the reader realize her actions, once justifiable, now have a heavy penalty, and as a result, her understanding and her view of the relationship with Dev changes.

In “Sexy”, Lahiri demonstrates the effect a short event can have on a person. I have a similar perspective as the author about the outcome a relationship or event can have on a human being. During the course of the story, Miranda evolves from a naive girl to a wise woman who is mature enough to make the decision to end a relationship on her own terms. Through Rohin, Miranda is able to reflect on her poor decisions and make a change for the better. Although her attraction to Dev held much temptation, Miranda was able to weigh the consequences of her actions and use her better judgment to end the relationship.

I believe Lahiri’s work is important because it conveys the idea that there are many aspects of communication, which come into play in the creation of human identities. Each character appears to have an individual identity that is unique and distinct from others. I feel that Lahiri’s story focuses on the fact that every human identity is complex and that the understanding of self is a continuous process of lifelong discovery. “Sexy” clearly demonstrates how society’s patriarchal expectations of love and relationships help shape the human identity. Even if subconsciously, we base some of our choices on the opinions of others.

“Sexy” is a fairly new story, making it relevant to the modern world. Infidelity is common and more acceptable today. Today’s media often covers the topics of unfaithful celebrities, sports stars, and politicians, which are often over-publicized. Lahiri captures both sides an affair, both the glamorous and unglamorous aspects of being the “other woman”, as well as the sadness of discovering infidelity. “Sexy” demonstrates the irony in today’s American culture because America is a mix of every culture in the world.