¶ … Maladies

In Jhumpa Lahiri's "Interpreter of Maladies" short story, her depiction of characters and use of short story plot line is perfect for the short story that tells the tale of an American family traveling in India. They are Indian-Americans, and appear just like any other tourists from America, without knowledge of most Indian ways and customs, even though they have Indian parents who now live in the country. Her depictions of the characters are perfectly believable and quite realistic, from the Indian tour guide who notices much detail about the American family, to the dislocated mother who is totally interested in herself, and takes no notice of anything or anyone around her. These could be Americans from anywhere, and the fact that they are Indian, only makes the story's plot more interesting and rich.

The cultural significance for immigrants is quite clear in this story (and many of the others). The immigrants lose their culture, whether willfully or without their knowledge, and become strangers in their own country when they return. The Das family is self-centered and quite unmoved by the things they see around them - they are typical "ugly" Americans who have no interest in their background or culture. They seem bored by the tour, and by each other, and the reader has to wonder why they bothered to take the trip in the first place. They seem to think they are "superior" to their surroundings, somehow, simply because they are from America and have more opportunities and a different lifestyle. The author uses the symbols of the Chandrabhaga River and the Temple of the Sun as symbols of a culture that is slowly dying because people like the Das family do not keep it alive. This is actually a sad story because it illustrates how few ties most immigrants keep with their home countries, and how Americanized and selfish they become. The Das family really learns nothing from their trip to India, when it could have been a real cultural awakening for the entire family.