Contrast Treatment of Sex between Men and Women in Jhumpa Lahiris The Namesake and Gao Xingjians Dialogue and Rebuttal - Essay Example

?Contrast Treatment of Sex between Men and Women in Jhumpa Lahiri’s “The sake” and Gao Xingjian’s “Dialogue and Rebuttal” Introduction Contemporary literature captivates the essence of diaspora and enthrals within the compass of its theme, the issue of immigration and sense of uprooting form native socio-cultural milieu. Jhumpa Lahiri’s “The Namesake” and Gao Xingjian's “Dialogue and Rebuttal”, both the literary pieces captivate the breakdowns of communication and differences arising from the distinct socio-cultural background. “The Namesake” was the second work of the author and was published in the year 2003. Initially, the work appeared before its readers as a novella published in the The New Yorker. Later on it was elaborated to give a shape of a proper novel. The novel “The Namesake” revolves round the lives of its protagonist Ashima Ganguly and her life and struggle to cope up with the American kind of life after her immigration to the United States as a young bride. The novel captures events and snap-shots dwindling between Calcutta, Boston and New York City. It captivates, explores and examines a conflict that arises from the souls captured between two conflicting cultures, beliefs and ideologies. This conflict builds up a very strong dramatic element for the novel. On the other hand, Gao Xingjian’s play, “Dialogue and Rebuttal”, published in the year 1992 captivates an interaction of the two strangers who have passed their night together and the novel explores the inability or the failure of communication to connect to each other pertaining to the barrier of language. Both the pieces contain a barrier that arises from the difference in culture, society and language and examines the attempt of the characters that are under continuous threat and conflict to overcome these barriers. In an attempt to overcome these barriers of language, sex or the language of body becomes very instrumental in both the pieces to express and explore the emotions and establish the connection between the characters. The Contrast in Treatment of Sex Both the literary pieces, “The Namesake” and “Dialogue and Rebuttal” concentrate on the sexual relationship of men and women. The paradigm of sex is used to express the conflict between the sexes and different subtleties of their relationship as well. The number of relationships in the novel “The Namesake” is definitely more compared to the play, “Dialogue and Rebuttal.” In the novel, “The Namesake”, readers are introduced with a young Bengali couple from India who migrates to United States at the very outset of the novel. The sexual relation between Ashoke and Ashima are more traditional and throbs on the plane of love which is a very honest representation of an oriental relationship that grows generally on the platform of conservatism. Next, sexual relationship is hinted with Gogol, the young son of Ashoke and Ashima, who is ashamed of his identity and disgusted with the Bengali rituals and life style which his parents wanted to impose on him. In order to move away from the kind of life, his parents want him to leave; he distances himself from his family and inclines more towards American way of life. He does drugs and involves into a sexual relation with an American girl whose name he is unable to remember. Next relationship in the novel is that of Gogol’s with a very attractive and girl who is depicted out and out socially aggressive. The girl was Bernard and her name was swept off his feet with the charm, elegance and smartness and her lifestyle which Gogol aspires to live. Taken aback by all these things, Gogol starts a live-in relationship with Maxine at her home. Their love is very passionate and their bonding grows more with their physical intimacy whose description in the book is quite exotic in nature. After the death of Gogol’s father, he suddenly moves away from the girl and grows intimate with his family which now consists of his sister and mother. At the insistence of his mother he agrees to date a Bengali teen named Moushumi who happens to be the girl of his mother’s friend. Gogol gets intimate with Moushumi and their relation grows strong to the sanctity of marriage. But this relation in the novel also is not secluded from sexual relation. Thus we see that in the novel, “The Namesake” sex plays a very crucial role in the thematic development of the text. Gogol takes the refuge of the physicality when he fails to communicate with his own social milieu as he indulges into it with Maxine and the unknown American girl with whom he loses his virginity. Again the sexual relationship becomes very instrumental and helps him to come close to his roots and cultures when he starts dating Moushumi, the girl from his culture. On the other hand the play “Dialogue and Rebuttal” concentrates mostly on the sexual relationship of two strangers and their attempts to overcome the barrier of language through physical approach yields a very redemptive and destructive approach towards love. The primitive instinct of the man is ensured which exists even behind the robe of sophistication and civilised self of a man. The man and the woman take the refuge of body language to meet the barrier of communication gap between them which culminates into sexual relation very soon. A relation where bodily passion takes the primary position, the space of love becomes very secondary almost to the extent of effacing entity. Degree of Explicitness The treatment of sex is very strong in both the pieces. The sexual relationship is seen instrumental in overcoming the barrier pertaining to culture and language. It is also very quintessential to promote and portray the destructive aspect of love and primitive instinct in man. If the degree of explicitness and the method to express the explicit presentation is taken into consideration as regards to the novel “The Namesake” by Jhumpa Lahiri and the “Dialogue and Rebuttal” by Gao Xingjian, then the play by Gao Xingjian captivates a more explicit description of sexual intimacy and aggressive passion between man and woman. In the novel, “The Namesake” there is lots of other phenomena like family bonding, element of co-incidence and cultural conflict which support to build the essence of the theme. But in the play, “Dialogue and Rebuttal” sex plays a very crucial role in the plot development and thematic representation of the play as well. The method employed by the playwright is more based on realistic approach and through the explicit description of the external atmosphere and internal conflicts of the characters, Gao Xingjian is successful in evoking and exploring a very exotic and passionate love story between the two unknown characters who overcome their barrier of language and conflict with the refuge of physical affinity. Conclusion The novel, “The Namesake” and the play, “Dialogue and Rebuttal” both are excellent pieces of aesthetic craftsmanship articulated out of life and depict a very true essence of it. The conflicts and differences of culture and society which the immigrants face in the unknown land are felt to its most honest extent of expression. And both the literary piece actually teaches its readers a simple thing that how much sophisticated man might become with the robe of his civilised mannerism, the primitive instinct in man remains intact and is eternal and universal which does not pay heed to any class, culture or social differences. Bibliography Gao, Xingjian & Fong, Gilbert (2001). The Other Shore: Plays. Chinese University Press. Lahiri, Jhumpa (2004). The Namesake. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Read More