Analysis of Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri - Admission/Application Essay Example

?575794 Interpreter of Maladies “Interpreter of Maladies,” by Jhumpa Lahiri tells the story of a seemingly typical tour to The Sun Temple in Konarak,India. The moment of climax at the end of the story, while not extremely dramatic, provides a satisfactory denouement for readers. As the story progresses, readers learn of the character of the Das family and their Indian driver, Mr. Kapasi, through Kapasi’s subjective account of the trip. His opinion of Mina Das, the mother and wife, changes during the narrative. Kapasi’s moment of epiphany occurs when he realizes his initial impression was correct. Lahiri’s tale contains quiet lessons about human dignity evidenced in the irony of not only the title of the story, but the way the events unfold in Kapasi’s telling of the tale. The title of the short story, “Interpreter of Maladies,” refers to Kapasi, the character through whose eyes readers understand the story. He has a part-time job as a driver for tours around India, which is how he encounters the Das family. Kapasi takes the family on a tour of The Sun Temple at Konarak. Kapasi’s job as a tour driver helps him to earn enough money to support his family and their “newer, bigger house and the good schools and tutors, and the fine shoes and the television, and the countless other ways he tried to console his wife and to keep her from crying in her sleep” (Lahiri 66). His full-time job is as an interpreter for a doctor, which Kapasi himself calls, “an interpreter of maladies” (Lahiri 65). Having taught himself several languages, Kapasi once dreamed of being an interpreter in a more sophisticated setting, like for a diplomat rather than for a tour company and a doctor. However, the demands of family life necessitated he take these jobs, that he and his wife find so demeaning, so when Mina Das says that his job is romantic, he changes his mind about his initial aversion to her. At the beginning of the story, Kapasi notes characteristics of Mina Das and the other family members as well. In general, the parents seem immature and self-centered. While Kapasi does not use those words, certainly the first lines of the story, which include a description of Mina and Raj Das arguing over who will take their daughter to the restroom, quickly give the reader the impression Kapasi must have meant to convey (Lahiri 57). He finds it “strange that Mr. Das should refer to his wife by her first name when speaking to the little girl” (Lahiri 58). Later, when Tina, the Das’ daughter asks her mother to “do her nails” too, Mina answers “Leave me alone. . . .You’re making me mess up” (Lahiri 62). Clearly, Kapasi’s initial impression of the family is not flattering and he does not really seem to like them. However, when Mina says his job is “romantic,” it appeals to Kapasi’s ego. His wife does not think his job is romantic. In fact, she is disappointed in him and does not hide her feelings well according to Kapasi’s description of her. Having a young, attractive woman compliment him in such a way, and then engage him in lengthy conversation about his job as an “interpreter of maladies,” surely makes him feel good. Mina works her feminine wiles on him. In fact, she has “intoxicated” him (Lahiri 67). Kapasi begins to describe Mina in a new light. He imagines that the Das’ marriage must be as unsatisfactory as his own. As an interpreter of maladies, he believes he is an expert at detecting troubles, and even though there is never confirmation that the Das’ marriage is in threatened by their childishness, the later revealed sexual infidelity seems to confirm Kapasi’s diagnosis. When he begins to think about the Das’ marital problems though, he is not aware of Mina’s unfaithfulness, so he imagines her as someone he would like to get to know better and perhaps start a relationship with albeit long distance. His descriptions of her gradually become more sexual, and perhaps that is because she focuses on him and ignores her family. What man would not succumb to such feminine wiles skillfully executed? Kapasi does. He is unable to correctly interpret Mina’s flattery. Mina clearly has issues: at the expense of her children and husband, she engages a driver in conversation about his job, flattering him—perhaps manipulating him for whatever purpose she sees in doing so—without really caring about him at all. Noelle Brada-Williams notes, “The clear differences in these two characters in their relationship to care or lack of care, specifically in relation to responsibility, makes their final disconnect inevitable. While they both can be seen longing for communication with others, Mrs. Das is a woman with a life of relative comfort and ease who yearns to be freed of the responsibilities of marriage and children, and Mr. Karpasi (sic) is a man who has given up his dreams to support his family and who only yearns for some recognition and interest in his life” (Brada-Williams 458). Mina has intoxicated Kapasi with her flattery and feigned interest in his life. Her attention, so unexpected and unusual, hampers Kapasi’s ability to interpret her maladies correctly. Once the group reaches The Sun Temple, the imagery becomes decidedly more sexual, and so do Kapasi’s thoughts about Mina. Mr. Kapasi was pleased that they liked the temple, pleased especially that it appealed to Mrs. Das. She stopped every three or four paces, staring silently at the carved lovers, and the procession of elephants, and the topless female musicians beating on two-sided drums. Though Mr. Kapasi had been to the temple countless times, it occurred to him, as he, too, gazed at the topless women, that he had never seen his own wife fully naked . . . . But Mrs. Das was different. Unlike the other women, who had an interest only in the temple, and kept their noses buried in a guidebook, or their eyes behind the lens of a camera, Mrs. Das had taken an interest in him (Lahiri 71). Kapasi believes that Mina is different from his wife, who will not bare her entire body to him, and he is, ironically, correct for at the end of the story, it is the fact that Mina has bared her body to too many men that disturbs Kapasi. However, at the temple, perhaps because of the provocative statues or perhaps because of Mina’s attentions, Kapasi becomes concerned about his looks, his dress, and his body odor, even though he comes across as a meticulously groomed man. Another aspect of the story solidifies at this point in the story too. The Das’ are Indian, but American born, so they are distant from their heritage. They demonstrate the typical disrespect for such sacred places as The Sun Temple as other Americans in Kapasi’s opinion. Oriana Palusci points out that “‘Interpreter of Maladies’ is also a story about tourism and its pitfalls. . . .The cheapness and silliness of the remarks attributed to the Das family underlie their newly acquired spotless American identity. India has been digested and assimilated, or rather, reduced to a few snapshots, souvenirs for the children, a guidebook in the hands of Mr. Das, the middle-class leader of the small expedition, only slightly less prejudiced than his grumbling and bored wife” (Palusci 128). Kapasi, who does not seem to like tourists much, thinks Mina Das is different because she engages him in conversation. She does not act like the typical tourists who disrespect the sacredness of the ancient places. Kapasi’s general dislike for tourist also has to do with the fact that most are wealthy and condescending to him. Because Mia does not snub him, but instead asks him questions about the temple, Kapasi thinks she may have some intellectual potential. “He hoped that Mrs. Das had understood Surya’s beauty, his power. Perhaps they would discuss it further in their letters” (Lahiri 72). Kapasi is so wrapped up in his fantasy about Mina Das that he does not want the day to end, so he suggest a side trip to the hills of Udayagiri and Khandagiri, which results in him realizing that he has misinterpreted the situation. Two specific images recur in the story that may have pointed to the correct interpretation had Kapasi understood their importance. The first one is the strawberry applique on Mina Das’ blouse. Kapasi notes it several times. Strawberries have interesting symbolism. Many cultures believe that strawberries act as aphrodisiacs. Kapasi’s repeated glances at Mina’s blouse seem to prove that effect. In some places, strawberries are also considered sacred to the Virgin Mary, who is said to accompany children when they go strawberry picking. In this case, the strawberry on Mina’s chest serves as irony: she certainly has no resemblance to the Virgin Mary, and she barely wants to be in the same car as her own children let alone accompany children to do something like picking strawberries. But the strawberry in Lahiri’s story also has more ironic symbolism. “Strawberries have special meaning to the Seneca of the northeastern United States. Because strawberries are the first fruit of the year to ripen, they are associated with spring and rebirth. The Seneca also say that strawberries grow along the path to the heavens and that they can bring good health. In mythology, Strawberries are connected to the Norse goddess of love, Freyja (Alexander). The rebirth symbolized by the strawberry may be Kapasi’s after he discovers he has misinterpreted Mina Das. Ironically, he imagines feelings somewhat akin to love for Mina, also symbolized by the applique on her shirt. The other symbolic element introduced early in the story, like the strawberry, and emphasized at the ending is the Hanuman monkeys. These monkeys are langurs, named after the Hindu monkey-god Hanuman. They are the sacred monkey of India (BBC). Hanuman, renowned for his courage, power and faithful, selfless service, his namesakes, the Hanuman monkeys, symbolize Kapasi himself. He has given up his dream of working in a more sophisticated profession than the one that he has taken to support his family demonstrating his selfless service. Perhaps he falters for a moment, loses his ability to correctly interpret the maladies of Mina Das, but it is because he is intoxicated by the woman who would falsely flatter him for her own purpose. Kapasi’s brief romantic fantasy of Mina shatters when he finds out she was unfaithful to her husband, and that the proof of her infidelity is their second son, Bobby. Yet Kapasi proves his courage, power, and faithful selflessness when he rescues the boy from the monkeys who have ganged up on him. The boy was not really in much danger, and comes out of the ordeal with a scrape on his knee. The real climax to the story occurs right before the incident with Bobby and the monkeys when Mina reveals her infidelity to Kapasi. Mina simultaneously reveals to Kapasi and the reader the reason she has been so attentive to him. “She wants to know from the Indian interpreter of maladies (‘maladies’ now more correctly meaning spiritual, not physical, diseases) what she should do to heal her ‘terrible urges’. Thus, a real communicative process has been finally established between two very different figures” (Palusci 129). Mina says, “I was hoping you could help me feel better, say the right thing. Suggest some kind of remedy” (Lahiri 78). This is not the conversation Kapasi had been hoping for. Simon Lewis describes the exchange: “Mrs. Das had told him the story more or less to purge herself of it. When he fails to offer either absolution or a cure and instead quite reasonably asks, ‘Is it really pain you feel, Mrs. Das, or is it guilt?’ her withering glare ‘crushed him; he knew at that moment that he was not even important enough to be properly insulted’” (Lewis 220). Kapasi understands the reason for Mina’s flattery. Aware of how it makes him feel, skilled in her feminine wiles she stupidly believes he has some sort of ability to actually cure the maladies that he interprets. “All of a sudden, the epiphanic instant is lost. Mrs. Das does not want to be genuinely helped and Mr. Kapasi is not a healer, not a doctor . . . only a well-meaning cicerone and driver for rich tourists” (Palusci 129-130). Mina wants Kapasi to assuage her guilt, but he cannot because he finds her confession distasteful, and believes she should feel guilty. In fact, this episode ends the enchantment she has had for him and brings him back to reality. “Interpreter of Maladies” comments on the importance of trusting one’s initial impressions, but also guarding against manipulative falseness. Kapasi allows himself to become carried away by his own romantic fantasy. Mina knows she is having an effect on him and exploits it believing he can offer some sort of peace to her guilty conscience. The story also demonstrates that no matter how humiliated one feels by his lot in life, as long as he is a decent person, he will be respected and admired for readers appreciate Kapasi’s actions and feel only contempt for Mina and Raj Das and pity for their children. Works Cited Alexander, Courtney. "Berries as Symbols and in Folklore." New York Berry News 6.1 (2007). BBC. "Hanuman langur, common langur, grey langur, entellus langur, true langur." July 2008. Science and Nature: Animals. 5 October 2011 . Brada-Williams, Noelle. "Reading Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies as a Short Story Cycle." Melus Volume 29, Number 3/4 (Fall/Winter 2004) 29.3/4 (2004): 451-464. Lahiri, Jhumpa. "Interpreter of Maladies." Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules. Ed. David Sedaris. New York City: Simon and Schuster Paperback, 2005. 57-81. Lewis, Simon. "Lahiri's "Interpreter of Maladies"." Explicator 59.4 (2001): 219-221. Palusci, Oriana. "The Elephant and the Refrigerator: Jhumpa Lahiri as Interpreter of Maladies." Anglistica 12.2 (2008): 121-131. Read More