Burnt Bread and Chutney - Book Report/Review Example

The combination of bagels and lox and chutney doesn't offer an easily digested sense of identity. The outside world, too, is confused about Delman: she is viewed with suspicion by both American Jews and Indians. Most jarring to the author's coming of age is her mother's strictly patriarchal heritage. Her Indian relatives expect Delman to support all decisions made by the men. Girls are to be quiet and dainty and keep apart from the opposite sex until they are ready to wed. Even enrolled in a Jewish day school, Delman feels alienated from the mainstream culture.

Nor does participation in synagogue life provide solace the Delmans find too much concern for conformity and materialism. Moving to Israel will be the answer, Delman thinks. But there she sees many Indian Jews, along with Israel's other Asian and African immigrants, largely confined to isolated development towns with subpar housing and education. Woven into Delman's often painful musings and reflections on her identity is the poignant story of the aged Nana-bai, her closest Indian relative, who has survived poverty, bigamy and abuse with resilience and grace.

Writing in a lively style with rich details, Delman's debut brims with intelligence and insight and should appeal not only to Jews and Indians but to anyone compelled by the mingling of cultural identities" (Burnt bread and chutney). Therefore, the argument for chastity is concrete in the sense that it supports the idea that women should be treated fairly. However, the author is trying to state that if women have social support, chastity would not bee an issue. Social support is related to healthier functioning women.

Support, as a construct, has been defined as a sense of belonging, specifically among peers, teammates, community or family members. Women reporting strong social support/low isolation exhibit higher levels of resilience and lower levels of depression. Women are also less likely to be depressed if they perceive their family, friends, and peers to be more accepting, and if they have more positive friendships. Those who feel supported by counselors, parents, or peers exhibit healthier coping mechanisms and maintain a more positive outlook about their future.

In contrast, women who lack social support and experience isolation may behave in self-injurious ways (Rutter 2004). And this is why her argument of chastity is not over the top since it supports the idea that women should be treated fairly. Support will be more helpful in improving a woman's quality of life by understanding their psychosocial stress load. Some women feel helpless, hopeless, depressed, isolated from others, belittled, and do not know how to seek appropriate help from others (Rutter 2004).

Socially supportive arrangements were addressed as the attributes of socially legitimate roles which provide for the meeting dependency needs without loss of esteem. Socially supportive environments were presented as pattern interpersonal relationships mediated through shared values and sentiments as well as facilitate the performance of social roles through which needs are met. In summation, social support has been defined as an intervening factor tied directly to the coping process of being an adolescent (Pearson, 1986).

With that knowledge, it can be seen that support can be found within society for women, which can help them being treated by the author's argument. Regardless of the differences in definition, social suppo