Mix-Cultured Vagabonds - 1050 Words

Jhumpa Lahiri’s short story, â€Å"Interpreter of Maladies,† follows the adventure of an American-Indian family who are taking the role of tourists in their own native homeland. The Das family is inherently Indian, but the experience of being born and raised in America has diluted their cultural background. The Das family is a symbol of both American and Indian cultures intermixing, and due to this, the family does not completely belong in either culture. The Das family is Indian, but they have been socialized into American culture. These observations of the family’s American-like behaviors are seen through the eyes of the Indian tour-guide, Mr. Kapasi. During a rest stop, Lahiri mentions, â€Å"Where’s Mina?† Mr. Das asked. Mr. Kapasi found it†¦show more content†¦They had secretly planned for their children to spend every waking moment with each other, and consequently, fall in love and marry. Their plans had worked without being revealed . Mr. Kapasi, an Indian born and raised, is able to relate to this as his marriage was also arranged (341). Though, this is not the only similarity Mr. and Mrs. Das shares with Mr. Kapasi. As Mr. Kapasi notices, the Das’ have three children: Tina, Ronny and Bobby. Although Mr. Kapasi never makes known the exact number of children he has, but as Lahiri writes, â€Å"the other children who were born soon enough, and the new, bigger house† (342). It can be assumed that Mr. Kapasi also has many children. These value of big families is seen in both the Das family and Mr. Kapasi. Although the Das family may not be nearly as big as Mr. Kapasi’s family, it should also be noted that Mrs. Das is only twenty-eight years of age, and there is a great possibility that the family will expand from the three children (350). The Das family still bears marriage norms of Indian culture and the value of having a big family. The Das family displays some American behaviors, yet also p ossesses some intrinsically Indian values. In this way, there is a certain dualism of cultures in the family. Mr. Kapasi, who is purely Indian, notices this dynamic when he first spots the family at the hotel. Lahiri writes, â€Å"The family looked Indian but dressed as