The Minimal Selves By Jhumpa Lahiri Analysis

“ ‘ you cannot go back to a village where you have no one to help you. Your uncle will take your land. Who would stop him from killing you and taking everything?’ ” (Staples 255). Nusrat also knows that their uncle will take their land and believes they should not go and that it would be best for them to go with her to New York City.

The tragic hero fabricates false dangers to compensate her desire to be needed by her sister who has moved on with her life. Nea feels abandoned becausen Sourdi matures while she remains a child. Ma and Sourdi remain connected with traditional customs that Nea simply cannot understand due to her exposure to American culture. Her over active imagination, anxiety, and aggression get her into trouble. When Nea tries to rescue Sourdi from her husband, it is the last straw and she knows that she has lost her dear older sister for good.

“I want you, I want to marry you, we’re going to be married, quickly, quickly=to-morrow if I can.” (Lawrence 846) In conclusion, The American and Mabel play on the emotional state of the other characters. The American, pushing for an operation, suggesting this being the best course for their future together; he would love her despite her decision.

The parents in the beginning argue over Steve, and how they want their kid to be raised. Most modern American families want their children to be raised a certain way, and sometimes those ways clash between parents. The mother wants Steve to be a clean, well spoken child, but she also lets him do whatever he wants. She thinks free will as a child will let him find his own path. The fathers idea of raising a child is different.

When Daisy made this statement she was talking about how she wishes her daughter to have less smarts and more beauty so she wouldn't have to worry about being cheated by her husband. This means that Daisy wishes herself to be unintelligent so she wouldn't have to live life worrying about the secret affair Tom has. Being unintelligent gives the advantage of not knowing the things happening in the surrounding. Knowing less, leads to a better life, in Daisy's eyes. This quote illustrates the ideals of women in the Roaring Twenties.

But what would have become of Shabanu.” Dadi is making Shabanu marry Rahim just to make peace between their families. Dadi knows Shabanu doesn’t want to marry Rahim but still makes her because he know it will make their family rich and keep them out of danger. Further in the book Women are valued even less their main purpose in life was to marry and have children. As a woman in a marriage you must obey your husbands every request.

I am reminded of two sisters who found themselves in a similar situations to Jig and Sheri, with an unwanted pregnancy. The eldest of the two, in a relationship with man with the attributes of the American and the youngest with a man with the attribute of Lane Jr. The youngest decided not to have the baby because of her desire to follow her career path, as I believe Sheri did in "Good People". The Eldest chose to carry and have the baby despite the odds stacked against her, as I believe Jig did in "Hills Like White Elephants", they both were faced with a decision that would affect the remainder of their lives. The younger would wonder what it would have been like to raise and see the progression on the child she so willingly aborted and the eldest knowing that she made not only the right decision but also the best decision, to allow life to come forth because of love, which may be rocky but it is still

People usually cohabitate because they either believe they are not ready for marriage or couples simply don’t believe in it. In the essay “I Wish They’d Do It Right” by Jane Doe, we are presented with Doe’s real life experience about her son cohabitating. Doe’s son and his girlfriend have been living together for seven years and finally have a kid, but they are not yet married. Doe assumes that the child will give them a reason to actually get married, however they tell her that they don’t believe in marriage.

Reena is from a conservative Indian family that expects her to significant other to be from her culture. David is not from an Indian culture and Reena's family would not approve of her dating him. When Reena gets ill, David is asked to disappear, being forced out so Reena’s mother would not see him. This was the compromise the couple had agreed on and David did so without complaining. The colors of the apartment change as the story goes on and the relationship continues.

Jack makes a new friend and has an amazing life once

In Central America, some parents leave their children, and set out a journey to the United States in hopes of making a better life for them. Throughout the years, the children who are left behind eventually go on a journey to be reunited with their family. On the journey, the children acquire many character traits and skills that ultimately make them grow as a person. In the book by Sonia Nazario titled Enrique’s Journey, author Nazario writes about Enrique, a young Honduran boy, who goes on a long and strenuous trip to find his mother. In the article “Desperate Voyagers,” by Ioan Grillo, it talks on the subject of children fleeing their country due to gang violence.