Relationship Between Miranda And Dev example essay topic

Living in a world of more than one culture can be very overwhelming. For it can create cultural clashes or feelings of isolation, in the sense of not belonging to a particular place. However, learning about a world opposed to our own can be very beneficial. As a result a lot is learned and experienced through interaction with that particular culture. Two of Jhu mpa Lahiri's stories that demonstrate the ideas above are "This Blessed House", and "Sexy". These short stories explore how relationships between two people, each of the same or of different backgrounds, can have either negative or positive effects on their partnership.

For many, having another religion or culture interfere with his / her own can be very be very overwhelming. In every culture or religion there are beliefs and customs already set. In the story of "The Blessed House", it is seen how two different religions were coming in between of the marriage of Twinkle and Sanjeev. Even though they were both Hindus, the shadows of Christianity were interfering with their relationship. Twinkle loved the idea of learning about a different religion like Christianity, while her husband totally disliked it.

This is shown especially when Sanjeev constantly reminds his wife that they "We " re not Christian" (137). There are different reasons why people turn to other cultures. The main reason is experience. They want to know how it feels like to learn about the different customs and beliefs of other people. Twinkle's interest for Christianity started when she and her husband moved into their new home. They started discovering sacred Christian objects that were hidden all over the house.

Twinkle felt that there was a reason why they found those objects. She mainly felt that the objects. ".. could be worth something" (136). Now were they worth something in a materialistic or spiritual way? Twinkle asks Sanjeev, "Do you think the previous owners were born-agains?" (137). Perhaps Twinkle asked this question because she probably wondered how it would feel to convert into another religion.

Sanjeev felt that his wife was already converting herself into a Christian, this is seen when he says, "Clearly the scheme has succeeded in your case" (138). The scheme being the possibility that the previous owners purposely left Christian objects around the house to convert the next owners into Christians. Also, Twinkle might of felt that if they threw these objects and figures away, "It would be back luck... ". (146). Bad luck in the sense that life would punish them for getting rid of them.

This story shows how some people can easily adapt while others find it difficult to get use to a change in environment. Through the character of Twinkle, it is seen how easy she adapts to the American world even though she is of a Indian background. This shows that she is more open-minded than her husband. On the other hand, Sanjeev finds it difficult to understand why his wife is interested in Christianity. Perhaps his lonesome personality lead him to be this way or the fact that his parents still lived in India and hers lived in America.

The opposing views of each partner in this short story run the risk of jeopardizing their relationship. Throughout the whole story, Twinkle and Sanjeev argue about the Christian objects and figures inside and outside their home. Twinkle insists on having them around while her husband would rather trash them. The main reason he wanted to get rid of the "treasures" they found was because "All the neighbors would see. They " ll think we are insane" (146). He says this when Twinkle insists on placing the statue of the Virgin Mary outside the house.

The statue was even the cause for Twinkle's tears, something that Sanjeev had never seen coming from her. Even though these arguments are stupid, they can lead to a big fight. A fight that they might not be able to get over, causing a break in their relationship. Even though cultural clashes can have bad affects on relationships, it can also have positive ones. Maybe this wasn't the case in this story, but in some way it helped Sanjeev learn a lot about his wife. He learned that even though they come from the same background, they still have opposing views on different aspects of life.

Just because Sanjeev had once told his wife that. ".. yes, he loved her... ". (147), it didn't really mean he did. Sometimes a few months is not enough time to know someone. You can't just assume that because both of you grew up with the same beliefs, that your meant to be. For Sanjeev, he was just beginning to learn the meaning of love and how it applied to his marriage with Twinkle.

Now they were both living together in a different continent; in a new world. Relationships between two people, each of different backgrounds, can have either negative or positive effects on their partnership. This is demonstrated throughout the story "Sexy", in the characters of Miranda and Dev. Miranda and Dev first met each other in a department store.

They engaged in a conversation soon after Dev had heard the sales lady say her name out loud. Initially he thought that Miranda was of Indian descent because of her name, he says to her, "Part of your name is Indian" (87). Throughout their first conversation, Dev is honest with her and tells Miranda that he is married. He admitted that the items he bought at Filene's were for his wife, "They " re for my wife" (88). Even though he was married, that didn't stop Miranda from spending time with Dev after they met each other at the store. The reasons why Miranda might of gotten herself into a relationship with Dev; a married man, could have been due to her loneliness or her desire to explore a different world opposed to hers.

Miranda being of an American background felt immediate attraction towards Dev who was Bengali. She found him to be interesting because he was different. At first she had thought that he looked either Spanish or Lebanese, but she later learned that he was from Bangladesh. He was from a place that she had thought to be a religion rather than a country. The story of "Sexy" shows how a relationship between two people of different backgrounds, had both positive and negative affects on their partnership. Positive because Miranda learned a lot about a world different from hers.

She learned the customs, tasted the food and tried to learn the language of Bengali people. She went to Indian Restaurants were she tasted. ".. tandoori chicken" (96) and to a bookstore where she tried to learn the Bengali alphabet. She was even able to learn how... ". to transcribe the Indian part of her name" (97). Through her relationship with Dev, Miranda finally understood something she didn't as a child. She finally understood why the children of her neighborhood had stayed away from the Dixits. The Dixits were an Indian family that everyone kept away from because they were considered different.

Miranda being a child, was afraid of this family because of the way they looked and smelled, .".. she'd been too frightened to walk on the same side of the street as the Dixit's house" (96). Through Dev, she understood that even if people are of a different background then she is, it doesn't make them inferior. She was able to gain a lot of knowledge about the Indian culture and experience an adventure with a Bengali man. The negative side of this relationship was infidelity. What Dev was doing to his wife wasn't right and what Miranda was doing to herself was wrong. Dev was taking advantage of his wife's absence by sleeping around with another woman.

Miranda knew how it felt to have a cheating husband because she listened to Laxmi's conversations about her cousin's husband's infidelity everyday. Maybe she didn't realize that what was being done to the cousin was the same thing she was doing to Dev's wife. Miranda's loneliness might of blinded her from doing the right thing. She found in Dev the guy that she hoped to have a relationship like that of Laxmi and her husband. This is seen every time she looks at the picture of Laxmi and her husband on the cubicle (89).

Once Miranda understood what she was doing, she put an end to her relationship with Dev. Miranda felt that she belonged with Dev. The reason why Dev might of involved himself with her might have been because she was different than his wife. Dev and his wife were of the same Indian background, while Miranda was American. The absence of his wife might of made Dev lonely, it also gave him the opportunity to enrich his life with an American adventure (his affair with Miranda).

The stories "This Blessed House" and "Sexy", explore how relationships between two people, each of the same or of different backgrounds, had both negative and positive effects on their partnership. Even though in the relationship of Twinkle and Sanjeev, Christianity was coming in between them, they were able to learn a lot about each other. In the relationship between Miranda and Dev, she was able to learn about a new culture even though her relationship with Dev didn't last forever..