The novel “Interpreter of Maladies” included the difficulties for Indians to fit in American culture and how they struggle with their identity between the two different cultures. The author, Jhumpa Lahiri was born in London in 1967, and raised in Rhode Island. Her father and mother were emigrated from India, and Lahiri spoke Bengali with them at home. It was her parents’ immersion in Indian culture at home that made Lahiri never felt fully American. Although Lahiri never lived in India, she had frequently visit to Calcutta and decided to marry there in 2001. They are Indian but not of India, their dress and manners were thoroughly American.
In this story, though Mr. Kapasi and the Dases do share an Indian heritage, their marriage reveals the truth of truly different cultures. Mr. Kapasi was shocked and confused by Dases’ behavior and understanding of marriage so that in the end they could not establish friendship. In his opinion, the culture gap between him and Mrs. Das was too vast which we can see “In different cultural contexts, the values have different weights but in the main the relationship structure between personality types and values is similar.” (Routamma&Pollari, 1998)
People like Lahiri would consider as Third Culture Kids (TCK). They have to get used to new culture or even their original culture when they grow up. “A TCK can create a sense of rootlessness and restlessness, where home is ‘everywhere and nowhere’.” (Kate Mayberry, 2016) instead of receiving the culture of their own country, they have to adapt to a new culture different from that of their parents. But when they grow up, it is also difficult for them to adapt to their traditional culture. This is what made them always struggle with their identity. “the mobility and cross-cultural experiences affect the children’s process of developing who they are, where they belong, and whom to connect with.” (Jungmin Kwon, 2018)
Work cited:
Routamaa, V. and Pollari, A-M (1998) Leadership styles in the cultural context- A comparison of finish and south African managers. Retrieved January 9, 1998.
https://www.univaasa.fi/materiaali/pdf/isbn_978-952-476-749-1.pdf
Kate Mayberry(2016) Third Culture Kids: Citizens of everywhere and nowhere. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20161117-third-culture-kids-citizens-of-everywhere-and-nowhere
Jungmin Kwon(2018) Third Culture Kinds: Growing up with mobility and corss-cultural transitions. Retrieved July 2018.