113 pages • 3 hours read
Unaccustomed Earth
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Themes
The Struggles of First-Generation, Bengali-American Children
From Sudha’s duties as translator and liaison between her parents and American people and norms, to Amit’s complete abandonment and isolation, we see all of the first-generation characters within this story struggling with at least two sets of sometimes overlapping but often adversarial cultural norms. These characters struggle to find their own fulfillment within a world of mixed messages, while also grappling with the duties and responsibilities that are culturally foisted upon them. However, “Unaccustomed Earth” also injects some complexity into this theme, as it reverses expectations. Ruma struggles with the traditional expectation of inviting her aging father to live with her husband and son for the entire story, only to find that her father, contentedly busy with his travels and a new romantic affair, does not want or need to live with her. This unexpected reversal of expectations highlights the intergenerational complexity of the Indian diasporic experience.
The Roles and Experiences of Indian-American Women
Throughout these stories, we see women contending with the notion of the ideal woman. Common to most stories is a line that delineates that women must be thin and pretty in order to garner more respect and sense of worth from those around them—both women and men. Of particular resonance in this regard is Hema’s depiction of her own mother in comparison to the more-ideally beautiful and glamorous Parul, the woman who gives
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By Jhumpa Lahiri
