Character Interpretation Essay

The narrator of “The Third and Final Continent” and Mrs. Croft follow a pattern for six weeks. The piano bench ritual is one of many routines or rituals in Lahiri’s collection. What other riAnswer three of the following questions in essay form—make a claim and then provide evidence that supports your claim. Evidence will be summary or quotations from the text, and please provide page numbers from the textbook. Include literary terms in your notes of the class lectures, and be sure to include the number of the question you’re answering. You can use your texts and any notes. Good luck!   1   In “Interpreter of Maladies,”describe the relationship that develops between Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi. How are we to interpret these two characters? Discuss what misinterpretations occur (refer to the language and dialogue used, the symbolism of, for instance, the slip of paper with Mr. Kapasi’s address on it) and how that relationship ultimately sours. 2.  Lahiri has said, “As a storyteller, I’m aware that there are limitations in communication.” What importance in her stories do miscommunication and unexpressed feelings have? Provide an example in which the conflict of missed connections provides a narrative structure to the story.  3.  A reviewer of Interpreter of Maladies wrote, “Food in these stories is a talisman, a reassuring bit of the homeland to cling to.” How do food and meal preparation maintain links to the characters’ homelands? Pick two stories, and describe how food functions as a metaphor 4. The Miriam-Webster dictionary defines an epiphany as “(1) a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something (2): an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking (3): an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure b: a revealing scene or moment.” What is the central epiphany that Kapasi has in the “Interpreter of Maladies”? What is the central epiphany that Miranda has in “Sexy”? 5. Lahiri’s stories makes us aware of the loneliness people experience as they go about their daily lives. Her protagonists tend to be alienated within their new environments. Pick two stories and discuss how the main characters struggle and ultimately deal with this domestic isolation.  6. The narrator of “The Third and Final Continent” and Mrs. Croft follow a pattern for six weeks. The piano bench ritual is one of many routines or rituals in Lahiri’s collection. What other rituals or routines do you find in her stories? What do these rituals reveal about the characters?tuals or routines do you find in her stories? What do these rituals reveal about the characters?