Hello class,
I would like to have a good discussion and short quiz on "The Interpreter of Maladies" on Monday.
Make sure you have it read and I will offer an easy bonus question here...
What did you specifically enjoy and not enjoy about this story. Cite examples with a comment to this post.
See you Monday!
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I didn't like the story for the most part because it shows a family that is not in love with each other. The mother has as also cheated on her husband which is not right. However, the ending was very good where when the boy that was not the fathers was in trouble and the family pulled together after he was saved by the cab driver. Another bad thing I did not like was when the driver started to flirt with the mother the writer made it seem that she was going to break up with the father because she liked the driver, but it made you want to keep reading to find out what was going to happen. The great part about the ending was that even though the cab drivers address was lost he did not seem to mind because he had a very good memory of the family loving each other.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Ridgerunner. You're exactly right...it shows the American family as one that doesn't love eachother. The father is a History teacher yet he get's all his information from a book while the real history is right in front of him. The mother is flirting, but only because she wants to make herself feel better by sharing her terrible sin. Perhaps if you look at the story through the filter as a comparison between the Indian Culture and the American culture and it will be even more black and white to you. I have to disagreee with you on the end of the story...I think that Mr. Kampari did care when he saw the note fly away....I think it broke his heart. The next question is "why" did it break his heart. What was he looking for?
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When you look at it from that direction we are able to say how lucky we truly are. When the note flew away it the author made it seem like he did not care but now that you say something it is easy to see that he was heartbroke. My explanatin for the "why" part of your question is that he was able to meet a member of the opposite gender that was interested in his job. Mrs. Dias thought that his job was very important and that it was almost has important as the doctors. To answer the question of what he was looking for? He was looking for a member of the opposite gender that was interested in him and that he felt important to someone since his wife was not interested in him anymore. He was looking for a friend that he could talk to.
ReplyDeleteJust a note that I mispoke on the protagonist name. It is Mr. Kapasi, not Kompari....and he is a Science teacher I believe...
ReplyDeleteI wasn't into this story as much because of the lack of parenting skills the Das portray. I don't particularly like that so that kind of set the mood for me. I was actually really surprised with the secret Mrs. Das tells. Her telling a complete stranger and not her husband really through me off also. All around Mr. Willey the book was just not that good. Sorry!
ReplyDeleteGood Brittanyann, you don't like the story. Now, if we are going to look at it as literary fiction and not commercial fiction then you must ask yourself not why you don't like it...but rather why does the author portray the characters this way? Why does he characterize the woman this way...and how does the characterization of Mr. Compari (dreams of being a grand interpreter) play a role in the theme of the story. You have a good start with feelings for the story...now what is the premise of the author's characterization?
ReplyDeleteI didn't like story for many reasons. One of the reasons i didn't like it is because the family isn't close. I also didn't like the point that Mrs. Das seemed to be flirting with Mr. Kapasi. I realize this story is trying to teach us something like how we rely on people around us. We even have the urge or feeling to confide in someone even if it is a stranger. We also have to rely on people to understand what we are going through.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the author is trying to say something to his listeners about their lives. I mean maybe he protrayed the women that way so young women who read this will understand the importance of being honest with the one you love and the responsibilities of raising kids. Now as for the taxi drivers dream of being a grand interpreter is telling people who read this that anything important to you is important to people other places. He realizes that his job is very important and the fact that he loves his job makes it that much better for him and for the people he interprets for especially. Maybe the reason for this whole story was to teach kids lessons about life and importance.
ReplyDeleteI thought the story was hard to figure out. all the characters are thinking differently like Mrs. Das and the tour guide. They both are flirting with each other, but both want completely different things. Mrs. Das wants to get all the guilt off of her mind and thinks that he can help her, but then when he tells her what she doesn't want to here she leaves. Also i thought it was hard to figure out what the husband is thinking the whole time.
ReplyDeleteI kind of liked the story but sometimes it could get a little confusing as to why the tour guide thought that she was interested in him when she only wanted help with her problems. I thought it was a pretty good story all in all.
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of funny that even after a year I remember this book just by what was wrote here. Its is amazing how the mind works.
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