The stories, “"A Temporary Matter" ” by Jhumpa Lahiri and "Love Must Not Be Forgotten by Zhang Jie, use the elements, character and symbolism to discuss love and reveals that love must be equally invested within a relationship to keep the relationship active.
Analyzing the symbolism in "A Temporary Matter" , It can be said that since Shoba and Shukumar lost the baby, they have both lost the love and passion to nourish their relationship by focusing on food and the pantry.
“The pantry was always stocked with extra bottles of olive and corn oil, depending on whether they were cooking Italian or Indian. There were endless boxes of pasta in all shapes and colors,zippered sacks of basmati rice, whole sides of lambs and goats from the Muslim butchers …show more content…
In "A Temporary Matter" , food is the main symbol that portrays this investment. In the beginning of Shoba’s and Shukumar’s relationship there was an overabundance of food and spices which was due to Shobas constant stocking of the food, but after the baby died, the supply food was dwindling overtime because Shoba is not stocking the food anymore while Shukumar cooks most of the food in the story, Shukumar has no awareness of the amount of food there is and does nothing to replenish the supply of said food. This can also be said about their relationship, Shoba constantly gave her investment of love and passion until the baby died, while Shukumar takes it for granted and expects her love and passion, even though he is not aware that the romantic spark that they once had is fading away as time goes on and Shukumar makes no move of keeping that spark alive. In Love Must Not Be Forgotten, the asphalt road is a constant reminder of Shanshan’s moms relationship with her lover and serves as a reminder of their moments together. This shows that two people, even though far in distance, still share the bond between one another because they both invested the same level of high love and passion when they were together, by showing the past experiences they had together. "Love Must Not Be Forgotten and "A Temporary Matter" have a contrasting experiences of love, while Shanshan’s mom and Zhong Yu, Shanshan’s mom’s lover, are physically far apart their love and passion for one another keeps them emotionally close together, while in A Temporary Matter, Shoba and Shukumar although they are physically close together, they are emotionally far apart since the love and passion hasn't been invested in the relationship since the baby died. The symbolism expressed in these two stories use the same concept of love from both partners but have drastically different scenarios
Analyzing the symbolism in "A Temporary Matter" , It can be said that since Shoba and Shukumar lost the baby, they have both lost the love and passion to nourish their relationship by focusing on food and the pantry.
“The pantry was always stocked with extra bottles of olive and corn oil, depending on whether they were cooking Italian or Indian. There were endless boxes of pasta in all shapes and colors,zippered sacks of basmati rice, whole sides of lambs and goats from the Muslim butchers …show more content…
In "A Temporary Matter" , food is the main symbol that portrays this investment. In the beginning of Shoba’s and Shukumar’s relationship there was an overabundance of food and spices which was due to Shobas constant stocking of the food, but after the baby died, the supply food was dwindling overtime because Shoba is not stocking the food anymore while Shukumar cooks most of the food in the story, Shukumar has no awareness of the amount of food there is and does nothing to replenish the supply of said food. This can also be said about their relationship, Shoba constantly gave her investment of love and passion until the baby died, while Shukumar takes it for granted and expects her love and passion, even though he is not aware that the romantic spark that they once had is fading away as time goes on and Shukumar makes no move of keeping that spark alive. In Love Must Not Be Forgotten, the asphalt road is a constant reminder of Shanshan’s moms relationship with her lover and serves as a reminder of their moments together. This shows that two people, even though far in distance, still share the bond between one another because they both invested the same level of high love and passion when they were together, by showing the past experiences they had together. "Love Must Not Be Forgotten and "A Temporary Matter" have a contrasting experiences of love, while Shanshan’s mom and Zhong Yu, Shanshan’s mom’s lover, are physically far apart their love and passion for one another keeps them emotionally close together, while in A Temporary Matter, Shoba and Shukumar although they are physically close together, they are emotionally far apart since the love and passion hasn't been invested in the relationship since the baby died. The symbolism expressed in these two stories use the same concept of love from both partners but have drastically different scenarios