Losing yourself to society In the novel Bread Givers and the collection of short stories Interpreter of Maladies the overarching theme of immigration is explored through assimilation, identity and Americanization. The ideas that the two texts explore are conveyed through the language and character in both stories. In Bread Givers and Interpreter of Maladies, immigration forces assimilation and Americanization upon immigrants, which alters their true identity. In the two texts, assimilation is a struggle for a majority of the characters who have immigrated. For example, Mrs. Sen does not want to assimilate, mainly because she did not want to come to America in the first place. Therefore, she is resistant to change and does not want to break
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In Bread Givers the idea of Americanization is explored through character frequently. An example of when Americanization was present in the novel is on page 182, Sara’s insecurity is showing through. Sara says how she “hates her goodness”, and she wonders what she had done to herself to make her look so “old and ugly”. Sara is also fixing herself to be “exactly like the others”, as she references her American co-workers and the laundromat. Sara trying to change herself to be like the others is a trait that is among many immigrants. In contrary to Sara, in the short story ‘The Third and Final Continent’, the wife of the narrator converts to some of the American traditions, like serving cornflakes for breakfast. (‘The Third and Final Continent’ page 192), the narrator told his wife, Mala, that cornflakes would do for breakfast, instead of rice. So, she followed the same tradition, of having cornflakes for breakfast. This is similar to a lot of what Sara did in Bread Givers. Mala is very different compared to the character Mrs. Sen. Mala and Mrs. Sen are not keen on being in America, yet Mala is making a bigger effort to assimilate, whereas Mrs. Sen is not putting in a huge effort. This shows how different characters with the same background can have different attitudes towards fitting in with the American
In Bread Givers the idea of Americanization is explored through character frequently. An example of when Americanization was present in the novel is on page 182, Sara’s insecurity is showing through. Sara says how she “hates her goodness”, and she wonders what she had done to herself to make her look so “old and ugly”. Sara is also fixing herself to be “exactly like the others”, as she references her American co-workers and the laundromat. Sara trying to change herself to be like the others is a trait that is among many immigrants. In contrary to Sara, in the short story ‘The Third and Final Continent’, the wife of the narrator converts to some of the American traditions, like serving cornflakes for breakfast. (‘The Third and Final Continent’ page 192), the narrator told his wife, Mala, that cornflakes would do for breakfast, instead of rice. So, she followed the same tradition, of having cornflakes for breakfast. This is similar to a lot of what Sara did in Bread Givers. Mala is very different compared to the character Mrs. Sen. Mala and Mrs. Sen are not keen on being in America, yet Mala is making a bigger effort to assimilate, whereas Mrs. Sen is not putting in a huge effort. This shows how different characters with the same background can have different attitudes towards fitting in with the American