“Squatter” is a creative and simultaneous meditation on the effects of cultural differentiation and the experiences faced by migrants as they try to fit into foreign societies. The story has an overall toilet-related subject wit and Mistry uses the theme to create a story that reflects on the shortcomings of relocation. It further offers a cynical view of the impacts of cultural variances on a person’s psyche and identity. “Squatter” is a narrative that combines two stories that Nariman Hansotia tells to the boys in the Mumbai neighborhood. The first story features a gifted sportsman, Savushka, and the second one is about a eponymous young squatter known as Sarosh. Savushka’s tale gives a glimpse into the struggles and misery of embracing multiple
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Despite being so talented in multiple fields, Savushka seems not to succeed as expected because of his divided attention to all the different forms of sport. Perhaps this part of the story reflects on the importance of remaining committed to one aspect of self as compared to being divided. This can be used to explain the case of Savushka giving in to the compulsion of taking up competing aspects of a new culture and not succeeding. Savushka’s story warns against being carried away by foreign trends and giving up own cultures. In the second story, the narrator presents a determined Sarosh who is entirely ready to embrace his new identity. He had changed his name to Sid to fit into the new culture but still that could not eliminate traces of his Indian culture (Llarena-Ascanio). He has one particular uncontrollable problem with the toilet. He found that he could not use the washroom like a real Canadian and always had to squat like in how it is done in Indian latrines. The narrator explains that “At first, this inability was no more than mildly incommodious. As time went by, however, the frustrated attempts caused him grave anxiety, and when the failure stretched unbroken over ten years, it began to torment and haunt all his waking hours” (Mistry 154). At this point, the story plays highlights the type of problems that people face when they try to force their way into a new culture. …show more content…
The stories, and more so that of Sorash, prove that there are more advantages in trying to adopt a new culture while at the same time seeking to hold on to the old one. There are long lasting troubles in cultural exchange as compared to the benefits that only lie in front of the naked eyes. Through Nariman’s story, the audience can see that the material advantages in a foreign culture only provide immediate satisfaction. This is also the case of Sorash who envisioned a Western world full of opportunities away from the poverty and dilapidation of India only to suffer for an entire ten years with a simple act of sitting on a toilet in place of the traditional squatting in Indian
Despite being so talented in multiple fields, Savushka seems not to succeed as expected because of his divided attention to all the different forms of sport. Perhaps this part of the story reflects on the importance of remaining committed to one aspect of self as compared to being divided. This can be used to explain the case of Savushka giving in to the compulsion of taking up competing aspects of a new culture and not succeeding. Savushka’s story warns against being carried away by foreign trends and giving up own cultures. In the second story, the narrator presents a determined Sarosh who is entirely ready to embrace his new identity. He had changed his name to Sid to fit into the new culture but still that could not eliminate traces of his Indian culture (Llarena-Ascanio). He has one particular uncontrollable problem with the toilet. He found that he could not use the washroom like a real Canadian and always had to squat like in how it is done in Indian latrines. The narrator explains that “At first, this inability was no more than mildly incommodious. As time went by, however, the frustrated attempts caused him grave anxiety, and when the failure stretched unbroken over ten years, it began to torment and haunt all his waking hours” (Mistry 154). At this point, the story plays highlights the type of problems that people face when they try to force their way into a new culture. …show more content…
The stories, and more so that of Sorash, prove that there are more advantages in trying to adopt a new culture while at the same time seeking to hold on to the old one. There are long lasting troubles in cultural exchange as compared to the benefits that only lie in front of the naked eyes. Through Nariman’s story, the audience can see that the material advantages in a foreign culture only provide immediate satisfaction. This is also the case of Sorash who envisioned a Western world full of opportunities away from the poverty and dilapidation of India only to suffer for an entire ten years with a simple act of sitting on a toilet in place of the traditional squatting in Indian