Imagine setting up a new house and finding artifacts from another religion. In the story “This Blessed House” by Jhumpa Lahiri that is exactly what happens. The attitudes that Sanjeev and Twinkle have towards the Christian trinkets show their incongruities and highlight the differences in Sanjeev and Twinkle’s perspectives and the differences in their attitudes
In the beginning Lahiri does a good job of setting up the incongruities of the couple’s relationship. A Hindu couple, Sanjeev and Twinkle, are setting up their home. Twinkle enters the room where Sanjeev is marking the places where the paint needs to be touched up. In one hand she has a jar of vinegar and in the other a small statue of Christ. She asked him what to do with them. …show more content…
The presence of the artifacts doesn’t seem like that big of an issue, however, in her analysis Jennifer Bess states “The invasion of Christen Tokens …show more content…
Lahiri creates a paradox in the couple’s relationship. Sanjeev finds himself married to a girl that is Hindu, like himself, who wants to keep trinkets around their home which belong to another faith. Sanjeev wants to live life by the rules and is very aware of all that others may think of him. Twinkle believes one should live with joy and choices are made based on what brings happiness or enjoyment and she is married to someone who is most concerned with the rules. About a week after they moved into their house the two of them went to dinner in Manhattan. They argued about the collection of Christian artifacts accumulating on the mantle, Twinkle got drunk that night and forgot the argument. After dinner they browsed a bookstore, when they left she insisted they dance the tango on the sidewalk in front of strangers, a very uncomfortable action for Sanjeev. Several of Twinkle’s Characteristics bother Sanjeev, these annoyances magnify their differences. One is that his wife still used the name Twinkle. Another annoyance is Twinkle’s reaction to the CDs that Sanjeev gets from a music catalog. He listens to each of the suggested composers and spends time reading the included information so that he can truly appreciate it. His wife lets him know she dislikes it. Each of these examples show the inconsistency of the couple’s
In the beginning Lahiri does a good job of setting up the incongruities of the couple’s relationship. A Hindu couple, Sanjeev and Twinkle, are setting up their home. Twinkle enters the room where Sanjeev is marking the places where the paint needs to be touched up. In one hand she has a jar of vinegar and in the other a small statue of Christ. She asked him what to do with them. …show more content…
The presence of the artifacts doesn’t seem like that big of an issue, however, in her analysis Jennifer Bess states “The invasion of Christen Tokens …show more content…
Lahiri creates a paradox in the couple’s relationship. Sanjeev finds himself married to a girl that is Hindu, like himself, who wants to keep trinkets around their home which belong to another faith. Sanjeev wants to live life by the rules and is very aware of all that others may think of him. Twinkle believes one should live with joy and choices are made based on what brings happiness or enjoyment and she is married to someone who is most concerned with the rules. About a week after they moved into their house the two of them went to dinner in Manhattan. They argued about the collection of Christian artifacts accumulating on the mantle, Twinkle got drunk that night and forgot the argument. After dinner they browsed a bookstore, when they left she insisted they dance the tango on the sidewalk in front of strangers, a very uncomfortable action for Sanjeev. Several of Twinkle’s Characteristics bother Sanjeev, these annoyances magnify their differences. One is that his wife still used the name Twinkle. Another annoyance is Twinkle’s reaction to the CDs that Sanjeev gets from a music catalog. He listens to each of the suggested composers and spends time reading the included information so that he can truly appreciate it. His wife lets him know she dislikes it. Each of these examples show the inconsistency of the couple’s