《Interpreter of Maladies》读后感锦集
《Interpreter of Maladies》是一本由Jhumpa Lahiri著作，Mariner Books出版的Paperback图书，本书定价：$13.00，页数：198，特精心从网络上整理的一些读者的读后感，希望对大家能有帮助。
《Interpreter of Maladies》精选点评：
●在大三最艰难的时候阅读的一本书，充满了温情与悲凉。让我体会到生命的伟大与荒芜，不管是滞留在印度小镇的疯女人还是跨越三大洲的学者，在生命的飘零之中我们继续保持尊严的活着。
●3.5* /没有觉得特别惊艳，可能放在99年还行。功底扎实，动词用一个准一个，有点奥康纳的味道；尾结得特别好，很多小细节都收住了，给人很完满的感觉；然而比门罗还是差远了（不要遇到男女家事就往门罗身上扯好么）；立意其实挺浅的，同名故事的推动力量有点俗。
●精妙的故事如此重要，溫柔簡約的文字如此重要。具有深深的呼吸空間，每個細節都暖暖的烘出情感的流動，還有出人意表卻自然而然的佈局……真的是很厲害的短篇。
●写的太他娘的好了
●有好有坏吧，私下特喜欢首尾两个故事，感情描写一向是Lahiri擅长的地方。全集总有一种让我梦回同名人的错觉…这本书跟着我搬了那么多次家，欠了四年的债终于还上了！
●差强人意
●总有些淡淡的细节直达内心。K13
● 就读了标题一样的那篇短篇。前面真不出彩，看了断背山简直有落差，后面很好看。
●都是异乡人。所谓文化差异也是堡垒，是认识自己的途径。
●超subtle的故事 超像Amy TAN 看完有点难过但是又觉得超powerful
《Interpreter of Maladies》读后感(一)：伤感
作者细腻的笔触让人觉得她仿佛经历过所写的那些事情，很多的名词，看似平淡的叙述，却让我觉得非常的伤感。
伤感还来源于，她算是第一代移民的后裔，我忍不住想到如果自己留在美国，那我的孩子又会是怎样一种情况呢？我对中文的缱绻若是遗传到了他的身上，是不是也变成对英语的纠缠了呢？虽说从来是有舍才有得，但又让我如何才能舍得？
《Interpreter of Maladies》读后感(二)：Life is a Duty Expected
It's depressing to know, to experience as a whole man, we in so much time still need another one to love, to talk to. We are always trying to find consolation from others, and yet we're always feeling lonely. Life itself seems just the base of another life, apart from which, there's little meaning it it. And that has depressed and annnoyed me deeply. It's just so sad that we are alive simply for the purpose of reproduction. We are no different from any other lives. And we're just nature's fool.
Life is inevitable but meaningless. And all we try to do is to find and to make ourselves believe the meaning of life.
开篇不错，最后两篇甚好。
《Interpreter of Maladies》读后感(三)：不要迷信普利策奖（我不想做标题党，实在不会起标题）
她的短篇几乎都有一个一句话就能说清的故事，情节不枝蔓、人物也不多。文字是平实和小火慢炖的功夫。短篇切忌往里头塞太多东西，有一条吸引人读下去的中心线索、有一两处场景的亮点就好，不然功夫互相抵消。
A Temporary Matter：丈夫去外地开会期间遭遇妻子流产。回来后，因为失去孩子的纽带，原来已失去激情的婚姻更显岌岌可危。丈夫本来就开始自卑，三十多岁还在做博士生，老婆在外工作，越来越晚回家，他得料理家务。亮点是，有几天断电，两人在烛光中开始玩真心话大冒险的游戏，结果丈夫一点点打开此前已渐渐关闭的心扉，而妻子，后来证明是她故意安排这个游戏，想一点点透露自己要离开的心事。从丈夫的角度看，夫妻关系似乎好转，所以结尾有点出乎意料。结尾，永远是短篇可以出效果的地方。
When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine：这篇我最喜欢。不仅可通过文学人物心理角度了解印巴纷争的历史侧面——而且不多不少，没有史料的堆积，我最怕查阅各种资料后，生怕没有把每一寸材料都用上的文学作者——题外话；文中也用容易出彩的儿童视角叙事，旁观故事发展的儿童内心戏很有一看，包括小姑娘对大男人的某种隐约的情愫；另外，也有移民生活的两重性和文化冲突；也有culture awareness的元素（比如，父亲指点女儿Mr. Pirzada 这个东巴基斯坦人与印度人的同与不同），这个汉文化中比较缺，我们除了知道自己、热追英美、哈韩哈日，是否还了解别的国家，甚至自己国内的藏人、维族人和蒙古人？是否也愿意去了解作为佛教发源地之外的现代印度？
Interpreter of Maladies，没啥感觉。一对美国出生的印裔夫妇回印度旅游，在途中司机与女方之间产生莫名的情愫和信任，以至于女方向他透露自己背叛丈夫生私生子的故事。对于这样“做戏”的情节，似乎铺垫不够足，过渡不够自然。
因为这篇小说而取那么醒目的标题可能不妥当，但题目被用作小说集总题的小说，感觉不过如此，不免感慨一下。
---纪念路上热情点头之交的印裔校友
《Interpreter of Maladies》读后感(四)：“Interpreter of Maladies”—— 冬日暖阳
寒假里利用学车的间隙开始细细地阅读，到今天读完了全部的197页。在冬日温暖的阳光中，陶醉在小说细腻的笔触和清新的文风中，是一种纯粹的享受。
由于作者是印度裔，出生在英国，在美国罗德岛长大，现居住在纽约，她将自己对成长、生活的见闻和理解揉进了创作中，一条共同的主线贯穿了小说集中互不相关的九个小故事：印度人在异国他乡的生活。不同种族、不同文化，矛盾摩擦、火星四溅从温吞吞的字里行间娓娓道来，仔细回味，suffering的背后原来是令人欣慰的相容和前进的过程。我还惊喜地发现在“Sexy”这个故事里有一个八岁的小男孩Rohin，热衷于背世界各国的首都，反复地练习，还让女主角Miranda拿着他工整的记录本考他。呵呵让我想起了自己高中时代~~
小说中人物之间的情感流露都是非常内敛的，所以文章读来有一种很平和很细致入微的韵味，阅读时好像在看话剧，完全来到了文中的场景，听着主人公的对白，看着眼前一幕幕的发生。另一方面，感情在内敛的世界中反复酝酿后的突然爆发就显得格外的激烈和真实，比如“Temporary matter”中女方提出要搬出去住；”When Mr.Pirzada came to dine” 破碎的南瓜灯；” Interpreter of Maladies”中Mrs.Das 的坦白；“Mrs. Sen’s”里的交通事故等等。
我以前以为如果不是因为那篇作文，不是因为得到此书的曲折，我不会这样看重这本小说集。但全篇阅读后我知道我错了，这本小说集非常适合我的口味，是我读过的最好的书之一。
这一次阅读时我没有纠缠于文中的生词，对影响阅读程度不是很大的词并不查词典，而是直接跳过，对于这类靠氛围的烘托来铺开主题、推动情节发展的小说，这样读起来非但不会影响对情节的理解，而且平添了一种神秘的色彩，就好像隔着一层薄雾看风景，反而有种说不出的韵味，我想这也是阅读非母语小说所独有的优势和心路历程吧。至于那些生词就留到下次阅读吧，因为我知道这本书以后还会读很多遍，作为文法学习和段落背诵的对象也不为过。
(1)“Temporary matter”: 孩子的流产，会给在美国定居的一对年轻印度夫妇带来什么？
丈夫Shukumar由于会议没能在病房守护让妻子Shoba心中结下了疙瘩，而东方文化中温和含蓄的特质使得家庭陷入了可怕的礼节性的隔阂和沉默。女方在外工作，男方在家憋着写毕业论文、笨拙地收拾家务的格局也是一部分留学家庭的典型代表。家庭角色的倒置也进一步激化着矛盾。街区停电而带来的烛光晚餐意外地使两人敞开了心扉，分享了彼此心中的秘密。随着各自对内心剧透的升级，谅解和更大的隔阂都在产生。电力恢复后，男方希望继续用烛光晚餐拉近彼此的距离，而女方终因心结决定离开，最后男方说出了最大的秘密，孩子流产时他其实在病房门外，他知道了是一个男孩。对于两人逝去的情感寄托的缅怀，引起了双方的共鸣、理解和压力的释放，爱让两人相拥而泣~~ 两人之间一定不要藏那么多心事。
(2)“When Mr.Pirzada came to dine”: 对战火中家园的揪心牵挂
这篇小说有着很强的时代背景。十岁的“我”和父母都是定居在美国的印度裔，1971年秋天，第三次印巴战争的前夕，我们家来了一个朋友Mr. Pirzada，他来自东巴基斯坦(当时还没被分裂称孟加拉国)，战争时正在美国求学，他的妻子和七个女儿(她们的名字都以A开头)还在国内。“我”很敬仰Mr.Pirzada，他的举止很绅士，每次来都会给“我”糖果，“我”把它们攒到盒子里慢慢吃。Mr.Pirzada总是和父母坐在电视机前关心印巴的局势忧心忡忡地讨论政治，他担心他的妻女，满心地盼望印巴不要开战。从那以后每天夜里“我”都含着一块他给的糖果偷偷地为他祈祷。“我”在图书馆作关于美国史的调查时看到并翻阅了一本“Pakistan”的书，被老师拿过来放回了书架。“I see no reason to consult it. Do you？”
万圣节那天我们一家和Mr.Pirzada兴趣盎然地做南瓜灯，之后“我”和邻居小孩到别家玩“trick or treat”的游戏，回来后“我”期待着父母和Mr.Pirzada会在门口迎接我，而看到的却是他们一言不发地坐在沙发上，电视关着，Mr.Pirzada痛苦地双手抱着头。那以后过了几天，12月4日第三次印巴战争爆发，十二天后巴基斯坦军队在达卡投降。后来Mr.Pirzada回国，我们收到了他寄来的庆祝穆斯林春节的明信片，他已经和妻女重聚，我们后来再没见到他，从那以后“我”不再每夜吃糖为他祈祷。
有很多不同文化冲突和鲜明对照的细节值得反复咀嚼：“我”在学校学的都是美国的地理历史，能把独立革命讲的头头是道，把美国各个州的名字和地理位置背得滚瓜烂熟，却很少接触到印度的政治，甚至不知道自己的家乡印度1947从英国殖民地独立后就被分裂成为印度和巴基斯坦的事实；感恩节那天我到别人家玩“trick or treat”的游戏，Mr.Pirzada很不放心的叮嘱我注意安全，不要进陌生人家，甚至自己要跟着我去；“我”到了别人家，看到其他小孩的父亲并没有守在电视机前紧张地关注印巴局势。
印象最深的一句话：在印巴战争期间，“Most of all I remember the three of them operating during that time as if they were a single person, sharing a single meal, a single body, a single silence, and a single fear.”
(3)” Interpreter of Maladies”: 旅途中的萦绕与倾诉
小说集同名小说。一对美国出生，美国长大的年轻印度夫妇Mr.Das和Mrs.Das到印度Knoarak的太阳神庙旅游, 同行的还有他们的两个儿子Ronny, Bobby和一个女儿Tina。他们的导游是当地的Mr.Kapasi。从导游的视角来看，Das夫妇俩之间几乎无话可说，年轻漂亮的Mrs.Das对丈夫，对子女都显得很冷漠。但她在行途中知道Mr.Kapasi的另一个职业是为医生和病人担任口译，使医生能为与他语言不同的病人治疗时，她竟然说“so romantic”。Mr.Kapasi从来没想到自己的这份职业会被称为”romantic”，他一直觉得自己很失败，曾梦想着成为外交翻译官，但现在只是为医生做翻译，挣钱为儿子治病，而他的妻子对他这的职业完全不过问不感兴趣，而来自另一个女人的这句话赞扬博得了Mr.Kapasi对她的极大好感，并幻想着她旅游回国后继续保持联系。旅游的过程中Mrs.Das告诉Mr.Kapasi，她与Mr.Das在高中就订了婚，上了同一个大学，很早的结婚生子使她非常地空虚和疲惫，也没有很多密友可以诉说。Bobby不是Mr.Das的儿子，是她与他一个朋友***所生。她瞒了整整八年。她认为Mr.Kapasi作为医生翻译官的职业能够给她正确的建议使她摆脱长久以来的痛苦，才告诉他了这个她从未和其他人说过的秘密。听了Mr.Kapasi一句“Is it really pain you feel, Mrs.Das, or is it guilt？”Mrs.Das重新振作了起来，积极融入这个家庭。有问题的家庭比比皆是，而秘密的倾吐和心意的回转放在旅游、汽车、导游、邂逅这个充满神秘感和诗意的大环境下，就有了很多别样的气氛。文中很多细腻的东西我都表达不出来，看来只能意会了~~~
(4)” A real durwan”: 楼道进行曲
老妇Boori Ma, 一幢居民楼的清洁工，她住在楼道里，忠心耿耿地清扫楼道，看楼门,嘴里念叨着过去的得意的事情，全楼的居民对她也很和善，经常邀请她串门聊天吃东西。Mr. Dalal得到了晋升，买了一个洗手池放在楼道给大家使用，却引起了大家的嫉妒和攀比之心，甚至买了值钱的东西来摆阔，这家请油漆工刷栏杆，那家就粉刷墙壁（哈哈让我想起了电影《十诫(The ten)》里两个邻居极为搞笑地互相攀比，每家买了几十个CT机，堆得房间、房顶里到处都是,最后睡觉都在CT机里），结果在Mr.Dalal一家旅游的期间，楼道里的洗手池被偷，大家都认为是Boori Ma 没有负起责任，甚至说她引狼入室，将她赶出了楼道，声称要找一个真正的durwan（我查了半天也不知道durwan是什么意思，猜测可能跟印度的种族有关）。
(5) “Sexy”： 情归何处: 同族异域的情感诉求
在波士顿居住的印度裔女子Miranda在商店邂逅了同样是印度裔的Dev，后两人同居，同样的文化、对孤独的厌恶、对性的愉悦是他们结合的基础。Dev有家室，他的妻子在印度，为了不让她起疑，每天Dev都要在凌晨从Miranda的公寓回到自己的住所接妻子的电话。有一天他们一同去了Mapparium（基督科学教的出版中心的Mapparium地球中厅，被列为boston十大必看景点之一，地球仪球形投射到大厅，地表的大陆都被标成五颜六色，俩人如果站在特定的位置，一个人私语的声音就会直直传到另一人的耳畔，别人只能听到嗡嗡声），Dev向Miranda演示大厅耳语的效果。“Hi,”she whispered, unsure of what else to say. “You’re sexy,” he whispered back. 这句耳语深深地打动了Miranda，她对Dev的感情升华成了爱。她在和Dev会面时穿上精心购置的鸡尾酒晚礼服，但Dev却不懂欣赏，反而说礼服挡住了她漂亮的腿。她曾经问Dev他的妻子长什么样，Dev说像印度孟买的女演员Madhuri Dixit，当有一天她在影像店看到了一位印度女演员是那么美丽时，她知道Dev的妻子也很美丽，不禁在想Dev和她在一起的原因。一天一个爱背首都的八岁的小男孩Rohin使她明白了原委。这个男孩的父亲在别国与一个邂逅的女子同居（情况与Dev很相似），他告诉Miranda当他父亲说“you’re sexy”，意思是“loving someone you don’t know”。这点醒了Miranda，Dev并不爱她，他只是需要一个性伙伴。她逐渐找种种借口不再与Dev见面，最后不再联系。最后的结尾充满了淡淡的忧伤和惆怅，非常精彩：The Mapparium was closed, but she bought a cup of coffee nearby and sat on one of the benches in the plaza outside the church, gazing at its giant pillars and its massive dome, and at the clear-blue sky spread over the city.
(6) “Mrs. Sen’s” : 绝望的主妇
与“When Mr.Pirzada came to dine”相似，这篇小说同样是倚重于一个孩子的视角来描写大人的世界，作家笔下刻画的小孩子的所思所想让人感觉新鲜和奇特。十一岁的Eliot被单亲妈妈送到印度裔的Mr.Sen和Mrs.Sen家由Mrs.Sen来babysit。Mr.Sen是大学的数学教授，而Mrs.Sen整日在家中料理家务，夫妻间几乎没有交流，Mrs.Sen说她印度老家的亲戚们都以为她过着皇后般的生活，而实际上她感觉非常空虚和孤独。夫妻的矛盾集中爆发在买鱼这件事上。Mrs.Sen仍保留着以前在印度每天吃鱼的习惯，每天和鱼市的小贩打电话说好后由Mr.Sen开车送她去较远的鱼市取鱼，Mrs.Sen正在学开车但不愿意开，技术也不好，而Mr.Sen工作很忙每次开车都很不情愿。最后Mrs.Sen选择了乘公交车去鱼市，却因为鱼的腥味受到其他乘客的指责。被逼急了的Mrs.Sen自己开上了车去鱼市，路上发生了事故，Eliot也受了轻伤。Eliot被母亲带回了家，不找babysitter而让他自己一个人在家了。“You’re a big boy now, Eliot”。
小说生动细致地刻画了以Mrs.Sen为代表的拒绝与异族相容的形象，拒绝改变，出行困难发展成了厌恶出行，结果就是整日在家中，以引以为豪的印度烹饪的手法料理食物，唯一的出行只是为了之前在印度常吃的鱼；另一方面，丈夫作为教授努力并逐渐融入了主流社会，夫妻间文化水平和意识形态的不同造成了两人无话可说，好像是同居一室的两个房客一般，而Mrs.Sen对丈夫的主要的要求——由他开车送去鱼市——都被漠视，点燃了她的所有不满和抑郁，赌气般的与命运的抗争(自己开车)却被冷酷的现实(事故)重新打回了沉默和消极的状态，Eliot走后，她又会整日独守空房，家庭重新回到了从前单调、平淡、绝望的轨道。另一方面，Eliot的母亲为了工作和交际基本放弃了对孩子的关爱。这两个缺乏人情味的家庭是一类组合的代表，读来让人心寒~~
(7) “This blessed house”: 婚后才恋爱是否能得到祝福？
小说同样讲述了一对居住在美国的印度裔年轻夫妇，男方Sanjeev毕业于MIT，是某公司的未来副总裁的人选，女方Twinkle毕业于Standford，两人四个月前通过相亲认识，Twinkle被Sanjeev吸引的原因是相亲时他一直为她的茶杯续水。两人搬进了一个新房，为了准备这个家庭的第一个party，(客人有很多是Sanjeev的同事和朋友)，两人努力收拾着屋子，在房间中的角落和空隙不断发现前任主人留下的关于基督教的东西，比如基督的画像，圣母玛利亚的雕像等等，Sanjeev想把这些统统扔掉，Twinkle则非常喜爱这些东西，认为这是上帝在祝福他们，并坚持将它们放在房内显眼的位置，两人甚至为此争吵。
在争吵和妥协中，Sanjeev思考什么是爱情，他不知道他和Twinkle是否相爱，他明白了爱情不仅仅是两人手挽手甜蜜地出现在聚会上。之前他挣了足够的钱，他母亲对他说他的钱足够养活三个家庭了，去找个女人吧，于是他找到了一个漂亮的女人，门当户对，不爱还等什么呢？可现在他却拿不准了。Party很成功，客人们赞叹屋内的摆设，Sanjeev旁观着Twinkle带着所有客人去继续发掘可能还没有找到的基督教物品。当客人散去，屋内一片狼藉，Sanjeev抱着他们刚刚找到的基督像，跟着Twinkle走进了房。
我认为Twinkle代表了已经完全融入美国文化的印度年轻人，他们从信仰至下全盘接受了西方的意识形态，Twinkle与Sanjeev的矛盾实际上是两种文化的摩擦和交锋；另一方面，通过相亲而匆匆催生的感情，到了婚后却会出现种种的问题，这个“是否可以先结婚后恋爱”的问题具有普遍的意义。
(8)”The treatment of bibi haldar”: 婚姻是怪病的坟墓
一个二十多岁的女孩Bibi Haldar身患奇症，生活不能自理，各种医生想尽了各种办法都无法治愈，最后提出的治疗方法是结婚。大家训练她如何吸引男人，为她登了征婚广告，但始终无人应征。最后她借宿的亲戚家搬走了，她只得住在亲戚产业的储藏室里，几个月后人们去看她时发现她怀孕了。她变卖了亲戚的产业过上了小康生活，而且她的病痊愈了。老实说，这篇小说的主题没读懂，就不妄加评论了。
(9) “The third and final continent”: 开拓新大陆的无畏与甘苦
参见以前的blog《美文美人》
《Interpreter of Maladies》读后感(五)：清新的文风，细腻的笔触——既去而余韵绕梁俪，三年不绝
几年前上英语辅修专业的英语写作时，外教Brian推荐了这样一篇小说“The Third and Final Continent ”，作者是英国新生代女作家Jhumpa Lahiri，文章非常有味道。我写的textual analysis 可能是我至今写的最长的一篇英文作文，按照规定的结构，没有参考其他资料，老师给了100分满分。回想起来，这个分数，这篇小说，极大的鼓舞了我学习英语，品味英语的热情和兴趣～前几天MaryAnne从遥远的渥太华将这本获得2000年普利策文学奖的“Interpreter of Maladies”送到我的手中(感激ing)，“The Third and Final Continent ”正是这本短篇小说集的最后一篇，在这里我把当年的那篇赏析贴出来当作在豆瓣的第一篇评论，同时也鼓励和提醒自己，现在虽然很忙，但也不能放松英语的学习～
ubtle Elements Reflecting Big Issues
y fullstar
To clearly understand and analyze the essay “The Third and Final Continent”, I focus on three subtle elements: Mrs. Croft’s hands, the flag on the moon, and the sari. Mrs. Croft’s hands help to present the character of Mrs. Croft and make it convincing and colorful. The flag on the moon implies quite different opinions to people with different cultures. The sari tells an interesting story about the conflict between the local culture and the foreign culture. These three elements reflecting big issues play important roles in the essay. With them, the author elaborately presents the characters and expresses quite a few deep and illuminating ideas.
The deｓｃｒｉｐｔions and narrations related to Mrs. Croft’s hands help a lot to exquisitely present the trait of Mrs. Croft, who I believe, is the most vivid and impressive character in the essay. When Mrs. Croft was 103 years old, her hands had long pallid fingers, with swollen knuckles and tough yellow nails, a disgusting and pitiful sight that shocked me, providing a surprising contrast to their past— smooth and slim, striking the piano keys with vigorous movements. The great change of her hands shows the readers how hard and helpless a life Mrs. Croft had led. Further more, it presents her firm and strong personality because without that, she couldn’t survive the hard and helpless life. I find it amazing that she was so strong and unyielding that she went through her widowhood and lived for over a century, while the widowhood had driven the main character’s mother insane. In addition, as everybody known, the pianist cherishes his hands very much because they can bring him fame, inspiration, and success. Mrs. Croft, however, had to expect nothing but consider her hands and her talent in playing the piano as the unique way to raise her family, especially after her husband died, even though she may have several colorful dreams. Though there are few sentences describing her past life in the essay, I can imagine how she played the piano in the class, moving her fingers smoothly and desperately again and again, and how she reluctantly tormented her tired hands to do the unpleasant chore at home, during the endless forty years. By implying Mrs. Croft’s earnest dedications to her children, the author highly praises the universal great maternal love. Moreover, I notice that, almost every time Mrs. Croft’s hands were portrayed in the essay, they folded together, either in her lap or on her chest. Instead of just saying that it is her habit, I prefer to interpret it in another way. That is, since Mrs. Croft knew that she had successfully finished her job to bring up the children and back up the family, she didn’t have heavy burdens any more so that she could relax her hands with satisfaction. I can’t help thinking that when she folded her hands together, she may recall, full of happiness in heart, what work her hands had done and how she used to play the piano to raise the family, the “splendid” achievements she must have been very proud of. Besides Mrs. Croft’s hands, I can find in the essay other subtle elements reflecting big issues such as the flag on the moon.
The flag on the moon has quite different meanings to people with different cultures. As for the main character, a foreigner seeking his fortune in America, the flag on the moon symbolized his own experience. America was foreign to him just as the moon was foreign to the human at that time, and his survival far from the motherland was as marvelous to himself as the placement of a flag on the lunar soil. In this sense, he was the hero of himself and he should shout to himself “Splendid!” Relating the main character to the flag on the moon, the author appreciates the achievements of those living on the foreign land, and encourages them to conquer more obstacles to improve their lives so as not to “see the flag fall”. To American youth at that time, the flag on the moon signified a new era was coming. They would be very proud of their country and be stimulated to learn the advanced technology. What’s more, they would be determined to try their best to make great contributions to the country that God bless in the future. I figure the big success at that time surely made thousands of American young people turn their interests to the science and technology. To Mrs. Croft, a typical conservative, the flag on the moon was a wonder, a miracle, a definitely impossible thing. Despite her disbelief, she who was strongly and stubbornly against new stuff, made an exception this time. She accepted the fact with delight and was proud of her country as other American did. By this, the author tries to tell us that, the personal preference is trivial comparing to the patriotism. Now that the analysis of the flag is done, let me show you the third subtle element reflecting big issues— the sari.
The sari appeared in America describes three stages of the conflict between the local culture and the foreign culture. The early stage of the conflict— hostile stage is embodied in the mishap the main character happened to see in the morning, that a local dog attacked a foreign woman by snatching her sari. The sari, an Indian characteristic costume is seen as an odd and undesirable thing according to the local culture. Not only the dog’s arrogant and offensive behavior but also the owner’s cold response to the accident suggests that the local people have some sort of bias and hostility towards the foreign culture, the culture they don’t fully understand or don’t have even the slightest idea about for a lack of intention and chance. In my opinion, the appearance of the hostile stage is natural and reasonable because it is always hard and takes long to persuade people to accept a new object, a new thought, let alone a new culture, but instead of letting it go at that, what we should do is to impel the conflict to develop to a better stage, say, the struggle and coexistence stage. The second stage of the conflict —the struggle stage can be found in Mala’s first several weeks in America in the essay. We can see the struggle of the foreign culture in the fact that Mala who was kind and amiable disobeyed her husband to keep her sari covered when eating with him and she put on a silk sari when her husband suggested going out. The sari that Mala kept covered shows her great respect for her own culture and displays an unusual beauty and energy, fighting against the biased look of the local culture. I appreciate the struggle of the foreign culture exercised in a gentle way, because it can lower the level of the conflict, moving different cultures nearer and letting them learn more from each other, and develop to coexistence. The last stage of the conflict— assimilation stage is also implied in the essay. I am sad to find that after living in America for years, Mala didn’t wear the sari any more. Whether the sari was took off painfully or peacefully, she finally got rid of the old habit or even the old belief to adjust to the new life there in America. Though I don’t like it, I have to say that assimilation is mostly and inevitably the result of the conflict between the local culture and the foreign culture. Now we can see that through the sari, a subtle but very important element, the author told us an interesting and lively story about the conflict between the local culture and the foreign culture and how it develops.
ow you can see, in the essay, everything is elaborately arranged by the author. Even the unnoticed subtle elements such as Mrs. Croft’s hands and the sari, imply big ideas. Taking advantage of them, the author puts fresh and deep thoughts in her own way. Paying special attention to these key elements, we can understand a number of underlying meanings and emotions between the lines, through which we will have endless interests of reading.