Book Club

  After reading my book club book, Interpreters of Maladies, I came out with many different ideas of how to approach my essay. Being a short story, I'm able to have more freedom in choosing which chapter or character to discuss. The advantages of this short story allows me to expand my essay and write about a wide arrange of characters, topics, and plots. The main idea to the Interpreter of Maladies is that it revolves around the Indian culture. All of the short stories in the book have multiple characters that are of Indian descent. The short stories are situated around American and Indian cultures. At times, the two are somewhat meshed together. After reading a few of the short stories, I noticed a difference between the social classes in America and India. In India, the social class is more segregated. There is a large gap between the rich and poor.

    I'll be discussing the inequalities the poor in India face and how there is a hierarchy within the Indian society. There are those who are considered 'untouchables' while there are others that are considered the lowest caste. The members of the lowest caste system are often times mistreated and live in the slums of India. The most disturbing thing is that they are usually born into their social class. Millions have no say in how their social status and lives will play out. They often just accept the fact that is how life is.

Interpreter of Maladies Discussion

 After reading my book club book, Interpreters of Maladies, I came out with many different ideas of how to approach my essay. Being a short story, I'm able to have more freedom in choosing which chapter or character to discuss. The advantages of this short story allows me to expand my essay and write about a wide arrange of characters, topics, and plots. The main idea to the Interpreter of Maladies is that it revolves around the Indian culture. All of the short stories in the book have multiple characters that are of Indian descent. The short stories are situated around American and Indian cultures. At times, the two are somewhat meshed together. After reading a few of the short stories, I noticed a difference between the social classes in America and India. In India, the social class is more segregated. There is a large gap between the rich and poor.
    Jhumpa Lahiri, the author of the book, writes of two different stories about the slums of India. The Treatment of Bibi Haldar and AReal Durwan both revolve around characters who struggle throughout their lives.They are of the lowest low in the caste system and are constantly belittled by others.

    I'll be discussing the inequalities the poor in India face and how there is a hierarchy within the Indian society. There are those who are considered 'untouchables' while there are others that are considered the lowest caste. The members of the lowest caste system are often times mistreated and live in the slums of India. The most disturbing thing is that they are usually born into their social class. Millions have no say in how their social status and lives will play out. They often just accept the fact that is how life is.

When Writing

When beginning an essay, I just try to ramble on as much as I can by throwing out general ideas and statements.  After I feel as if I've written a sufficient amount, I begin to narrow down the topics I want to discuss. After reading John Trimble's section of getting launched, his idea is 'start small' really works for me. I'm able to take a couple  of small ideas that I've written down and expand on them. I realized that the problem I have with writing is becoming too general or branching off too much. I sometimes get off topic, because I try to cover too many things.     When I pre-write, I will try to attack the topic from as many points of view as possible. I like to look at the full  spectrum of every subject I write about. This seems to be a very effective way to acquire information about the  subject matter and it does a good job of keeping the writer's bias out to a minimum. I enjoy this strategy of writing  and it's very comfortable for me. It's also quite effective.

Interpreters of Maladies

       My selection for the book club book is Interpreter of Maladies; a collection of short stories written by, Jhumpa Lahiri. The fact that it was a combination of short stories as opposed to a novel initially sparked my interest. The first short story deals with a couple who are in a struggling marriage. They finally make a breakthrough during dinner, and they continually heal the relationship when they are at the dinner table. The two become comfortable with each other once they begin eating.

                Interpreters of Maladies revolves around an Indian family that discuss their issues. The book is comprised of short stories so they are not connected. The reoccurring theme in each story is the discussion around the dinner table. Indian food and dinner was important in the first two stories I read. It seemed as if all the problems have gone away once the characters began eating. According to the author, Jhumpa Lahiri, food is more than something you eat. It's a conversation. It's family bonding. It's peace of mind.

               After reading the first two stories, I began thinking about how much food relates to my social life. I realize that the most time I spend with my parents at the dinner table and how dinner is always prepared every night. It makes me appreciate food and eating together even more. I always hear about how eating dinner is important to build a strong family, however; I never actually realized the effects it had until now. I also need to try some Indian food since I've never eaten it.