Interpreter Of Maladies Essay

From the passage from Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies is told from third person, specifically through Mr. Kapasi's perspective. In other words, the story is told through Mr. Kapasi's thoughts and views. In the passage, focuses on an Indian American family, the Das, who every couple of years, visits their relatives in India. In the scene, Mr. Kapasi is introduced as the family's tour guide for the trip. Once introduced Mr. Kapasi's thoughts are revealed about the family. Essentially indirectly characterizing the family through Mr. Kapasi's view, which conveys his perception of the family. The passage begins with a brief description of Mr. Kapasi, himself. Which is then followed by Mr. Kapasi's commentary on the family through the family's actions. For example, when Mr. Das is addressing Tina, “'Where's Mina' Mr. Das asked.” in which Mr. Kapasi comments that it is odd that Mr. Das would address his wife's name when speaking to his daughter. Additionally, Kapasi is given a glimpse of Mrs. Das, “Reached into her straw bag and pulled out a bottle of colorless nail polish … 'Leave me alone,' Mrs. Das said, … 'You're making me mess up.'” In this scene, it shows Tina trying to interact with Mrs. Das only to be scolded at. From this, Mr. Kapasi and/or the readers are given the impression that Mrs. Das is self centered and selfish not only in this scene but …show more content…
Throughout the passage, it detailed the appearances of a few characters in the book. For instance, Kapasi's description of Das's daughter, “The little girl … wide purple bows of her sundress flopping on her narrow brown shoulders” and Mr. Das's wife “She was a short woman, with small hands like paws, her frosty pink fingernails painted to match her lips” thus it adds depth to the characters as oppose to static character. These prime examples of Lahiri's way to convey Mr. Kapasi's impression of the family through vivid