Ink Blots Newsletter

Hinduism
Christianity
&

Jhumpa Lahiris short story, This Blessed House, centers on

religious tension between a Hindu couple.

ouse
urder

As first generation Indian-Americans, they were raised in the Hindu faith, however the husband, Sanjeev, is more devoted to their
faith than his wife, Twinkle.
Twinkle continues to find Christian paraphernalia in their new
house and insists on putting the various items on display.
Despite Sanjeevs obvious resistance to anything that may falsely
portray his religious beliefs, his tolerance of Twinkles fascination
with Christianity reveals that he is actively practicing his Hindu
beliefs.
Hinduism is the third largest religion and could arguably be
called the oldest religion. Unlike many other religions, it does not
have one single founder, one single scripture, or one commonly
agreed on set of beliefs.
Hinduism could be viewed as a lifestyle, rather than as a religion.
As such, it is known to be one of the most tolerant of all religions.
This shines through as Sanjeev explains to a confused party guest
that he is Hindu.
Are you guys Christian? I thought you were Indian.
There are Christians in India, Sanjeev replied, but were not.
The majority of Hindus live in India and Nepal and if they ever
do emigrate away, naturally they take their religious beliefs
with them and pass it on to future generations like Twinkle and
Sanjeev.

There is a scene in Paul Hardings Tinkers that calls some aspects

of Georges character to attention.
Georges relationship with his father is rather tenuous. There is
not much communication and George seems to blame his father
Howard for keeping secrets from him.
Georges pent up rage manifests itself when Howard witnesses
George kneeling in the grass over a dead mouse. There is a question as to whether or not George killed the mouse.
It becomes apparent to Howard that his son did have a hand in
the mouses demise when he observed, It had not been dead for
long.
As a person closely connected to nature and outdoors, George
made the connection between the mouse as a piece of nature and
his father. It was through this misplaced anger that the mouse
met its fate at Georges hands.
However, love for his father can still be detected because of the
funeral he then gives the mouse. He makes a tiny, makeshift boat
which he places the dead mouse in. As the little boat sails away,
George sets it on fire like a Viking funeral.
In carefully crafting this little boat in which to send the mouse
away, George shows his remorse at hurting the mouse.
Just has he feels remorse for killing the mouse, he feels remorse
at feeling negatively toward his father.

Percentage of Indian-Americans in US.

The

Guardian

Eowyn Iveys Pulitzer Prize finalist book, Snow Child,

introduces a young, wild girl named Faina who lives in
the woods. She comes to an old, barren couple who have
always wanted a child and throughout the better part of
the story, no one ever sees her or know she exists except
for them.
When Faina is glimpsed out in the Alaskan wilderness,
she is usually accompanied by a red fox. As the story
wears on, it becomes clear that the fox serves a greater
function than a simple pet. The fox acted as a sort of
guardian for Faina because it was not until after the fox
was killed that other people were able to see her.
The young hunter Garrett was often warned not to hunt
the red fox by the old couple, but one day he could not
resist the urge.

It took only the one shot. The impact was enough to flip
the small animal onto its side, and it did not move again.

It is only after this moment in the story that Faina is sighted by other characters in the book.
This is a strong implication that the fox served as a guardian of Fainas mysticism, and by killing this fox, Garrett
introduced her to a more tangible world.