Akter 1

Assignment

On

Racial and cultural conflicts in JhumpaLahiri’s Unaccustomed Earth.

Submitted By

Ripa Akter

ID: 192-128-002.

Batch 43rd

Submitted To

Dr. Rama Islam (PhD)

Associate professor,

Department of English,

Metropolitan University sylhet,

Date: 12 April 2020.

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Jhumpa Lahiri’s is Indian most famous writer, Unaccustomed Earth is Jhumpa

Lahiri’s latest work, a powerful collection of short stories. Racial and cultural harmony is

very much essential for peaceful existence of a society or a country. Jhumpa Lahiri’s is very

skillful portrays the racial and cultural conflicts in her short story collection Unaccustomed

Earth. Racial culture and ethnicity are the very significant identities that distinguish one

society from another. Lahiri’s

Unaccustomed Earth provides the readers with different paradigms of the life of the

characters with Indian roots and American life. The stories in the collection m deal with large

section, of second generation Indian American, their cultural traditions ,value system, their

feeling for home and of homelessness a separate racial and cultural identity they feel a

magnetic field of their “home culture” operative on their minds.

Unaccustomed Earth, Lahiri presents the character of Akash and Rumaas nostalgic

since they migrate to a new land and also the feeling of diaspora. They recollect the

memories back at home especially in the character of Ruma. This novel also deals with the

cultural identity crisis which is faced by both the generations of the immigrant.

Lahiri’s second collection of short entitled as Unaccustomed Earth is not a celebration

of multiculturalism and hybridist. Lahiri’s themes universal, but her perspective belongs to

Diaspora individuals. Her characters displacement and identity crisis are the result of

migration, as their dislocation. In Unaccustomed Earth the first generation characters still

view India as home, India customs are maintained at home.

They visit India regularly and raise their children according to Indian norms. This is

not to say that all first generation characters confront with a constant longing for India and

have inability to settle down in the United States. Immigrants, in Lahiri’sstories, are consoled

by the satisfaction they take in their upward economic mobility.

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However, as illustrated by Ruma’s father in “Unaccustomed Earth”, that the path of a

migrant has not been an easy one , and it is filled with guilt and regret . This title story

illustrates the epigraph in a very concrete manner. Ruma’sfather plants a garden of his own

burying legos wooden building blocks, a rubber ball and a pencil into the ground. Lahiri

implies that whatever intention individuals may have for their offspring, the outcome will

depend on prevailing situations. The epigraph captures the essence of the diasporas identity

which is never complete, always in process, and constituted within, not outside.

Second generation migration characters in Unaccustomed Earth have hybrid cultural

identities feeling rootless and yearning to belong, they strive to put down roots and search for

stability in their lives. The common factor among all second generation characters is that they

must negotiate their own identity between to cultures. How successful they are in doing that

determines their happiness.

Jhumpa Lahiri’s Unaccustomed Earth represent several, example of women assuming,

the rote of cultural carrier. Rum experiences an identity crisis after her mother’s death, as her

mother was her main link to Bengali culture. Usha resists her mother’s attempts to raise her

as an Indian girl, and sang is horrified by the string of Indian suitors. Kaushik’s mother is all

prepared for smoking and drinking, wearing western outfits and refusing to assume the role

of the tradition upholding Indian wife. In the “Unaccustomed Earth” as well as ‘Hema and

kaushik;mother’s become a metaphor for the motherland , acquiring new identities.

Ruma’s mother has been the carrier of Indian culture in her life and the main

influence in forming Ruma’s identity. After her mother’s death, Ruma realize that she has

very little in the name of culture heritage to pass on to her own son and is engulfed by negret.

When Ruma comes to know about Mrs. Banghchi, she realizes that her father has been able

to compromise with the life he shared with his wife and now lives for the guilt of not inviting
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him to live with them, and the entire burden of upholding a cultural identity that she has been

unable to maintain.

Lahiri’s Unaccustomed Earth racial and cultural conflicts can be analyzed by the

immigrants and their suffering for the search of identity. The assimilation of culture and the

values, at the same time it gives a new understanding and new identities, spaces for growth,

resolution of conflicts and a new culture. Lahiri conveys even though they were living as

immigrant for many years, they could not attain the belongingness.

Unaccustomed Earth in this story is finding out the identity, and cultural differences

that the second generation immigrant face the tragedy of losing their original identity. Most

of characters moving to and from in a confused manner without negotiating properly their

racial and cultural affiliations.

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Works Cited.

Hall, Stuart. “Cultural Identity and Diaspora” in identity: Community, Culture,

Difference, Ed. Rutherford, Jonathan. London: Lawrence and wishart, 1990.print.

Lahiri , Jhumpa. Unaccustomed Earth. New Delhi: Random House, 2008. Print

said, Edward. Orientalism. London: Routledge, 1978.print.

Lahiri, Jhumpa. (2008) . Unaccustomed Earth. New York: Vintage Books.

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Assignment

On

Kaiser Haq’s poetry Represents Bangladeshi Culture and Post Colonialism.

Submitted By
Ripa Akter
ID: 192- 128- 002
Batch 43rd

Submitted To
Dr. Rama Island (PhD)
Associate professor,
Department of English,
Metropolitan University, Sylhet.

Date: 12 April 2020.

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Kaiser haq is a Bangladeshi writer and Bangladeshi translator. His translation from

Bengali into English. Haq has moved away from traditional verse farms and stereotypical

themes. Kaiser haqis a leading South Asian poet who write poems in English on native

context. A number of poems in his book published in the Streets of Dhaka are echo in

Bangladeshi culture mostly on urban context.

Kaiser haq’smostof poetry is post-colonial perspective. Haq is postcolonial writer and

he creates literary works which try to uphold the reality of their natives, defend the

misrepresentation and misjudgment of lifestyles and ideas of the Eastbay West , and reflect

the parts of culture of their nation and people to the world.

Haq’s cultural identity uniquely in context of Bangladeshi with a variety of individual

poetic images marked with flavors of irony and humor. A postcolonial poet should have a

cosmopolitan sensibility as well as a definite knowledge of his culture identity. By ignoring

his root and identity he can never become a notable artist.

Haq in fact, uses the tones and rhythms of everyday English and yet manages to

convince us of location as a Bangladeshi post. Post colonial writing can be a kind of socio

political movement of decolonization. The use of native vs English. Colonial language in

practicing literature in a major debate in post colonialism. Chinua Achebe’s opinion of

treating English as an international language rather a colonial one transforming it in tha own

way of the native writer, support’s haq practice. Bangladeshi poet kaiserhaq’s practices of

writing in English leads us to language debate that is a very common subject in post

colonialism. The English of the poet is transformed to fit his culture and native thoughts.

Haq claims him to be a post romantic poet who writes about the ordinary city life in a

thoughtful way. His poem windows haq’s describe about the rapidly change of city life and

city life is busy life.East and West poem haq’s represent about Asian and Western culture
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and decolonization. Another poem is ‘Senior Citizen’ he discuss the cosmopolitan people, he

also talk about cosmopolitan people who wants to be enjoy the life. In those poems haq’s

represent Bangladeshi culture and post colonial perspective. Poet has metaphorically living

description of Dhaka as building and like ghost Ships. His poem mainly comprise the urban

landscape as the poet argues that modern poetry is essentially based on the urban elements

(haq 7/4/14).

A number of poems can be taken into consideration for establishing that haq although

using English, his poems are not affected by sort of internalizing the tongue as a necessity

and western effects and influence in every context. Postcolonial perspective haq’s “Ode on

the lungi” the poem is on a common eastern male attire lungi. In this poem haq represent the

Bangladeshi culture “Ode on the lungi” is an expression of haq’s cultural identity. The poet

not only wanted to uphold a part of culture in this poem but also revolted against the

discrimination attitude of the western towards the cloth. In this poem is the best example of

post colonial response to the western impact of cultural hegemony persevering sartorial

inequality. It is an expression of haq’s cultural identity, subverting the colonial or imperial

stereotypical legacy of social structures with lungi, haq has attempted to celebrate an

uncelebrated subject associated with not only the people of his country, but also the hundred

millions of South Asia.

Haq’s poetry is fighting against a many social odds and western influences. The light

hearted compositions with deep thoughts and philosophies tinted with irony are defending the

misrepresentation of the East by west.

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Works Cited.

Haq, Kaiser. Published in the streets of Dhaka: Collected poems. Dhaka: The University

press limited, 2012.print.

Hossain, MS. “Haq’s Ode on the lungi: An Allegorical Quest for Sartorial Equality”. Harvest

28 .2013:55-27.

Achebe, Chinua. “The African writer and the English language”.15 may 2014.Web. 22 April

2016.
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Assignment

On

Transgender & Gender discrimination in Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of utmost

happiness.

Submitted By

Ripa Akter

ID: 192- 128- 002.

Batch: 43rd

Submitted To

Dr.Ruma Islam (PhD)

Associate professor,

Department of English

Metropolitan University Sylhet.

Date: 12 April 2020.

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Arundhati Roy’s an Indian author, activist, and human rights campaigner. Indian

creator Arundhati Roy’s tale The Ministry of utmost happiness 2017,is a broad, Delhi set

story that highlights a huge cast of characters and addresses probably the darkest and most

rough episodes in current Indian history, including the 2002 Godhra prepare assault and the

continuous battling in Kashmir. The novel ‘The God of Small Things’ fetching author the

coveted Booker prize, Roy’s presented the subaltern character Ammu and Velutha as the

embodiment of subaltern identity. Gender subalternity is represented by Ammu in the novel

and her counterpart Veluthastands as a Victim of caste subalternity. It represent both caste

and gender subalternity from a historical perspective. This novel is a reflection to various

types of discrimination that based on gender identity, women discrimination that is based on

male domination.

Arundhati Roy in this novel she discusses about the Transgender discrimination and

identity crisis the roots of which lie in the issue of gender identity. Gender identity is the

identity of person caused by the degree of feminine or masculine traits in a person

conforming to the stereotypical definition of a male or female expounded by the society.

Roy’s ‘The Ministry of utmost happiness’ she represent various violent which is

divided on the basis of caste. The hijras don’t harmonize with the stereotypes of the society.

Hence, the are deprived of their rights in the society as they don’t fit in this gendered society.

They live with female emotions imprisoned in a male body. They always face a dilemma of

identity crisis in this cliched society based on binary relationship of male and female genders.

They find no place for themselves and are discarded by their families too. They are devoid of

social, economic and political equality in the society. They always pine for their identity.

Roy also discussed about the female discriminations in Indian society. Indian society

is a male dominating society where female are the subordinates facing hardships given by

male monopoly. They are the victims of gender discrimination.

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The plexus of patriarchal society is composed of the stereotypes that favour the

supremacy of male over female. Women are the wretched dolls moving in alienation having

no identity of their own. Living in the ghetto of male enslavement, they bear the trepidation

endorsed by male supremacy. They are devoid of equal rights. This gender discrimination not

only suppresses them on social platform but also deprives them of their rights to education,

right to attain financial independence and equal political contribution.

Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of utmost happiness is a remarkable narrative depicting

various types of discriminations prevailing at different levels and the predicament of people

suffering from identity crisis. Roy has reflected upon Transgender discrimination and identity

crisis with the help of her protagonist,

Anjumwho is a Transgender. In a society of binary sex relations , a Transgender finds

no place for herself. Anjum was born as Aftab in a Muslim family of Delhi.

Her family raised her as a boy but when her father learns that she is a transgender

(Hijra) , he breaks all relationships from her . Her mother, of course, loves her a lot but she is

in a dilemma. It is apparent that in a gendered society, where each and every word and object

have been categorized as male or female, her child has no gender based identity.

Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of utmost happiness is a masterpiece illustrating the

pain and torment of the life of transgender, and she also present women discrimination in this

novel. Roy’s character Tilottamma who is a short, dark skinned woman, resentment the issue

of women discrimination and identity crisis.

She is a women who “don’t seem to have a past, a family a community, a people or

even a home.”(Roy 155). Her mother was a high caste South Indian women. She has a love

affair with an untouchable (periyah) and then Tilo was born. Her mother first abandoned her .

She spent her childhood in a Christian child home.

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After some time, her mother returned and adopted her. According to other people,

Tilo is mystery. Nobody knows about her family or past. She fights with the whole society

alone. Biplab know about her family.

In these novel Roy present women in Indian society they are not safe and secure.

They don’t enjoy equal rights and position in the society. They are tortured, harassed and

humiliated. They live with a broken and mutilated identity. They exist nowhere in this male

dominating society. They are treated as slaves to gratify the destines of men in Indian society

which is a society of monopoly of men. They are the fallen angels bearing the yoke of male

domination sycophancy.
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Works Cited.

Roy, Arundhati. The Ministry of utmost happiness. Alfred A. Knopf ,2017.

Roy, A.(2017). The Ministry of utmost happiness. Gurgaon, Haryana; penguin. Print.

Roy, Arundhati. TheGod of Small Things. IndianInk, 1997.