Sec: 07
ENGLISH JOURNALS
Book: Interpreter of Maladies
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
Reflective Reading Journal
Book: Interpreter of Maladies
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
Week 1
Society, Lonelinesss.
Name of the Story Themes
A Real Durwan
Useful/interesting In their haste, the residents practically carried Boori Ma up the stairs to the roof,
Quotes where they planted her on one side of the clothesline and started screaming at her
from the other.
Summary (within The story mainly focuses on sixty-four years old woman addressing her as ‘Boori
150 words) Ma’. She got separated from her family and has no one here. The only thing she has
related to her past life is her ‘skeleton key’. She sweeps the stairs and also takes
care of the security of the building. She is not financially stable. She usually talks
about her past days, how comfortable and luxurious her life was before. Among the
neighbors, Mrs. Dalal was nice with Boori Ma. Mr. Dalal got promoted and that
helped for the betterment of their condition. At a point, Mr. and Mrs. Dalal went on
vacation at Shimla. At that time Mr. and Mrs. Dalal promised to bring quint from
Shimla because Boori Ma’s quint was too old to use. But at some point, her skeleton
keys were stolen and also the basin was stolen, and there were some other
damages to the building. The neighbors blamed Boori Ma for everything. Even if she
refused, no one believed her. And the neighbors insisted to hire a new Durwan. Even
though Boori Ma was taking care of the building like her own for years, no one
believed her.
Course Content
Focus:
Reflective Reading Journal
Book: Interpreter of Maladies
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
Week 2
Society, Loneliness.
Name of the Story Themes
A Real Durwan
Useful/interesting In their haste, the residents practically carried Boori Ma up the stairs to the roof,
Quotes where they planted her on one side of the clothesline and started screaming at her
from the other.
Summary (within The story mainly focuses on sixty-four years old woman addressing her as ‘Boori
150 words) Ma’. She got separated from her family and has no one here. The only thing she has
related to her past life is her ‘skeleton key’. She sweeps the stairs and also takes
care of the security of the building. She is not financially stable. She usually talks
about her past days, how comfortable and luxurious her life was before. Among the
neighbors, Mrs. Dalal was nice with Boori Ma. Mr. Dalal got promoted and that
helped for the betterment of their condition. At a point, Mr. and Mrs. Dalal went on
vacation at Shimla. At that time Mr. and Mrs. Dalal promised to bring quint from
Shimla because Boori Ma’s quint was too old to use. But at some point, her skeleton
keys were stolen and also the basin was stolen, and there were some other
damages to the building. The neighbors blamed Boori Ma for everything. Even if she
refused, no one believed her. And the neighbors insisted to hire a new Durwan. Even
though Boori Ma was taking care of the building like her own for years, no one
believed her.
Course Content 1. What do you think the washbasins symbolized in the building
Focus: Boori Ma lived in? Explain in detail.
Ans: The washbasin resembles how Mr. Dalal is willing to share his
luxury and comfort with other residents in the building when his
financial condition improved. Sharing it with others shows the bond in
society.
2. According to you which theme is stronger in the story-jealousy or
struggle? Discuss your answer with reason.
Ans: According to me, the struggling theme is stronger. A big part of
the story shows the struggle of Boori Ma. It also shows how her
neighbors are treating her and how she is leading her life without her
family. It portrays the daily life of Boori Ma.
On the other hand, the jealousy theme was not the main focus of the
story. The last part shows that some neighbors get jealous of Boori Ma
as she gets better treatment from Mr. and Mrs. Dalal. That’s why I think
the theme of struggle is stronger.
3. What could the residents of the building have done to make life
better for Boori Ma?
Ans: Boori Ma was already straggling without her family. On top of
that, she had to deal with the mistreatment of some residents when the
basin was stolen, which made her life harder. If the residents could
trust her about the stolen basin, and consider her condition and
acknowledge her hardships, it could have made her life easier.
Reflective Reading Journal
Book: Interpreter of Maladies
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
Week 3
Name of the Story When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine Themes The bond between
immigrant family,
mental growth in a difficult
situation,
kindness toward people
during hard times.
Useful/interesting I did something I had never done before. I put the chocolate in my mouth,
Quotes letting it soften until the last possible moment, and then as I chewed it slowly, I
prayed that Mr. Pirzada’s family was safe and sound. I had never prayed for
anything before, had never been taught or told to, but I decided, given the
circumstances, that it was something I should do.
Summary (within 150 The story is from 1971 when then East Pakistan was involved in a war with
words) West Pakistan. The narrator was ten years old, living in a foreign country with
her family as immigrants. They had a regular visitor named Mr. Pirzada who
happened to be an immigrant himself. This common factor bought them
together. Mr. Pirzada’s family lived in then-east Pakistan. So Mr. Prizeda and
the author’s family were really worried about his family and the situation of
their motherland. Seeing Mr. Pirzada’s struggle made the narrator more
mature and also helped her to know about her own country. Eventually, she
found herself being deeply concerned about his family. After a certain time,
the war ended and Mr. Pirzada went to his family. But the narrator thought of
him even then. When he wrote about his wellbeing, she was relieved. Mr.
Pirzada left a deep impression on the narrator when she was young and
helped her to experience and learn new things.
Course Content 1. To what extent do you think the writer uses the features of pathos in the
Focus: story to convince the readers?
Response: The author used Feature 1. We can see that Mr. Pirzada and
Lilia’s family were worried about his family. The situation of then-Pakistan was
not good. But it would have been better if there were some more examples.
Feature 2 has not been used adequately. There are too few emotional words
and phrases. If more were used, it would have moved us more deeply.
2. To what extent do you think the writer uses the features of ethos in the
story to convince the readers?
Response: None were used properly. There were no renowned sources. And
also only one side of the story was available to the readers. So, the readers
were biased towards the narrator. Some of the information could be used to
relate to the story.
3. To what extent do you think the writer uses the features of logos in the story
to convince the readers?
Response: None of the features were used in the story. No fact or statistics
were given. Some of the information could be used to understand the dept of
the situation.
Reflective Reading Journal
Book: Interpreter of Maladies
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
Week 4
Name of the Story The Third and Final Themes The immigrant experience,
Continent Bonding with a foreigner,
loneliness
Useful/interesting Mrs. Croft’s was the first death I mourned in America, for hers was the first
Quotes life I had admired; she had left this world, at last, ancient and alone, never
to return.
Course Content 1. Explain one of the chosen quotes in your own words. (5 to 6 sentences)
Focus:
Response: The narrator was new in this country. So he knew no one.
Eventually, he got closer to his old house owner. They had a quite good
impression of each other. She was one of the first people to have a close
relationship with him in a foreign country. This is why, when she died the
narrator felt bad. As the first friend in the unknown place left the world, he felt
lonely.
2. Write an experience from your own life that relates to the selected quote.
(within 100 words)
Response: I used to go to a drawing class during middle school. Maximum
kids were younger than me there. The teacher was very friendly and he used
to arrange many games after the class. The kids were comfortable around
each other. On the other hand, I was quite introverted. The daughter of the
teacher was fascinated by my watercolor. When I drew, she came to me and
painted on the other side. She even sang a birthday song on my Birthday and
I got shy. After a while, I left the class and did not see them for long. In 2019,
I saw my teacher on the way home. Eventually, I asked him about his
daughter. What I heard, shocked me. It turned out that, the five-year-old got
Lupas. It is a very rare disease. She died in early 2020. I still remember the
little moments with her. I remember her whenever I open my paintings and
see her random strokes behind them.
Reflective Reading Journal
Book: Interpreter of Maladies
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
Week 5
Name of the Story This Blessed House Themes Marriage, small
disagreements, love.
Useful/interesting These objects meant something to Twinkle, but They meant nothing to him. They
Quotes irritated him.
Summary (within 150 The story is about a newly married couple, Sanjeev and Twinkle who moved
words) to a new house. The house they moved into had many Christian objects
here and there. Though Sanjeev did not like those, Twinkle was very
fascinated by those little details. When Sanjeev insisted on getting rid of
those, Twinkle wanted to keep those. They had few arguments about those
issues. He even doubted if he loved her or not. At the house warming party,
these objects were hit and guests liked it. The guests even liked Twinkle, on
the other hand, Sanjeev found himself lost in the crowd. Twinkle proudly
explained and showed the Christian objects that Sanjeev wanted to hide.
Even though she agreed not to show the Jesus poster at the party, she
shoes it anyway. At one point, Sanjeev realized that he cared and loved
Twinkle. Eventually, it seemed that the Christian details Sanjeev wanted to
hide, turned out to be hit. The vinegar he wanted to throw away made the
food tastier.
Course Content Focus: Narrow down one of the themes into an argumentative topic statement.
(Demonstrate the steps of narrowing down)
Response: Homosexual marriage should be legalized in our country.
Steps:
1. Marriage
2. Homosexual marriage
3. Sentence: Homosexual marriage should be legalized in our country.
Reflective Reading Journal
Book: Interpreter of Maladies
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
Week 8
Name of the Story Mrs. Sen’s Themes Life of an immigrated women,
foreignness,
Useful/interesting Then Eliot understood that when Mrs. Sen said home, she meant India, not the
Quotes apartment where she sat Chopping vegetables.
Course Content Write a summary of the story within 150 words. Make sure to use APA
Focus: in-text citation and attributive tags appropriately.
[Note: You can use the Summary Checklist from the handouts provided for
this week]
The story is about an immigrant woman called Mrs. Sen who babysits an
eleven years old boy named Eliot. Before her, all of Eliot’s babysitters got fired
for not taking care of him properly. Mrs. Sen was responsible and kind. She
tried her best to take care of Eliot. He also liked to come to her place. He had
to go to his place as she could not drive. Byt she insisted that she was
learning to drive and soon be able to drive. His mother on the other hand did
not like her a lot and tried to ignore her. Eliot and Mrs. Sen could take to each
other a lot. She also opened up about her homesickness to him and he
understood it. She was learning to drive. One day while driving, she got into
an accident. Eliot was there with her. No one got hurt badly. She felt so guilty
that she could not face his mother. As a result, she was also fired from the job.
Eliot’s mother was relieved from that. (Jhumpa Lahiri, 1999)
Choose any one of the following extracts (taken from the story) and
paraphrase it. Remember to follow the APA in-text citation rules
appropriately.
[Note: You can use the Paraphrase Checklist from the handouts provided for
this week]
Extract 1: Eliot didn't mind going to Mrs. Sen's after school. By September the tiny
beach house where he and his mother lived year-round was already cold; Eliot and
his mother had to bring a portable heater along whenever they moved from one room
to another, and to seal the windows with plastic sheets and a hairdryer. The beach
was barren and dull to play on alone; the only neighbors who stayed on past Labor
Day, a young married couple, had no children. Mrs. Sen's apartment was warm,
sometimes too warm; the radiators continuously hissed like a pressure cooker.
Paraphrase: Eliot liked to go to Mrs. sen’s place. Unlike his own place, Mrs.
Sen’s house was warm. So, he did not have to do anything to keep the house
warm. He was not lonely there. (Jhumpa Lahiri, 1999)
Extract 2: By then Eliot understood that when Mrs. Sen said home, she meant India,
not the apartment where she sat chopping vegetables. He thought of his own home,
just five miles away, and the young married couple who waved from time to time as
they jogged at sunset along the shore. On Labor Day they'd had a party. People were
piled on the deck, eating, drinking, the sound of their laughter rising above the weary
sigh of the waves. Eliot and his mother weren't invited. It was one of the rare days his
mother had off, but they didn't go anywhere.
Extract 3: She did the laundry, and balanced the checkbook, and, with Eliot's help,
vacuumed the inside of the car. Eliot had suggested that they go through the car
wash a few miles down the road as they did every now and then, so that they could
sit inside, safe and dry, as soap and water and a circle of giant canvas ribbons
slapped the windshield, but his mother said she was too tired, and sprayed the car
with a hose. When, by evening, the crowd on the neighbors' deck began dancing, she
looked up their number in the phone book and asked them to keep it down.
Extract 4: Each afternoon Mrs. Sen stood in a grove of pine trees by the main road
where the school bus dropped off Eliot along with two or three other children who
lived nearby. Eliot always sensed that Mrs. Sen had been waiting for some time, as if
eager to greet a person she hadn't seen in years. Her sari, a different pattern each
day, fluttered below the hem of a checkered all-weather coat. As they walked back
from the bus stop she produced a sandwich bag from her pocket, and offered Eliot
the peeled wedges of an orange, or lightly salted peanuts, which she had already
shelled
Extract 5: When Eliot's mother arrived at quarter to six, Mr. Sen told her the details of
the accident and offered a check reimbursing November's payment. As he wrote out
the check he apologized on behalf of Mrs. Sen. He said she was resting, though
when Eliot had gone to the bathroom he'd heard her crying. His mother was satisfied
with the arrangement, and in a sense, she confessed to Eliot as they drove home,
she was relieved. It was the last afternoon Eliot spent with Mrs. Sen, or with any
baby-sitter.
Extract 6: The daily procedure took about an hour. In order to occupy Eliot she
supplied him with the comics section of the newspaper, and crackers spread with
peanut butter, and sometimes a Popsicle, or carrot sticks sculpted with her blade.
She would have roped off the area if she could. Once, though, she broke her own
rule, in need of additional supplies, and reluctant to rise from the catastrophic mess
that barricaded her, she asked Eliot to fetch something from the kitchen.
Extract 7: At first Eliot had wondered if she had cut her scalp, or if something had
bitten her there. But then one day he saw her standing before the bathroom mirror,
solemnly applying, with the head of a thumbtack, a fresh stroke of scarlet powder,
which she stored in a small jam jar. A few grains of the powder fell onto the bridge of
her nose as she used the thumbtack to stamp a dot above her eyebrows. “I must
wear the powder every day,” she explained when Eliot asked her what it was for, “for
the rest of the days that I am married.”
Extract 8: They drove in silence, along the same roads that Eliot and his mother took
back to the beach house each evening. But in the back seat of Mr. and Mrs. Sen’s car
the ride seemed unfamiliar, and took longer than usual. The gulls whose tedious cries
woke him each morning now thrilled him as they dipped and flapped across the sky.
They passed one beach after another, and the shacks, now locked up, that sold
frozen lemonade and quahogs in summer. Only one of the shacks was open. It was
the fish market.
Reference:
Reference: Jhumpa Lahiri. (1999). Mrs. Sen’s. Interpreter of Maladies. 8(126)
