Interpreter of Maladies

Jhumpa Lahiri

Interpreter of Maladies, is a short story written by Jhumpa Lahiri. It really stuck out to me, because of the fact that the other poems and the other short story, that told an actual story, were all about African Americans. This story, however; is about an Indian American family. They in India to visit family. The literary technique I found central to this story is that of the style of narration. The story is told in a third person limited point of view. This allows the third party to watch the Das family, and to make observations about them, observations normal people would make. For instance, Lahiri writes, referring to Mr. Das "He had a sapphire blue visor, and was dressed in shorts, sneakers and a T-shirt" (Lahiri). This goes along well with the theme of identity. Even though Mr. Das is of Indian descent, and is even in India, he is still wearing very American clothing. Mr. Das's identity is not that of his parents, Indian, it is very different. I can only imagine in India, many people wearing traditional clothing, with a man wearing a bright blue visor. You can imagine he would stick out like a thumb. Had it not been for the point of view, this observation would not have been made. We would not hear about Mrs. Das's affair, in nearly the same way. The third person limited point of view is crucial to the telling of this story, and the effect of identity it puts forth.