interpreter of maladies essay questions

Interpreter of Maladies

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Interpreter of Maladies

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Interpreter of Maladies Essay Topics & Writing Assignments

Essay Topic 1

Discuss how the "telling game" was used to further both the plot and the themes of "A Temporary Matter."

Essay Topic 2

How is the baby in "A Temporary Matter" a metaphor for the marriage of Shoba and Shukumar?

Essay Topic 3

What commentary on American life is Lahiri making through the plots and characters of her collection of stories?

Essay Topic 4

Feeling like an outsider is a recurring theme in the stories. Discuss this theme and how is shown using aspects of three or more of the stories in The Interpreter of Maladies.

Essay Topic 5

Many of the character in The Interpreter of Maladies has a misconception about someone that leads to unhappiness or harm. Discuss this theme using several of the characters and circumstances from the stories.

Essay Topic 6

Discuss the theme of individuals in warring countries growing closer while their governments grow apart in "When...

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Essays on Interpreter of Maladies

Interpreter of maladies essay topics.

Welcome to our resource page for college students looking for essay topics related to the book Interpreter of Maladies. Choosing the right essay topic is crucial for a successful paper, as it allows you to explore your creativity and personal interests. In this guide, we provide a variety of essay types and topics to help you find the perfect idea for your next assignment.

Argumentative Essay Topics

• The role of cultural identity in Interpreter of Maladies
• Technology's impact on human relationships in the stories
• The significance of food and meals in the book

Example paragraph: In Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri delves into the complexities of cultural identity...

Example paragraph: Through the characters' experiences and interactions, it becomes clear that cultural identity...

Compare and Contrast Essay Topics

• Comparison of the themes of love and loneliness in different stories
• Contrast of the characters' perspectives on marriage and relationships
• Comparison of the immigrant experience in different stories

Example paragraph: The themes of love and loneliness are intricately intertwined in the stories of Interpreter of Maladies...

Example paragraph: Through the comparison of these themes, we gain a deeper understanding of...

Descriptive Essay Topics

• The depiction of settings and locations in the book
• Describing the emotional landscapes of the characters

Example paragraph: The vivid descriptions of the settings in Interpreter of Maladies transport the reader to...

Example paragraph: Through the descriptive exploration of the emotional landscapes of the characters, we gain a deeper understanding of...

Persuasive Essay Topics

• The importance of communication and connection in the stories
• Exploring the impact of secrets and lies on the characters' lives

Example paragraph: The stories in Interpreter of Maladies highlight the crucial role of communication and connection...

Example paragraph: By examining the impact of secrets and lies on the characters' lives, we are compelled to reconsider...

Narrative Essay Topics

• Exploring the theme of personal growth and transformation
• Narrating a personal connection to a specific story or character

Example paragraph: The theme of personal growth and transformation is a central focus in Interpreter of Maladies...

Example paragraph: Through the narration of a personal connection to a specific story or character, I have come to realize...

By exploring these essay topics, you will have the opportunity to develop your analytical thinking, persuasive writing, descriptive abilities, and narrative techniques. We encourage you to choose a topic that resonates with you and to approach your essay with creativity and critical thinking. Good luck!

Love, Culture and Misconception in Three Jhumpa Lahiri's Short Stories

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Two Cultures and Their Interaction in The Interpreter of Maladies

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Ordinary Things with Deep Symbolism: Food and Clothes' Discourse in Interpreter of Maladies

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Controversial Womanist Perspective in Lahiri's Short Stories

True human nature in "a temporary matter", "eleven", "love of life", and "mr pirzada came to dine", unhappy relationships in lahiri's interpreter of maladies, the role of food symbolism in the interpreter of maladies, maladies and failed relations in the lahiri's short stories, memory and trauma in postcolonial discourse, symbolism of darkness in a temporary matter, relevant topics.

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Interpreter of Maladies

By jhumpa lahiri, interpreter of maladies summary and analysis of a temporary matter.

Husband and wife Shukumar and Shoba are notified that their electricity will be turned off at 8:00PM for five evenings in a row in order to fix a power line. Shoba tells her husband this news. He looks at her, noticing that her makeup has run from her time at the gym. He reminisces about how she would look in the morning after a party in happier times. Shoba insists that the electric company should work on the lines during the day. Shukumar takes slight offense at this idea; since January, he has worked at home on his dissertation. The outages begin that evening.

Six months earlier, Shoba went into labor prematurely when Shukumar was attending a conference out of town. Shukumar remembers the station wagon cab that took him to the airport. For the first time, the images of parenthood that flashed through his mind – Shoba handing out juice boxes to their children in the back seat of their own station wagon – were welcome. While out of town, Shukumar was alerted of the labor complications, but by the time he arrived at the Boston hospital, their child had died.

Lately, editor Shoba spends more time at work, leaving before Shukumar wakes and coming home late. Shukumar had been granted more time to work on his dissertation, but he finds himself unable to work. He and his wife have become strangers, experts in avoiding one another. A half an hour before the lights are due to go out, Shukumar continues cooking their dinner while Shoba showers.

Reminded of a dentist appointment, Shukumar brushes his teeth with a toothbrush purchased long ago in case of overnight guests. Shoba was always prepared for what might happen. Groceries were purchased in bulk, Indian chutneys and marinades were prepared on the weekend, and dishes frozen for future use. A lavish feast could be whipped up on a moment’s notice. Now, Shukumar was working his way through their provisions, cooking dinner each evening just for the two of them to eat separately – Shukumar in the study that was to become the nursery and Shoba in front of the TV with her editing assignments spread out in front of her. Shukumar pretends to work when Shoba comes to visit each night, forcing herself to enter the room. Tonight, in the dark, would be the first time they ate together in months.

Shukumar finds a half-empty box of birthday candles leftover from a surprise party Shoba had thrown for her husband last spring. At the party, she held his hand all night as they chatted easily with friends they now avoid. The only visitor they’d had since their baby died was Shoba’s mother, who somewhat blames Shukumar for his child’s death. Shukumar sets the table with a potted ivy to hold the candles and glasses of wine. Just as the meat is ready, the house goes dark.

When the power would go out while visiting relatives in India, Shoba’s family would share jokes or poems. Shoba suggests they tell each other secrets in the dark. First, she confesses that when they began dating, she looked for her name in his phone book the first time she went to his apartment. Shukumar tells Shoba that he forgot to tip the waiter on their first date. He was distracted by the thought he might marry her.

The next night, Shoba comes home earlier so they can eat together before the lights go out. When they lose power, they decide to sit outside in the unseasonably warm winter night. Shukumar wonders what Shoba will tell him since he feels they know everything about each other. Shoba shares first. When Shukumar’s mother came for a visit, she lied about working late and went out for a martini with her friend Gillian instead. Shukumar remembers the visit, his mother still in mourning for her husband twelve years after his death. Without Shoba there to say the right things, Shukumar felt awkward with his grief-stricken mother.

Shukumar admits that, fifteen years ago, he cheated on an exam. His father had died only a few months earlier. Shoba takes his hand. They sit outside until the lights come on and then retreat to their home, still holding hands. Without speaking about it, their time in the dark turned into an exchange of confessions about how they had hurt or disappointed each other or themselves. On the third night, Shukumar tells Shoba that he returned the sweater vest she had given him for their third anniversary. He exchanged it for cash and got drunk in the middle of the day. She tells him that she once let him speak to the chairman of his department with food on his chin. On the fourth night, he admits he kept a picture of a woman torn out of a magazine in his wallet while Shoba was pregnant. The desire for the unknown woman was the closest he ever came to infidelity. Shoba tells him she never liked the only poem he had ever published.

Shukumar and Shoba are able to be intimate in the dark. On the third night, they kiss and on the fourth night, they make love. The next day, they receive a notice that the power line has been repaired ahead of schedule. It is the end of their game. Shoba suggests they still light candles and eat by their glow. After dinner, Shoba blows out the candles and opens a second bottle of wine. She turns the lights back on, telling Shukumar that she wants to see his face when she tells him her biggest secret. Before coming home that evening, she had signed the lease on her own new apartment. Shukumar is relieved but sickened. Shoba had been preparing for a life without him and the game had been proposed so she could work up her nerve to break the news to him.

It is Shukumar’s turn to speak and he decides to confess something he swore he’d never tell. When she was pregnant, Shoba wanted the gender of their child to remain a surprise until birth. When the child died, she did not know if they had lost a son or daughter. Shoba took refuge in that mystery, spared of that knowledge. When Shukumar arrived at the hospital, Shoba was asleep. The doctor suggested he hold the child before it was cremated in order to begin the grieving process. Shukumar recoiled, but then agreed. He tells Shoba that he held their son. He describes what the child looked like, how his fingers were curled just as hers curl in the night.

Shukumar takes their plates to the sink, leaving Shoba alone in the living room. He watches their neighbors walk arm in arm and the lights suddenly go out. He turns to find Shoba at the light switch. They sit together and weep for their new knowledge.

A Temporary Matter is a story about grief and the secrets people keep from one another. Husband and wife Shukumar and Shoba are reeling from the loss of their child six months earlier. They avoid each other and their friends, Shoba filling her time with work and Shukumar procrastinating in finishing his dissertation. A deus-ex-machina in the form of systematic power outages allows for intimacy between the couple not achieved since the death of their son.

The importance of communication within a marriage is a prevalent theme in Interpreter of Maladies . Here the sorrow of the lost child causes a communication breakdown in the relationship of Shukumar and Shoba. This silence between them eventually destroys them because, in their grief, Shukumar and Shoba grow to become different people. Since they no longer share experiences, the couple grows apart. Their final secrets are painful ones – Shoba intends to move out and Shukumar violates the wishes of his wife by revealing the gender of the child. Secrecy eventually leads to broken trust. Ultimately, it is the baby who will never cry who tears the two apart.

A Temporary Matter is told from the third-person perspective of Shukumar. Though the narrator is omniscient, we understand the events in the story through his experiences. The story unfolds largely in memory as each item Shukumar touches triggers a memory to a happier time in the couple’s life together. For instance, the birthday candles used during the blackout remind him of a surprise party Shoba threw for him. Only through Shoba’s confessions do we fully appreciate her point of view in this story about the end of a marriage.

Environment plays a key role in the story. The darkness is both a metaphor for Shukumar and Shoba’s relationship and a safe space for the couple to bond. Both have been groping around in the dark for the sense of normalcy that was destroyed by the death of their child. The planned blackouts force an intimacy that the couple hasn’t known for a long time. By the second day, they are so liberated by the darkness that they begin to anticipate it. Finally, they turn off the lights when the planned outages cease. Darkness ushers in intimacy, which allows the couple to make love for the first time since the child’s death. By the end of the week, the snow outside begins to melt. This thawing mimics the freedom both Shukumar and Shoba now feel from their grief. Though both are now in pain stemming from the end of their marriage, they are feeling once again.

Food, an important part of Indian culture, also plays a significant role in this story. Shoba’s trips to the market are exhilarating for Shukumar in the beginning of their marriage. In happier times, Shoba would prepare lavish meals and a particular gourmet cake for his birthday. Shoba would buy in bulk and prepare meals and chutneys that could be warmed and served in the matter of moments. In this way, their home was always open to others and always filled with love. After the baby’s death, Shukumar started running through the provisions prepared by Shoba. This is a symbol of their dwindling affections and the unpredictability of life. Ultimately, Shoba is unable to control or prepare for the worst.

Interpreter of Maladies Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Interpreter of Maladies is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

why might boori ma recite "the details of her plight and losses"

Why might Boori Ma recite “the details of her plight and losses”?

knowledge Management

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mt pirzada came to dine

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Study Guide for Interpreter of Maladies

Interpreter of Maladies study guide contains a biography of Jhumpa Lahiri, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis of each of the short stories.

• About Interpreter of Maladies
• Interpreter of Maladies Summary
• Character List

Essays for Interpreter of Maladies

Interpreter of Maladies literature essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of the short stories in Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri.

• The Proper Balance of Indian and American Culture
• A Look Inside the Outsider
• The Role of Rituals in Lahiri’s Lonely Characters
• A Temporary Matter of The Permanent End
• Relationships and Failure in Interpreter of Maladies

Lesson Plan for Interpreter of Maladies

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Interpreter of Maladies
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Interpreter of Maladies Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for Interpreter of Maladies

• Introduction
• Plot summary
• Critical reception
• Translation

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The Interpreter

Israel bombed an iranian embassy complex. is that allowed.

Israel can likely argue that its actions did not violate international law’s protections for diplomatic missions, experts say.

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By Amanda Taub

Reporting from London

On Monday, Israel bombed a building that was part of the Iranian Embassy complex in Damascus, killing seven people, including Gen. Mohamad Reza Zahedi, who oversaw Iran’s covert military operations in Syria and Lebanon, and two other senior generals.

For centuries, diplomatic premises have been afforded special protections. Diplomats get immunity from prosecution in their host country, and embassy buildings are often viewed as a sanctuary for their nation’s citizens — they cannot be entered by the host country’s police without the permission of diplomatic staff, and often become refuges for expatriates in times of war.

So attacks on diplomatic compounds carry particular weight, both in law and in the popular imagination. But in this case, experts say, Israel can likely argue that its actions did not violate international law’s protections for diplomatic missions. Here’s why.

The embassy complex was not on Israeli soil.

Diplomatic buildings are entitled to broad protections from attack or other interference by the host country under international customary law, codified in the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1963 Convention on Consular Relations .

Article 22 of the Convention on Diplomatic Relations states:

“The premises of the mission shall be inviolable. The agents of the receiving State may not enter them, except with the consent of the head of the mission. The receiving State is under a special duty to take all appropriate steps to protect the premises of the mission against any intrusion or damage and to prevent any disturbance of the peace of the mission or impairment of its dignity.”

Those protections remain in force even if the embassy is used for criminal or military purposes. The receiving state can break off diplomatic relations, or revoke the diplomatic immunity of specific individuals and eject them from the country, but it must still “respect and protect” the embassy buildings and their contents even after the mission has closed.

Consulate premises are likewise inviolable under Article 31 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. In a particularly shocking example of how that can play out, after the journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered inside the Saudi Consulate in Turkey in 2018, Turkish officials had to wait for days before they were finally given permission to enter.

But while those rules of diplomatic relations are a bedrock principle of international law, they actually have little force in the case of the Damascus bombing, experts say, because they only refer to the responsibilities of the “receiving State” — in this case, Syria — and say nothing about attacks by a third state on foreign territory.

“Israel is a third state and is not bound by the law of diplomatic relations with regard to Iran’s Embassy in Syria,” said Aurel Sari, a professor of international law at Exeter University in the United Kingdom.

Receiving states do have an obligation to protect embassies from attack, Sari said, which theoretically would mean that Syria had an obligation to protect the Iranian Embassy if it could. However, it is not clear what protective steps it could have taken in this case.

In practice, there is a strong taboo in international relations against attacking embassies, said Marko Milanovic, a professor of public international law at Reading University in the United Kingdom. But that custom is broader than what international law actually prohibits, he said.

“Symbolically, for Iran, destroying its embassy or consulate, it’s just seen as a bigger blow,” he said, than “if you killed the generals in a trench somewhere.” But, he added, “the difference is not legal. The difference is really one of symbolism, of perception.”

Could an attack on embassy grounds violate international law in other ways?

“Embassies are protected from use of force in an armed conflict, not primarily because they are embassies but because they are civilian objects,” said Yuval Shany, an international law professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. “Therefore, in principle, it is not permissible to target an embassy in the same way it’s not permissible to target a school.”

An embassy can lose those protections, however, if it is used for a military purpose, as is true of schools, homes, and other civilian buildings during wartime. That would first be a threshold question about whether the conflict itself is legal: International law generally prohibits the use of force against another sovereign state, except in self-defense.

An Israeli military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari did not confirm or deny Israel’s role in the attack but told CNN that the strike had targeted “a military building of Quds Forces disguised as a civilian building in Damascus.”

A member of the Revolutionary Guards, which oversee the Quds Force, told the Times that the strike on Monday had targeted a meeting in which Iranian intelligence officials and Palestinian militants were discussing the war in Gaza. Among them were leaders of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a group armed and funded by Iran.

Iran has long blurred the lines between its diplomatic missions and its military operations in the Middle East. It selects its ambassadors to Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen — countries that make up the “axis of resistance” — from the commanders of the Quds Forces, the external branch of the Revolutionary Guards Corps, rather than its career diplomats. In 2021, Mohammad Javad Zarif, then Iran’s foreign minister, said in a leaked recording that Iran’s foreign policy in the region is determined by its field military operations and not traditional diplomacy set by the foreign ministry.

If the strike targeted individuals engaged in military operations against Israel, including through a proxy armed group, that would likely mean that the building was a legitimate military target, Shany said.

Israel has been engaged in a yearslong shadow war with Iran that has included multiple assassinations of Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists.

Iran also arms and funds Hezbollah, a Lebanese militia, which has been bombing northern Israel , and that also has a presence in Syria.

International law would still require an attack to be proportional: the expected military gain would have to outweigh the harm to civilians and civilian objects, including buildings. Iran’s ambassador to Syria, Hossein Akbari, told state television that no civilians were killed in the attack on Monday.

Where does this leave Syria?

In this case, Israel used force against two states: Iran, whose embassy compound and generals were targeted, and Syria, the country in which the embassy was located.

“An Israeli airstrike carried out within Syria without its consent would be in contravention of Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter, which prohibits a state from using force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any other state,” said Sari, the professor at Exeter. “Unless Israel were able to justify any airstrike as an act of self-defense, it would be in violation of international law.”

There is debate among legal experts about how and when the law of self-defense can justify attacks on the territory of third countries, Shany said. “ It is a question in international law, to what extent you could actually globalize your campaign and actually take it to the territory of third countries,” he said. “To some extent, the global war on terror raised similar issues. To what extent can you target military assets in third countries?”

Farnaz Fassihi contributed reporting.

Amanda Taub writes the Interpreter , an explanatory column and newsletter about world events. She is based in London. More about Amanda Taub