A Departure from Tradition

In the short story “A Choice of Accommodations,” the burned dress is symbolic of love lost, which departs from the overarching theme of the rest of the stories, in Unaccustomed Earth. In this story, events are explored during the course of couple drifting apart as they approach middle age. Relationships, in this particular case, are also different from the other relationships that are seen in Unaccustomed Earth. For example, Amit, an Indian man takes a more Americanized attitude towards raising a family, and his relationship with his wife Heather. He cares deeply for not only his children’s well being, but also his wife’s. Unlike traditional Indian males in a relationship, Amit truly cares for his wife and even expresses insecurity that he afraid that his wife will leave him. This is in sharp contrast to say the father figure seen in the short story “Hell-Heaven,” who does not care if his wife leaves him, instead saying: “If you are so unhappy, go back to Calcutta” (Lahiri 1151). Amit is extremely attached to his wife and unlike the traditional Indian father, would never ignore the discomfort of his wife.

Amit is also different because he raises the children as a result of Heather being in medical school. This is a radical departure from the wife typically raising the child and the husband working to support the family. When problems arise in the relationship, and the couples starts to drift apart, Amit is lost at how to repair the mend. Having broken away from his traditional Indian culture, of what to do in this situation, to ignore the wife, Amit appears to be adrift from what to do as a father and a husband. He does not live with the security of a well defined identity and thus he does not have a definite way to go about repairing his family.

This insecurity can also be seen in the interactions between the couple. For instance, the symbolism of the burned dress. When they arrived at the hotel, his wife noticed that her dress was burned. The symbolism of the burned dress represents damage, perhaps damage to their relationship, as well as damage to Amit’s relationship with his colleagues and peers. Because of the burn, the couple cares how they will be seen. They care about an exterior life more than the intention emotional aspect of their relationship which seems to have become distant and tense. Ironically, they must stand close so that no one can see the burn, for the sake of appearances. However, Amit chooses to distance himself from his colleagues and friends, by staying in a hotel instead of the dorms, because he is not comfortable with his relationship with his wife. While he is torn by his Indian male perspective where he is the dominant, because the couple is mixed, the tension in the relationship is likely derived because it is a mixed marriage, and Heather is comfortable flirting with other men, which Amit feels goes against Indian culture. Heather’s interactions with other men remind Amit of old times, when they wanted to be so close and as he stands next to her, he sadly is reminded of how it used to feel, being so close to his wife. The reader wonder if there is any future for this couple who live outside of the typical Indian value system while not adopting any new form of control in the relationship, both living lives connected by a rope which seems to be getting in the way of the desires of each.

Fate and Free Will in A Prayer for Owen Meany

     Was Owen Meany destined to die? Was it fate that killed John Wheelwright's mother with the baseball on that fateful day? The psychological aspects of A Prayer for Owen Meany beg a reader to question if he brings on disaster or if there is a bigger picture where fate plays a role in his life. Support for the theory that random circumstances and not fate led to Owen's dramatic outcome can be seen in the various chapters. Fate had to do with neither Owen's death nor the death of Tabitha Wheelwright. What happened to Tabitha Wheelwright was nothing but an accident. The fact that pastor Merrill wished her dead the moment before the ball struck also has nothing to do with the death being the will of God and Owen's fate. Sometimes accidents do happen and regardless of coincidences that link events preceding the accident together, it will always be an accident. On the matter of the death of Owen Meany, if anything, Owen's delusions that it was his fate to die actually resulted in his own death. It is as if Owen was doing everything in his power to get killed, ignoring what he interpreted as the will of God, showing him how he would die, and following the steps that would lead to the death that he saw in his delusions. When Owen saw his name on the Tombstone in The Christmas Carol, he realized that he was destined to join the army as his name was written as 1st Lieutenant. Furthermore, in college, rather than focus on his studies, Owen became fully engulfed in the ROTC. Thus, it seems, Owen took every possible step to make what he viewed as how he was going to die a reality. If Owen had been truly fearful for his life, then perhaps he should not have enlisted in the military and instead remained a civilian citizen. Owen's desire to die sheds a new light on Owen. Perhaps his desire to see about the premature end of his life has something to do with the death of Tabitha Wheelwright, a woman that he loved. Maybe Owen believed that by dying early he would be able to see her again earlier. Perhaps, the pain he felt, knowing that he killed her caused his heart to fill with sorrow, and thus made him want to end his life. Nevertheless, fate had nothing to do with Owen's death; he had all the power over his decisions. He just choose the path that would lead to his untimely demise, regardless of any premonitions he felt about it.  

Maintaining a Cultural Identity

     From a young age, many Indian children are taught that they must work hard and attend a great college in order to bring honor to the family. However, what happens when an Indian superstar does not live up to this standard? In "Only Goodness" in Unaccustomed Earth, Rahul, an Indian boy who is attending Cornell, flunks out and is formally dismissed from the college. Although, his family did not shun him, and they allowed him to live in their home, he became known in the words of Sudha, his sister, as, "... what all parents [fear], a blot, a failure, someone who was not contributing to the grand circle of accomplishments Bengali children were making across the country, as surgeons or attorneys or scientists, or writing articles for the front page of The New York Times" (Lahiri 2277). The root of Rahul's problem might actually have been the extreme pressure that is placed on the kids, at a young age, to succeed. Although, a reliance on alcohol might have been a factor, Rahul failed because he was not able to live up to the harsh standards that were required he maintain. Already, having an older sister in the Ivy League, University of Pennsylvania, Rahul was forced to strive to be the best, even better than his high achieving sister. He was given no educational freedom, having to stay within the strict guidelines of what his culture and his parents demanded of him. Although his first semester grades were good, the second semester was the beginning of Rahul's decline. His grades fell, he dropped Biology and Organic Chemistry, and instead he took up studying Film and English Literature. However, these areas of study were not suitable, Rahul was supposed to become a doctor, not a film critic, and as stated by Sudha: "[Our] father had no patience for failure, for indulgences" (Lahiri 2098). Rahul had let his family down, and once that reality sunk in, he lost all drive and had no vision for the future, a far cry from what his parents dreamed would be his destiny. Thus, the lack of ability to explore intellectual curiosities. combined with the extreme pressure to maintain a cultural identity, resulted in Rahul’s downfall.

Biblical Symbols in Baseball in A Prayer for Owen Meany

A synopsis from the back of the book: In the summer of 1953, two 11-year-old boys--best friends--are playing in a Little League baseball game in New Hampshire. One of the boys hits a foul ball that kills his best friend's mother. Owen Meany believes he didn't hit the ball by accident. He believes he is God's instrument. What happens to Owen after 1953 is extraordinary and terrifying.

Note: This blog post was written after the conclusion of the first chapter of "A Prayer for Owen Meany". Therefore, only knowledge from the first chapter is included.

On the fateful day when Owen Meany struck John Wheelwright's mother on the head with a baseball, the circumstances surrounding her death may not have been entirely an accident, but the will of God. The author, John Irving, uses foreshadowing in the descriptions of the events that occurred on that fateful day to foreshadow Owen being an instrument of God as discussed in the synopsis. In his portrayal of the specifics of the baseball game that ultimately led to the death of Tabitha Wheelwright, John Irving includes the number three multiple times. Owen is the the third batter to hit in the last inning. He also hit the ball on his third swing and directly along the base line of the baseball field. The inclusion specifically of the number three creates a direct parallel to the Bible, as the number three is also of great significance in that text. For instance, the Holy Trinity, the three days it took Jesus to rise, and the three people present to witness the transformation of Jesus. The author’s use of the number three relates directly to the bible, creating a sense of foreshadowing, implying that the events that occurred on the day of John’s mother’s death might not be as accidental as one might imagine, but rather might be the will of God. These similarities would also cement the belief in Owen's mind that he was the hand of God, as Owen was very religious. As stated by John Wheelwright: “I was forced to accept that my best friend’s religious faith was more certain (if not more dogmatic) than anything I heard in either the Congregationalist or the Episcopal Church” (Irving 31). Owen Meany was a person of great faith and a great Biblical scholar, having already read the Bible cover the cover. Thus, he might have noticed the similarities between the words of the Bible and what happened the day of the tragedy and concluded that what happened that day was no accident.

Works Cited

• The Bible Study Site. "Meaning of Numbers in the Bible." Meaning of the Number 3 in the Bible. biblestudy.org, n.d. Web. 06 Aug. 2014.
• Libri GmbH. "A Prayer for Owen Meany a Novel." A Prayer for Owen Meany a Novel. Anne Arundel County Public Library, n.d. Web. 07 Aug. 2014.