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Literary Analysis #2 Argument: In his work analysis, Kellman argues about the difficulties that Indian/East Indian immigrants face in the course of their American lives. Most of the characters in Lahiri's novel were either born in the United States or immigrated at a young age. Kellman argues that through the transition, these characters have lost their Bengali roots. Kellman critiques the thoughts and actions between the main characters and their familes who have retained a strong hold on their Bengali roots and ideals. He depicts the clash of cultures and how Lahiri's charcters struggle to thrive in "Unaccustomed Earth." Evidence: "If her Indians are everywhere, they are at home nowhere"(Kellman). "Lahiri's characters strike their roots in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Washington State, corners of the earth unaccustomed to Bengalis. However, the transplantation does not produce the vigor Hawthorne expects in relocated tubers. Most of the characters in these pensive stories are transplants who never find a soil in which to thrive" (Kellman). "Her characters belong to generation 1.5; children of immigrants, they were either born in the United States or arrived too young to have formed an Indian identity" (Kellman). "Though dragged along on family visits to Calcutta, they lack an appetite for Indian foods, languages, and spouses" (Kellman). "For Lahiri's characters, the tension between Old World and New World identities is often embodied in the generation gap between parents who look back to India for models of behavior and of thought and of children who strive, however futilely, to pass for unhyphenated Americans" (Kellman). "Nevertheless, even those children who manage to attain worldly success are haunted by a sense of loss"(Kellman). "However, the problem for Lahiri's characters is only in part an unbridgeable chasm between cultures. She depicts a world in which to be human is to fail" (Kellman). Thoughts: Kellman present

The Immigrant Generations Argument: In this article the author, Mandira Sen, focuses on the major themes that Lahiri presents in her short stories found in her novel "Unaccustomed Earth." Sen focuses on the Indian immigrants desire to distance themselves from their families and the Bengali traditions. There are several different short stories, and in each, although detailing various lifestyles and events, common themes and ideologies can be found. For example, Sen reveals that all the short stories generally tell of tragic, unhappy, and sometimes depressing actions, contrary to a lot of writers. Lahiri's characters tend to grow distant from their family and in some cases break all ties with them. And in other cases, their American friends, spouses, etc. do not fully understand them because they are living in between two cultures, and it becomes hard to relate to/follow both cultures at the same time. Evidence: "Lahiri depicts uncertainty, betrayal, cruelty-and the looming presence of death in a culture that shies away from it" (Sen). "Does being torn asunder between two worlds, the one left behind, the one sought, heighten a consciousness of loss and death, as the fragments of existence do not quite come together?" (Sen). "Consisting of five short stories and a novella in three parts, Unaccustomed Earth focuses on relationships in which communication is often partial, and what is unsaid is perhaps more important that what is said. This is especially so between the generations; both seek refuge in concealment" (Sen). "The children are embarrassed at being different and are careful almost never to reveal any details of their home life to their American friends" (Sen). "Despite Sang's emotional turmoil, obsession, and isolation, she refuses to ask for help, perhaps because she has not informed her family that she has dropped out of graduate school at Harvard--Asian families would see this as unacceptable 'failure,'" (Sen). "J

Argument: Krakauer does superb research before writing his books, often digging into the past of the people or issues he writes about. This research manifests itself in his writing through an intricate understanding of the subject. Claim: In Under the Banner of Heaven, "proving his capacity for exhaustive research, Krakauer does an impressive job of chronicling the early history of the [Mormon] faith". This research can be seen in other books as well. Evidence: Krakauer chronicles how Joseph Smith went about "receiving a message from an angel named Moroni leading him to a hillside near his home in Palmyra, New York" and he "examines the Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857, wherein Saints disguised as Indians slaughtered 120 of 137 settlers who ventured onto Mormon turf". All this proves Krakauer's research capabilities. PURL: http://go.galegroup.com.lib.chandleraz.gov/ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=LitRC&userGroupName=chandler_main&tabID=T001&searchId=R1&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=5&contentSet=GALE|H1100080168&&docId=GALE|H1100080168&docType=GALE&role=LitRC

In Elaine Ware's criticism of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ware focuses analytical attention to Bromden's character and the idea that he might be experiencing identity crisis. After all, Bromden is torn between the desire to maintain his Indian heritage and the pressure to develop behavior acceptable to the dominant white culture. The insane asylum therefore could be a symbol of this identity crisis and the overwhelming pressure to fit into a specific culture. Kesey sets Bromden's childhood in the 1920s and 30s, a time when the U.S. government was struggling to decide whether Indians should maintain tribal customs or should adopt white culture. As the narrator from the novel, Bromden never reveals his first name which should have been precious to him, as it is in his native culture. His identity crisis is further complicated because he is the son of a white woman. Ware uses sufficient evidence not only from the novel, but outside sources as well. There is historical data connected to many of Ware's claims in addition to textual evidence. This critical analysis provides thorough character analysis that state Bromden's personality traits and the reasons for his actions, such as silence as a technique for survival. Ware's suggestion that Kesey is criticizing white establishment in the American society might very well be true. After all, Kesey was famous for delving into the 1960s hippie culture. This novel presents the downside to the "mixing pot" of the U.S. society because cultures end up swallowed and gone forever.

purpose: Bahareh Bahmanpour wrote her article to identify the struggles of female characters that are caught between Indian culture and the transition into Western culture in Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies. Bahmanpour uses various critical terms such as Self/Other Confrontation, Hybridity, Liminality, Female Subaltern, and Diasporic Identity to classify the roles and transitions of three women's identities, Mrs. Sen, Bibi Heldar, and Miranda, in three separate stories. These terms help solidify Bahmanpour's argument that when confronting a new culture, one undergoes feelings of Diaspora, in which must choose between their culture, called Self, or their new environment's culture, called Other. Evidence: 1."Stories that deal with the suffering, pressure, and possible failure or success in the adaptation-process of these female characters in (re-)constructing their subjectivity, (re-)asserting their agency or negotiating their identities through either silence, resistance, negotiation, acculturation, or assimilation." 2. "Hence, subjects of Diasporas are snared in a process of transformation, and repositioning of new identities-identities which are always in the process of becoming and transition but never complete." 3. "There is no single way of representing the diasporic trauma involved in negotiating female identities either as female immigrant or female natives. Each individual from Mrs.Sen to Miranda has their own means of survival; one resists while the other accepts; one acculturates whereas the other escapes. Female characters of Lahiri's fiction negotiate their new unstable identities through their own different means and their own individual voice." Thoughts: Bahmanpour is logical, focused, coherent, and consistent in her argument; although she uses terms that are at first unknown, she clearly defines them and provides examples of them which recognize how the characters are redefining their identity. While the evidence is understa

Ken Kesey has been the said to use stereotypes in his books. Two of the stereotypes would have to be Disability and Gender which he uses in one flew over the Cuckoo's nest. The author states he does a good job of not making mental disability impressive in its "avoidance" of stereotypes. But then the author goes on to state that Disability and emasculation are linked. Nurse Ratched is also a stereotype as a "direst result of her continual emasculation and her de-feminized domination of all the male patients." They also have a stereo typical anti-hero who is McMurphy. Ken Kesey has also been said to be stereo typical in Last go round with three different characters of different race. One white, one black and one Indian. Masculinity was the biggest stereotype that ken kesey had through out all his novels.

ARGUMENT: Jhumpa Lahiri's central theme in both The Namesake and Interpreter of Maladies is Diaspora, isolation, and search for identity and fulfillment. Jhumpa Lahiri is the "voice from the gaps" because she puts the "in between" identity feeling into a compelling story that many can relate to. SUPPORT: "Both Interpreter of Maladies and The Namesake contain themes of conflict in relationships between couples, families, and friends. Through these relationships she explores ideas of isolation and identity, both personal and cultural. The characters in both works frequently encounter crises of identity, which are tied to their inabilities to reconcile their American identity with their Indian identity. " "She often correlates her characters' cultural isolation with extreme personal isolation, suggesting that the cultural isolation causes the personal." "In their isolation, these characters feel that they are missing something vital to their identities. It is this missing "something" that defines them. It seems that few characters in these stories have any idea of who they are or where they are going in life." THOUGHTS: The authors Gipe, Greco, Spencer and Yang provide key facts about Lahiri's background in India and why she chooses to write novels about Diaspora because she relates to the feeling of being "in between" cultures. The article is concluded well by referring to the ending of The Namesake where Gogol finally realizes that he doesn't have to choose between cultures, his identity is both of them meshed together.