Interpreter of Maladies, by Jhumpa Lahiri, provides many excellent topics to write about. Although I will pose a question below, feel free to come up with your own ideas for an essay. My recommendation is that you focus on two or three of the stories instead to trying to write about the entire book.
For your paper, please answer the following question in 3-5 pages (around 1000 to 1500 words):
The characters in Interpreter of Maladies often struggle to understand one another. Even husband and wife can be strangers. As the title suggests, words require translation, and the words people share often contain deep sorrows. The stories also reveal characters who are themselves caught in translation. They are traveling in unfamiliar places or exiled from home or experiencing difficult transitions in life. Lahiri writes of one such character that “the only thing that appeared three-dimensional about [her] was her voice” and that her “mouth is full of ashes” (pp. 60-71). So, words carry meaning and pain even as they allow people to form fragile relationships. Please select two or three stories and explore these themes of interpretation, suffering, and human connection.
Remember the four elements of a strong scholarly essay:
1. A clear and convincing thesis
2. A compelling argument
3. Evidence that supports the thesis and argument
4. Style: the writing is clear, organized, and free of errors
