Verified Document

How Shape Of Marriage Depends On Where Home Term Paper

¶ … Shape of Marriage Depends on Where "Home" Is

In the story, the definition and shape of marriage was shown to depend on the sense of what and where "home" is by the characters of Mala and her husband. Both of the characters live in Calcutta, India. Despite of the fact that their marriage was arranged, it was a responsibility in their culture to live as husband and wife. For the couple, marriage is to be shaped by this responsibility and by their togetherness. Thus, when the husband went to America for a job, Mala followed after some time to live with her husband. America was not their home but the sense of being a "home" was there in America, as it was in Calcutta, for the couple. Even though they were in another land, America, their second "home," helped them to establish their marriage as well as their family.

From the couple's story, it can be learned that the success of a marriage does not only depend on how marriage took place, whether it was out of your own choice of partner, or whether it was a pre-arranged marriage as we have seen in Mala and her husband. Success in marriage means going through any obstacles smoothly. This depends on the two persons' responsibility to make a marriage work, and not just on 'love' as many may have perceived.

In the instances within the story, the gender role is constructed based on the cultural heritage of the characters. Like Mala, women in India are supposed to serve their husband and take care of their home and family. The cultural norms in the story, on the other hand, despite of living in another land, depend on the family heritage of the couple. This was apparent on the marriage of the couple that continued and lasted even though they already live in America where divorce is legal.

Bibliography

Lahiri, Jhumpa. The Third and Final Continent.

Dequinix.Com. 17 Nov. 2004.

http://www.dequinix.com/a/continent.php

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Shape and to Create Our Modern World
Words: 1799 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

shape and to create our modern world? The modern world was shaped by a range of events and powerful people. One of the first most influential people was Clovis. Clovis was the founder of the Merovingian dynasty of Frankish kings, and one who defeated the Roman rule in Gaul along with defeating a range of Germanic people, creating the kingdom that is known as France nowadays. Most notably, it was

Comparing and Contrasting Different Models of Marriage
Words: 1701 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Part One: Single female ISO single male. Creative, ambitious, fearless, and passionate professional female seeks a partner with similar values. Ethnicity/race/socioeconomic class is irrelevant. What matters is a dedication to making the world a better place. I do prefer no baggage and no children from a previous relationship. Although we both may have parents with traditional values, they understand that our lives may look different from theirs and they will not

Approaches in Mass Media and Satisfiers in Marriage
Words: 1478 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Logic and Biological Explanations of Human Behavior What are the logic or biological explanations of human behavior? Why do sociologists argue that they are misguided/ Logical explanations of human behavior are common enough. For instance, in the society, it is always believed that it is natural for a woman and a man to fall in love, be married, and start a family. Equally, it is natural for this nuclear family to exist

Monogamy As a Rational Social Practice What
Words: 1778 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

Monogamy as a Rational Social Practice What is monogamy? We as humans have been programmed in a way so as to believe that the morally and socially expectable pattern of marriage remains to be monogamy. But let's first define what we actually mean by monogamy. What this concept really means is to have just one sexual partner at a time or more appropriately, having just one life partner. This may refer to

Cultural Study of Thailand and Hong Kong
Words: 2822 Length: 11 Document Type: Essay

Cultural Study of Thailand and Hong Kong Culture has a major impact over ones personality. The way a person communicates and behave, depends upon its culture. Since, culture controls a person's acts invisibly therefore it is not easier for the person to get over with his developed cultural habits and that's what makes him different from others. (Hall, 1983) Since, it is an age of globalization where people from different cultures need

Personal Narrative: How Past Influences
Words: 2123 Length: 6 Document Type: Essay

Identifying with values in respect has translated into fulfilling relationships with family members, coworkers, classmates, and friends. Respect is a lesson often taught during childhood, since it is a common principle to expect a child to respect their parents, elders, etc. Although I was taught respect at a young age, I learned to practice the value through filling my role in the workforce. I also learned to respect different

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now