Family Conflict in Unaccustomed Earth

The book Unaccustomed Earth is a book primarily about family conflict. Throughout the several short stories the main similarity is they all feature Indian families who have immigrated to the United States or are the children of immigrants. More specifically, it deals with maintaining or breaking Indian traditions depending on generation. Each family also has more personal issues, two characters have dead or dying mothers, one an alcoholic brother, and another a cheating boyfriend. When put together, there is a wide spectrum of both family conflict and support. One of the main purposes of the book is to show the many difficulties an Indian family has when immigrating, but it accomplishes more than that. It also shows some of the issues that any family may find themselves facing, and how different personalities may react to these situations.

The Journey in Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness has two simultaneous journeys. The first is the literal journey up the Congo river, into the center of Africa. The other is the figurative journey that Marlow takes into examining the evil nature of man. On his physical journey, he is delayed by the ship being sunken before he arrives. Once it is repaired, he must fight his way against the current and around treacherous sandbars. At the same time, he is having difficulties on his mental journey. He, almost unwillingly, comes to accept the evil that is present not only in the natives, but the company men he is traveling with. Once he reaches Kurtz and is able to turn around, he encounters significantly less problems navigating the river. Perhaps this is symbolic of him coming to terms with his realization, that at the root of mankind is a heart of darkness.

Setting in Heart of Darkness

The setting is one of the most important elements of Conrad's Heart of Darkness. The book starts with with Marlow telling his story on a boat in the Thames river. The majority of the novel, however, takes place on a different river, the Congo. This creates an interesting parallel between the modern european nation England, and the more primitive land in Central Africa. While at first the two settings seem to have little in common, the similarity is revealed when Marlow tells the story of England's past. He says that England used to be "one of the dark places of the earth," like the Congo is in the novel. England remained that way, however, only until it was conquered by the Romans. This parallel between the two setting can be seen two different ways. It is possible that Conrad is defending and promoting colonialism, with the belief that Europeans will take Africa into a more modern era. However it is also possible that he is criticizing European for the way they see the Africans as beneath them. Perhaps it is meant as a reminder that both they and the African tribes share the same roots in "primitive darkness."

Appearance of Mr. Kurtz

In Heart of Darkness, the reader is told about Mr. Kurtz from the very beginning. He is built up to be a mysterious ivory trader deep within the jungle. He is revered by the company men for his impressive work, but, at the same time, they mistrust him. Despite the strong feelings the company men feel towards this man, none are able to provide details about him, and so he remains a question in the mind of reader until near the end of the novel. When Marlow finally reaches Kurtz' camp, he is met by a young trader who is obsessed with Kurtz. In his mind, Kurtz is a genius who could not speak a wrong word, but the trader also reveals that Kurtz is ill. This is the way the reader is finally introduced to Mr. Kurtz, a frail, underweight, bald, dying man. He looks nothing like the strong conquerer of the jungle that is expected. In the end, his physical appearance and the one the character comes to expect say a lot about the character. He uses words and ideas to build himself up and sway people towards supporting him when, in the end, his motives are "hollow," weak, and malicious.

Inspiration for Unaccustomed Earth

I believe that Jhumpa Lahiri was inspired to write Unaccustomed Earth by her personal experience growing up as an Indian in New England. In all eight of her stories the characters have four traits in common. All of them are Indian, specifically Bengali, all either live in New England or have at some point, all are part of a larger community of Bengalis, and all are plagued by some familial or other relationship difficulty. The first two of these traits are definitely shared by Lahiri, as explained in the "about the author" section. Though it is not directly stated, it is reasonable to assume that Lahiri was a part of a larger community of Indians in Rhode Island. I make this assumption based on the familiar and casual way she places all of her characters, who are in a similar setting as she was, in these groups. It is possible that she takes characters in a familiar setting and culture and uses them to address a universal issue of friction in relationships. At the same time, it is also possible that Lahiri believes this setting is a catalyst for these issues, and this is her inspiration for naming her book from the quote by Hawthorne.