A Temporary Matter by Jhumpa Lahiri free essay sample

A Temporary Matter Thesis File Hassam Mairaj ? A Temporary Matter Introduction A Temporary Matter was originally published in the New Yorker in April 1998 and is the first story in Jhumpa Lahiris debut collection, Interpreter of Maladies (1999). The collection won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, a rare achievement for a short-story collection. The story takes place over five days, beginning March 19, at the suburban Boston home of a married couple, Nadia and Ali.During this week, when they must cope with a one-hour power outage each evening, the grief and alienation that the two have suffered since the stillbirth of their child six months earlier builds to a climax. Plot Summary The story opens with Nadia, a thirty-three-year-old wife, arriving home at the end of a workday. Her husband, Ali, is cooking dinner. Nadia reads the newspaper to find a news that the government has announced that load shedding will commence from the current day and lights will be out for one hour six times a day. We will write a custom essay sample on A Temporary Matter by Jhumpa Lahiri or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Six months earlier they went through a hard time when their first child was stillborn and till the present time could not get over that grief. Now, Nadia leaves early each morning for her job in an advertising company. After work, she goes to the gym. She also takes on extra projects for work that she does at home during the evenings and weekends. Ali stays in bed half the day. Because of the tragedy, he leaves his home rarely and works on his writing at home. Ali is a writer who spends most of his time reading novels and cooking dinner.When Ali remarks that they will have to eat dinner in the dark because of the power outage, Nadia suggests lighting candles and goes upstairs to shower before dinner. Ali notes that she has left her bag and sneakers in the kitchen and that since the stillbirth Nadia has treated the house like a hotel. Nadia had stocked their freezer with homemade foods. After the stillbirth, she had stopped cooking, and Ali had used up all the stored food in the past months. Nadia and Ali have been eating dinner separately, she in front of the television set, he in front of the computer. Tonight, they will eat together because of the power outage.Ali lights candles and sets the table . Nadia comes into the lounge and sits down to have dinner as the electricity goes off and the lights go out.. She tells Ali that at family dinners at her grandmothers house, when the electricity went off, they all had to say something—a joke, a poem, an interesting fact, or some other tidbit. Nadia suggests that she and Ali do this, but she further suggests that they each tell the other something they have never revealed before. Nadia begins the game, telling Ali that a girl they knew in college once told her that she liked Ali and she became jealous of her.Ali reveals that on their first date he forgot to tip the waiter, so he returned to the restaurant the next day and left money for him. The next evening, Nadia comes home earlier than usual. They eat together by candlelight again. Then, instead of each going to a different room, they agree on sitting outside on the terrace. Ali knows that they will play the game again. He is afraid of what Nadia might tell him. Nadia tells Ali that she once lied to him, saying that she had to work late when actually she went out with friends. Ali tells her that he cheated on an exam many years earlier.He explains that his father had died a few months before and that he was unprepared for the exam. Many other secrets are disclosed when Nadia takes his hand, and they go inside. The next day, Ali thinks all day about what he will tell Nadia next. Ali is disappointed when the light doesn’t go out at 9 but when Nadia arrives home she says, You can still light the candles if you want. They eat by candlelight, and then Nadia blows out the candles and turns on the lights. When Ali questions this, she tells him that she has something to tell him and wants him to see her face. His heart pounds.She tells him that she now will be moving to her mother’s house and it is nobody’s fault. Ali realizes that this revelation has been her planned ending for the game all along. He decides to tell Nadia something he had vowed to himself that he would never tell her. Nadia does not know that Ali held their baby at the hospital while she slept. Nadia does not even know the babys gender and has said that she is glad that she has no knowledge about the lost child. Ali tells Nadia that the baby was a girl and goes on to describe her appearance in detail, including that the babys hands were closed into fists the way Nadias are when she sleeps.Ali leaves the room and Nadia is shown with a teardrop falling from her eye. Characters Nadia Nadia is a thirty-two-year-old woman who is married to Ali. She is tall and broad-shouldered. She fell in love with Ali during college time and later married him and moved with him to a new house. Nadia works in an advertising agency and sometimes takes on extra work for home. She works out at a gym regularly. Six months before the time of the story, Nadias first child was stillborn. This tragedy has changed her habits and her relationship with her husband.While she was formerly a neat and enthusiastic housekeeper and cook, she has become careless about the house and has stopped cooking. She previously had the habit of being prepared for anything, ranging from last minute guests and daily life surprises. Now she likes spending more time at work and even keeps herself busy in work at home. Nadia’s character transformed immensely after the child incident of which she avoids talking about. She took a pride in her decision of not knowing the sex of the child for it enabled her to seek refuge in a mystery. AliAli is a thirty-five-year-old short story and poem writer who is married to Nadia. He is a tall man with a large build. After the birth and death of the child, he spends most of the time at home, writing to be published. He works in the nursery he and Nadia prepared for their upcoming child so that he has to spend less time with Nadia as she avoids coming to that room of the house because of the memories associated with it. He wakes up early and works mostly in the morning, doesnt leave the house for days at a time, and often spends the afternoons in bed.He has spent the past months preparing dinners for himself and Nadia using the foods she has stored in the freezer. Genres Drama: A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women and corruption put the characters in conflict with themselves, others, society and even natural phenomena. At the centre of a drama is usually a character or characters who are in conflict at a crucial moment in their lives.The conflict between the two people in a marriage at a crucial moment in their lives defines the genre of my film. The drama created by many situations arising as a result of the conflict and human psyche coming into action are the elements of my film. Themes Grief The story takes place six months after the stillbirth of Nadia and Alis first child, and the two are still overwhelmed by grief. Ali has withdrawn from the world and seldom leaves the house. He stays in bed half the day, unable to summon the energy and concentration to make progress on his writing. Nadia, on the other hand, stays away from the house as much as she can. She used to be an attentive housekeeper and enthusiastic cook, but the house seems to remind her of her loss. According to Ali, she treats the house as if it was a hotel and would eat cereal for dinner if he did not cook. The story also reveals that Nadia and Ali no longer go out socially or entertain at home. People who suffer the loss of a loved one often go through a period of not wanting to go on living themselves. They may feel unable to make the effort required to go about daily life. Sadness may drown out all positive emotions. This seems to be true for this couple, and especially of Ali. Alienation Nadia and Alis grief has led them to withdraw from each other. Until the nightly power outages began, they avoided each other. Nadia leaves for work early each morning, returns late, and often brings home extra work to occupy her evenings and weekends. When Nadia is home, Ali retreats to his computer and pretends to work. He has put the computer in the room that was to be the nursery because he knows that Nadia avoids that room. She comes in briefly each morning to tell him goodbye before leaving for work. He resents even this brief interaction, which Nadia initiates only out of a sense of obligation. Nadia and Ali do not attempt to comfort or support each other. Each withdraws from the relationship, and they endure their grief as if they were two strangers living in a boardinghouse. Deception Through the game that Nadia and Ali play of revealing secrets, viewers learn that deception has been a theme in their relationship. They have lied to each other, and the lies have been selfish ones—told not to spare the others feelings but to allow the person telling the lie to escape some discomfort or sacrifice.To avoid having dinner with Alis mother, Nadia lied and said she had to work late. Ali told Nadia that he lost a jacket she had given him, when in reality he gave it to one of his colleagues. As these examples of deception are revealed throughout the story, it is clear that Nadia and Alis emotional estrangement began before the loss of their baby. They have always dealt with difficult situations and unpleasant emotions by lying and keeping secrets. When Nadia breaks the stalemate that their grief has caused by initiating a deceptive game, she is following an established pattern.Throughout the week of power outages, Nadia appears to be reaching out to Ali. In truth, she is engineering her final separation from him. Treatment Use of dozens of everyday details to create a realistic context in which the story takes place. The realistic setting of the story and the characters in conflict, that is subtle supported by normal everyday dialogues revealing situations. Use of chiaroscuro lighting technique with high contrasts and deep shadows. Long takes and minimal close-up cutting supported by unjustified moves by the characters showing the discomfort of the characters and their incompatibility with each other.The whole story takes place at a single location which is a house, but scenes will be shot in different places of the house such as the lounge, terrace, bedroom and kitchen. Moonlight in the terrace, candle and indoor light in the lounge, kitchen and bedroom will be used. Tempo as suggested by the plot summary doesn’t show much variation apart from the climax situation, but has a smooth tempo which is gradually rises over the time span, not showing many ups and downs. Approach Feminism The story tells us about an interaction between active woman and a passive man.The world created is one in which woman are in charge. Woman act, man react. This state of affairs is a reversal of traditional gender roles in Pakistan. Freedom from tradition leaves Nadia and Ali to work out the terms of their relationship on their own. Individual personalities, free of cultural restrictions, shape their relationship and their lives. And in this marriage, that fact puts Nadia in the drivers seat. Although Nadia has been changed by the loss of her child, she has found the strength and determination to restart her life.She goes to her job, and she even works out at a gym. She still has the will to plan ahead and to take the initiative; she simply channels her energy in new directions. She initiates a game designed to gradually open a channel of communication between Ali and herself that is wide enough to accommodate the message she has to deliver. Her response to trying circumstances is to set about changing them. Ali, on the other hand, is a passive victim of those same circumstances. He stays in bed late and does not leave the house often for days.He rarely initiates interaction with Nadia; instead, he reacts to her action. When she leaves her gym shoes and satchel in the kitchen, he moves them out of his way without saying anything to her. When Nadia suggests that they eat by candlelight, he searches out candles and lights them. When Nadia starts the game of revealing secrets, it becomes the focus of his days. He spends hours thinking about what she might say to him and what he should say to her that evening. While Nadia is out interacting with the world and creating a foundation for her future, Ali languishes.He is engaged with neither the present nor the future. In fact, he is paralyzed. These incidents and others set the stage for Nadias manipulation of Ali during the week of the power outages. Readers know that Nadia is leading and Ali is following long before it is clear where they are going. Ali, however, does not even realize that Nadia is leading him until the game has played out. What lies at the heart of this story is neither a conflict between cultures nor a power struggle between the genders. The two sides are not evenly matched enough to make for a struggle.Although Ali hurts Nadia in the end by revealing a devastating secret, he is like a wounded animal whose lashing out is impulsive and, ultimately, ineffectual. Given what has transpired between Nadia and Ali, viewers have no doubt that she will recover from the blow and make a life for herself. Alis fate is much more uncertain. Realism The use of realistic elements to create an unusual situation in a realistic marriage affair. It examines how a tragic loss can lead to indifference and a breakdown in communication between two people who once loved each other.The use of irony in various forms makes the transition even more emotional, for it underscores an element of suspense as it brings about the storys denouement. Ever since the loss of their child, Nadia and Ali have lived separate lives under the same roof. Within the span of only a few months, they have constructed for themselves a routine structured on the avoidance of each other and the horrible truth that has changed their married life forever. In an effort to delay her homecoming and an inevitable confrontation with her husband, Nadia spends long hours at work.Ali, on the other hand, remains at home working on his writing. Both husband and wife are depressed, and neither is willing to acknowledge that their marriage has lost something vital, something more than just romance. The load shedding gives the couple a chance to interact with each other once more and break this communication gap they have been living with for months. In the darkness, the couple is once more able to talk to each other. Synopsis Scene 1 (night) Introduction of the two characters. Nadia enters the house and greets Ali sitting in the lounge working on some literary project.The indifference is established among the couple through their body language and manner of greeting. Nadia, after reading the notice of load shedding, leaves the lounge and goes to her to freshen up, while Ali goes to the kitchen to heat up food where he finds some birthday candles which he takes out so they can be used when the light is out. Scene 2 (night) Nadia comes back and they both have dinner between which the light goes out and they dine in dark with the fast melting candles on the table. Nadia proposes a game they should play telling each other something they never old before. Nadia initiates and tells him about the girl she used to be jealous of in college because she had a crush on Ali. Ali reveals a secret about their first meeting and the conversation carries on until the light is back. Scene 3 (morning) Ali is working in the nursery which they both had set for their upcoming child who unfortunately was stillborn. Ali chose this room knowing well that Nadia avoids coming into that room. Nadia enters the room and informs him that she is leaving for work. Nadia exits followed by Ali turning around to see a wall in the room which they both over its color and goes into a flash back to a conversation in which they mutually decided that they won’t inquire about the sex of their child before the birth. Scene 4 (night) Nadia is home early and they eat together. After the light goes out, they decide to sit in the terrace. Nadia continues the game they had started the day before and this time the things told become more intense ranging from presents disliked, poems written for hated, lies told and truth hidden. The night ends with Ali holding Nadia’s hand.The darkness seemed to make the couple talk to each other once again and remove that communication gap they have been living with. Scene 5 (night) The next night after dinner both Nadia and Ali look forward to the lights being out so that once again they can share what else they had to with each other. To their surprise the light doesn’t go out that night to which Nadia suggests to Ali that he can always switch off the lights and light the candle. Ali after doing so sits down in front of Nadia in the lounge which is followed by a silence of some seconds. Nadia gets up and switch on the lights after blowing out the candles.Ali questions Nadia’s action to which she responds that she wants him Ali to see her face when she tells him what she is about to. Ali waits anxiously to what Nadia has to tell. To his surprise Nadia informs him about her long thought out plan that she is leaving him and this house and starts to move away from the room. Ali, shocked, reveals to het the secrets, a hidden truth about the sex of their stillborn child, which he had promised himself that he will never tell her and of which Nadia doesn’t know anything. Nadia struck hard with this secret, stops while Ali gets up and moves out of the room.