Jhumpa Lahiri Unaccustomed Earth Quotes

Life is a balance of control and immoderation. When someone has too much or little of either, their relationships are directly affected. This is because there are certain things in life that are uncontrollable such as death, origins, and the past. Attempting to control these things only results in distance and isolation. In the book Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri, the main characters Hema and Kaushik share a fear of losing control over their lives. They met as children, went their separate ways, and decades later managed to cross paths again. As shown in Hema and Kaushik, fear of losing control over one's life causes them to resist emotional connections. Lahiri suggests that this is because once a person accepts their fears, they can move
In the short story Once in a Lifetime, Hema demonstrates a fear of the way people see her: “I sat down, embarrassed that you had seen me asleep on the sofa. Though you had all just flown halfway across the world, it was I who felt weary, despite my nap.” (pg. 232). In this quote, Hema was taking a nap on her couch when Kaushik’s family first arrived. They had not seen each other for years, and she felt insecure about herself within the first moment of seeing Kaushik’s family again. Hema fears that she is not good enough, especially to Kaushik. At this point in the book, she is not yet sure of who she is. Hema does not want to be lonely, and therefore tries to adjust herself to fit what others want. Again, in Once in a Lifetime, Kaushik displays a fear of losing his mother, not only physically, but in spirit: “They belonged to people named Simonds, a family of six. “They’re all here together,” you said. “Mother, father, four children.” “I never knew this was here.” “I doubt anyone does. It
In Year’s End, Kaushik’s fear and pain from his mother’s death prevents him from connecting to his new stepfamily: “Kaushik, what about a picture?” my father suggested. I shook my head. I had left my camera, my father’s old Yashica, at school. “But you always have it with you.” That look of irritated disappointment, the one that had appeared the day my mother died and was missing now that he’d married Chitra, passed briefly across my father’s face. “I forgot it,” I said. It was true, I did always have the camera with me. Even on quiet weekends when I came home and my father and I saw no one I would bring it, taking it with me on walks. This time I had left it behind, knowing that I would not want to document anything." (pg. 280). In this quote, Kaushik is visiting his father and stepfamily from the university he is attending in Pennsylvania. He didn’t consider bringing his camera because his camera is a tool he uses to connect with people. He has no desire to connect with his stepfamily because he as long as he is fixated on his mother and her death, he is unable to move on a form new relationships. Additionally in Going Ashore, Hema shows her fear of loneliness and disapproval shows once again: “In the morning, looking into the small mirror over the sink in Kaushik’s bathroom, she saw that the area around her lips, at the sides of her mouth, was covered with small red bumps. And she was pleased by that