The Shadow Lines

After reading many novels throughout my life I would place, The Shadow Lines, by Amitav Ghosh, in my top 10 list. The novel is based on the narrator who was English educated but Indian born. The narrator illustrates and shares his views of foreign countries which he has never been to with other characters in the novel. Even though the narrator is English educated his values, ethics, and culture is more Indian than an American. Many of us now notice that when a person migrates from one country to another they not only leave their friends and family behind but many tend to leave their culture and ethics. I still recall when it was April 11th, 1993 when my mom and dad sat my brother and me down on a luxurious three seat couch which we had recently purchased for six-thousand rupees. My brother, who was only twelve and me, at the age of seven, knew they had something important to share with us but had absolutely no clue. As my brother and I were talking amongst each other our parents interpreted us told us that the VISA that my dad had applied for United States has been granted. Many thoughts went thru my head but I knew what my dad was going to say next. My dad then said, “Kids we are all moving to America for your education and my job opportunity.” I had realized that we are crossing a border and will be immigrants in America. At this point I was excited, shocked, and frightened all at the same time. I had no clue what America is or will be like, only imagined the best of it. However, that all changed when we shared our news with our family and friends. As we share the news many of them were excited for us and sharing their view of America. The days came closer and closer for us to move I had began to picture how the America would be like. The stories that were told to be about their culture fascinated me in many ways. As I exited the plane, I had realized I am not only in a new country but in a new world.

Dictionary.com defines border as “the