An essay about Unaccustomed Earth, by Jhumpa Lahari.
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Location plays a vital role in the way culture expresses itself. Many people have different ways of holding on to their culture in different environments. A few examples of how people retain their culture after locational changes can be found in Unaccustomed Earth, by Jhumpa Lahari. In the fantastic book we see the plight of a family to fit into a new society, while trying to hold on to pieces of their old culture.
In Unaccustomed Earth, the first short story in Unaccustomed Earth, we observe Ruma and her family. Ruma is an Indian-American, who fell in love with and married an American man named Adam. Together they had one child, Akash, and settled down together in a waterside house in Chicago. Adam is a typical American businessman, who is almost constantly on the road. After the sudden death of her mother, Ruma’s father (who is solely referred to as Dadu [the Bengali term for father] in the book) decides to take a break from his busy travel schedule to spend a week with Ruma. In Bengali culture, it is a time honored tradition for the child of a recently widowed husband to invite him to move in with them. Ruma and Adam are at an impasse whether to follow this tradition. On the one hand, they are living a fairly “Americanized” way of life; Akash is in an American pre-school, they have American friends, and enjoy American culture. On the other side of the spectrum, there is Ruma’s father, who keeps deep ties with his Bengali culture; he eats mostly Indian Cuisine, speaks Bengali quite frequently, and finds much joy in Bengali culture. If Ruma were to invite her father to live with her, she would have to sacrifice much of her American traditions. If she were to not invite him, she fears that he would be angry at her for not following traditions. Adam departs for a business trip shortly before Dadu arrives, leaving the decision exclusively up to Ruma. When he first arrives, Ruma expects not to invite him to live with them. After the week is almost over, Ruma is amazed by her change in opinion. Dadu and Akash build an incredible bond, mostly through gardening, and Akash is very upset that Dadu has to leave after the week. The more important bond that forms is between Ruma, and her Bengali culture. She forms a great appreciation for what her mom did to please her father’s desire for a Bengali lifestyle. She has
