In the short story “When Mr.Pirzada Came to Dine” by Jhumpa Lahiri, 10-year-old Lilia struggles to deal with certain emotions towards different situations that are going on in her life. She develops feelings of compassion towards her evening guest Mr. Pirzada who hasn't heard from his family in over six months. Being in Mr.Pirzada’s presence, She quickly learns that people's company can impact one's life in more ways than one may seem.
A way that the author emphasizes the theme would be through symbolism. An example of this would be a carved sandalwood box that was given to Lilia by her departed grandmother. It is an act of symbolism towards the theme because according to the quote “It was my only memento of my grandmother I had ever known,
