"A Wife's Story" and "American Dreamers" by Bharati Mukherjee

For Monday's class, we were assigned to read two pieces of literature written by Bharti Mukherjee, "A Wife's Story and "American Dreamer." "A Wife's Story" is the story of American stereotypes toward foreigners. The story begins in a theater, during a scene in which the are talking about the "Patel" family, which is preconceived to be an Indian family. As she arrives home from the theater, after walking with her friend, Imre, she has a talk with her roommate about her husband, who then interrupts when he calls from India. We learn that he lives in India, as he speaks of visiting her for a "honeymoon," because he misses her very much. I thought that it was very strange that the husband and wife live apart, but non-traditional marriages are being seen more frequently in today's society. Ultimately, he comes to visit and they do many things together such as shopping and take tours of the city. She speaks with him about the differences between America and India, and that they have much more privacy and ability to do the things that they like in America. She becomes blatantly honest with him as she says that she does not love him because their marriage was an arranged marriage, which is one huge cultural difference between America and India. During their time in the city, the husband says to his wife, "Quick, take a picture of me! Before the Twin Towers Disappear." I though that this was particularly strange, because this was written before the Twin Towers fell in 2001. Upon his departure from America, her husband asks her to return with him to India because he is concerned about all of the freedoms she has in America, and what it is doing to their marriage. She refuses, and stays in America.

The next piece of literature, "American Dreamers," is about written about Bharati Mukherjee, the author of the story, who moved from Indiana to Iowa to study writing for two years. Upon her supposed moving back to India to return to her husband of an arranged marriage, she instead marries a man who she meets in her classes. She speaks of her social status and life growing up in India, which is very defined by the family's last name, heritage, and location that they live in, very unlike America. Throughout the story, she compares and contrasts the three countries that she has lived in - India, Canada, and America. She uses the struggle for individualism in India for her reasoning as why she wants to become an American citizen. She speaks of Canada as a hard place to live because of their inability to accept people from other cultures. She speaks of her love for "America," and values her citizenship greatly. She says that although America is better than India, she still thinks of improvements that can be made by immigrants and natural born citizens alike.

Both of these stories of an Indian-American lifestyle are very true, from what I have heard and experienced. Many of my professors have been of Indian descent, and speak of the cultural differences between America and India. One very distinct difference is the Indian's hard work ethic in everything, but especially in school. They are very hard workers, unlike many Americans who think that they can get by with doing the bare minimum, and their hard work pays off with them excelling in many areas. Going back to the idea of "stereotypes," many Americans think of Indian-Americans for being "nerds," for studying hard and excelling in school. However, they will have the last laugh when their hard work pays off.

"Glengarry Glen Ross" by David Mamet (Pg. 78-108)

In this part of the play, James Lingk arrives at the real estate office to talk to Richard Roma. The office has just been “robbed” by Dave Moss and George Aaronow. Moss had an idea that they would stage a robbery the night before and took all of the Glengarry leads and sold them to another real estate office. Lingk is a timid and frail man that has been forced by his wife to break off the deal with Roma in order to get their money back. In this particular scene, Lingk is trying to tell Roma that the deal is off and at the same time, Shelly Levene remembers that he has a plane to catch at 1 and he needs Roma to take him. The police are also at the office, investigating the “robbery” from the night before. All this is going on and Roma is having trouble concentrating on his client, Lingk. Lingk keeps trying to tell Roma that he needs his money back because his wife changed her mind and if they don’t get their money back he has to call an attorney. Roma is very persistent and won’t let him back out. He keeps telling Lingk that they will meet on Monday when he has more time and can sit down with him to talk more in depth. He also insists that it would be a mistake to make a quick and irrational decision. Lingk keeps insisting that they only have three days to back out before the check is cashed. They continue arguing as John Williamson comes out and tells James Lingk that their check has already been cashed. Lingk is furious, and leaves hurriedly. Levene and Roma then flip out and yell at Williamson for being a “shithead”. Williamson and Levene are talking and Williamson then realizes that Levene is the thief because he is the only one that could have known about the contracts on Williamson’s desk. Williamson threatens to tell the detective who the real thief is but Levene repeatedly begs him not to do so. He promises to make him his partner and give him 50% of all his sales. Eventually, Williamson tells the detective what really happened and Levene is dramatically arrested. I thought that this section of the play was interesting and also very close to the true life of a salesman; especially when Roma is preying on Lingk’s weak personality and is desperate not to lose the sale.

The Same River Twice, Pg. 54-109

Throughout this novel, we see the contrast between Chris as a young child and an adult. This section of the novel begins with Chris and Rita thinking that their child may have some sort of birth defect, so and they go to the doctor to inquire about this. After amniotic testing, the doctor concludes that the baby is healthy. To counteract his apprehensions about being a father, he and Rita babysat a one-year-old for "practice," and Chris reflects upon that time. He also speaks of a maple tree that he used to retreat to so that he could write. The novel then transitions to Chris as a young boy, and he speaks of his turbulent past with his father, and the decision that he made to move out of Kentucky. The author makes use of a literary device, a simile, when Chris says that he "makes his way down south for the winter, like a migrating bird." I think it is important to notice that he compares himself to a bird, which exhibits freedom in flight, which I think that Chris yearned for. Chris, then, speaks of the different places that he lived in such as Texas, Nebraska, and Colorado, working handy-man jobs. He never stayed in any one place too long and moved frequently, much like a bird. Next, Chris speaks of his rough adventures in the desert. Along the way, he meets  Al, an overly religious man, and "Winner," who was strange and talked nonsense to Chris. He then arrives in California, spending time on the beaches and in Los Angeles. After an encounter with a patron calling his artwork "trash," he decides to give up on his dream of being an artist and to pursue a career as a play write. Chris takes a break from writing, and some time later the story picks up in Alabama with Chris working in the circus. He has some interesting encounters while in the circus, such as a lady with tattoos of parrots all over her body, men talking about the gorilla's genitalia, and Chris having to dress up as a walrus for a certain act. As usual, Chris tires of this easily and moves to the north. Just as a bird does, Chris moves from place to place frequently as he tires of the same old routine. I think this shows a lot about Chris' personality, as he is not one to be "grounded," but rather his imagination takes flight just as a bird would. Chris reminds me of Tom Petty's song "Free Fallin'," in which the lyrics are "I wanna free fall out into nothin', gonna leave this world for a while." Chris is unlike most people of the world who get caught up in the everyday hustle and bustle, but by being his own person and doing his own "thing," by being a roamer and being so free-willed.

The Same River Twice

The beginning of Ted Mooney's novel, "The Same River Twice," begins with a very detailed prologue, explaining the scenery of the character's surroundings. As the novel begins, we are further made aware that the main character, Chris is in Iowa. A quote that really stands out to me is when Chris says "I am as alien here as in a city/" He is comparing his loneliness and the strangeness of his surroundings, as someone lost in a huge city. As the novel begins, we are told a lot about Chris and his personality. For example, he tells us that he left home at nineteen, which means that he is probably independent and able to take care of himself. We also learn that he proposed to his now wife, Rita, which shows his ability to persevere. As they progress on in their marriage, we learn that Chris and Rita differ in their thoughts on having children. Chris even mentions the thought of divorcing her because of the difference, when he says "If I genuinely loved her, I'd have to leave her. Worse, I had to leave her soon." This shows his compassion for his wife, that he is willing to leave her so that she can fulfill her dreams to have a child. Alas, Rita becomes pregnant which raises doubts in Chris' mind about his abilities to raise a child, and even questions if the child is his or not. Next, we are told about Chris' urge to be an actor, and while pursuing his dream, he encounters several interesting characters. For example, he is seduced by a transvestite who is pretending to be a woman. Next, he meets a woman named Jahi, who mentors him and becomes a friend to Chris. Chris says that "New York appeared to be a voluntary asylum where all the cranks and sociopaths escaped from their small towns." This quote kind of explains Chris' situation, as he too left his small town to live among the large, bustling city and try to make it on his own. The end of this portion of the novel ends with a very important metaphor. Chris says that "the twining sounds of heartbeat reminded me of the night of the storm. The baby is rain. Rita is the steady gush of river. I am alone in the dark on the bank." This quote that Chris is still not too fond of being a father, or maybe he is just not too sure of his abilities and is still doubting himself. Either way, Chris is a well-rounded man, full of unique and admirable qualities.