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Double Identities - Changing Our Behaviors

 

            United States immigrants, especially children and teenagers, always have a wish to fit in with everyone around them. In order to accomplish this, they change their behavior, which ultimately shapes their character and personality. This resulting identity is wholly different from the culture that initially migrated with them. Famous Indian author Jhumpa Lahiri, Vietnamese writer Bich Minh Nguyen, and filmmaker Mira Nair clearly demonstrate the capriciousness of identity among immigrants in America. The contrasting identities in the public sphere of society and the private realm of family is evident in each of these pieces of literature; this theme is significant because it epitomizes the influence that American stereotypes and culture have on foreign migrators. .
             Throughout Jhumpa Lahiri's short story, "When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine", the identity of the main character, Lilia, fluctuates between being an ignorant Indian girl and being a normal American citizen. Whenever she is inside the realm of family, Lilia is portrayed as a little girl struggling to understand her culture, but in her "public life", she is a typical American youngster. For instance, each day during dinner, Lilia, her parents, and Mr. Pirzada, watch the national news as an attempt to keep up with the current controversial events in their homeland. When Lilia watches the news for the first time, she describes "tanks rolling through the dusty streets, and fallen buildings, and forests of unfamiliar trees into which East Pakistani refugees had fled, seeking safety over the Indian border" (Lahiri 3). At the same time, Lilia could also be identified as a common citizen of America; she learns about American history in school and celebrates Halloween. This double identity that Lilia possesses is significant because the fusion of both cultures prohibits her from calling one her own and emphasizes the fact that she can never be like the people around her.


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