Celebrating Culinary Culture: Food Rituals in Contemporary American Short Story Writing

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Drama, Anthologies
Cover of the book Celebrating Culinary Culture: Food Rituals in Contemporary American Short Story Writing by Irene Fowlkes, GRIN Verlag
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Irene Fowlkes ISBN: 9783656108078
Publisher: GRIN Verlag Publication: January 24, 2012
Imprint: GRIN Verlag Language: English
Author: Irene Fowlkes
ISBN: 9783656108078
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Publication: January 24, 2012
Imprint: GRIN Verlag
Language: English

Essay from the year 2007 in the subject American Studies - Comparative Literature, grade: B, , language: English, abstract: The short stories in Brooklyn author Jhumpa Lahiri's anthology Interpreter of Maladies all share a plotline revolving around immigration, conforming to a typical theme in the contemporary American short story. In this context, food is used as a means to express the crossing of boundaries, whether they are political, religious or psychological. Rituals, beliefs, customs and morals attached to the preparation, consumption and celebration of meals by characters in the stories depict the negotiation of a hyphenated identity as it pertains to gender, sexuality, family, friendship, war and love. Lahiri's stories tell the reader about the Indian - American experience in particular, but her narratives transcend national concerns, because the food archetype is universal. In her fictional accounts, Lahiri works out her characters' efforts to maintain their Indian tradition while struggling to assimilate to the United States and the ambivalence that is involved in the process. This is achieved by a literal feed into socio-cultural gaps creating a great deal of irony and humor. Lahiri appeals to the reader's senses through the detailed description of taste, smell, visual or texture of food and the atmosphere surrounding it. A vivid idea of a component of the characters' heritage is evoked as a result in the reader, so he / she develops a concrete awareness for certain culturally based idiosyncracies and differences likely to clash with American mores.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Essay from the year 2007 in the subject American Studies - Comparative Literature, grade: B, , language: English, abstract: The short stories in Brooklyn author Jhumpa Lahiri's anthology Interpreter of Maladies all share a plotline revolving around immigration, conforming to a typical theme in the contemporary American short story. In this context, food is used as a means to express the crossing of boundaries, whether they are political, religious or psychological. Rituals, beliefs, customs and morals attached to the preparation, consumption and celebration of meals by characters in the stories depict the negotiation of a hyphenated identity as it pertains to gender, sexuality, family, friendship, war and love. Lahiri's stories tell the reader about the Indian - American experience in particular, but her narratives transcend national concerns, because the food archetype is universal. In her fictional accounts, Lahiri works out her characters' efforts to maintain their Indian tradition while struggling to assimilate to the United States and the ambivalence that is involved in the process. This is achieved by a literal feed into socio-cultural gaps creating a great deal of irony and humor. Lahiri appeals to the reader's senses through the detailed description of taste, smell, visual or texture of food and the atmosphere surrounding it. A vivid idea of a component of the characters' heritage is evoked as a result in the reader, so he / she develops a concrete awareness for certain culturally based idiosyncracies and differences likely to clash with American mores.

More books from GRIN Verlag

Cover of the book Allgemeine Organisation des öffentlichen Unterrichtswesens durch Antoine de Condorcet by Irene Fowlkes
Cover of the book Propädeutische Logik by Irene Fowlkes
Cover of the book Die Bedeutung der WTO für die Liberalisierung des Welthandels: Aufarbeitung einer Kontroverse by Irene Fowlkes
Cover of the book Die Herrschaftsideologie der flavischen Kaiser by Irene Fowlkes
Cover of the book Die grotesk - karnevalesken Körperwelten der Caprichos von Goya by Irene Fowlkes
Cover of the book Lernen per Onlinecommunity by Irene Fowlkes
Cover of the book Die Zielfelderpläne von 1973/1977 - ein curricularer Neuansatz für den RU im Vergleich zu den neuen Bildungsstandards 2004 by Irene Fowlkes
Cover of the book The prevalence of, and motivation for, mass building supplement use among teenage males by Irene Fowlkes
Cover of the book Die Repräsentativitätsheuristik als Ursache für Fehlurteile bei der Personalwahl. Forschungsstand und Möglichkeiten der Reduzierung by Irene Fowlkes
Cover of the book Analyse der Studie von Margrit Stamm 'Dropouts am Gymnasium. Eine empirische Studie zum Phänomen des Schulabbruchs' by Irene Fowlkes
Cover of the book La libertad en Leibniz by Irene Fowlkes
Cover of the book Privatschulen heute - Erziehungsziele und soziale Wirklichkeit by Irene Fowlkes
Cover of the book Cumbia Villera by Irene Fowlkes
Cover of the book Behavioral Finance - verhaltensorientierte Kapitalmarktforschung by Irene Fowlkes
Cover of the book Grundlagen für die Konzeption eines Personalentwicklungssystems in einem KMU unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Nutzbarkeit für die Arbeitszeugniserstellung by Irene Fowlkes
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy