The Theme of ‘Reinventing America’ in Jhumpa Lahiri’s “Unaccustomed Earth”

Abstract

Identity is a common theme in fiction, but it takes on a special charge in the stories in Unaccustomed Earth, because, in each story, a character or family is caught between cultures, and often between generations. The result is an active and ongoing questioning as to whom each person is. What is more, a change in one person, or even in one person's understanding of another, changes the other characters here. This can be seen in Unaccustomed Earth. The eight stories in Unaccustomed Earth fall into two groups. The first five share only themes; the characters and settings are self-sufficient of one another. The last three can be read independently, but work well as they are designed: as a triptych telling the story of Hema and Kaushik. The first story focuses on their meeting as children; the second follows Kaushik when his father remarries; the third focuses on their gathering as adults.