CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL

12TH GRADE SUMMER READING GUIDE

UNACCUSTOMED EARTH Jhumpa Lahiri

Contexts Jhumpa Lahiri was born in London of Bengali parents. At age three, she moved in Rhode Island, where she was raised. Graduating from Barnard College in New York City, she earned advanced degrees at Boston University. Her first book, a collection of short stories titled Interpreter of Maladies, won the Pulitzer Prize in l999. Her second, a novel titled The Namesake (2003) was made into a successful film. In Unaccustomed Earth, published in 2008, she returns to the short story genre but constructs the collection in an experimental form. 1 Where is Bengal? Find out about Bengali history and culture. When you finish Unaccustomed Earth, reflect on the Bengali elements in the stories as well as how the stories transcend many of the characters’ ethnic backgrounds. How does the book illustrate Central’s 12th grade theme of “The Individual and Society”? 2 Look up a review of Interpreter of Maladies and one of The Namesake to gain a sense of Lahiri’s stature as a writer. Cite your sources; you may attach reviews or summarize briefly. Literary Elements

For each of the eight stories, make brief handwritten notes the following items as you are reading: (These are to be turned in as part of Reading Guide).

• Setting or settings (include both place and time) • Point of view (first person or third person) • Main characters: their ages and stages in life • The central conflict • Symbolic details • Specifically Bengali customs

Part One (Five Separate, Unrelated Stories) Please type your responses to the rest of the Reading Guide items. You may single space to save paper, but please double space between individual items. Add page numbers for quotations or key passages. If you research items, you must cite sources. Attach a List of Works Cited or at least copy URL of research source after the relevant item. 1 “Unaccustomed Earth” (3 – 59): Describe the relationships between the father, daughter and grandson. What do they learn from each other? What is the significance of the garden? 2 “Hell-Heaven” (60 – 83): How does Pranab unsettle the balance in the family and later in his own relationships? What disaster is prevented at the end of the story? What is the significance of the kitchen in the opening scenes? 3 “A Choice of Accommodations” (84 – 127): How may boarding school experiences have shaped the main character, Amit? What does his wife, Megan, learn about her husband and perhaps herself at the reunion? What may the burned hole in her dress signify?

4 “Only Goodness” (128 – 173): Notice the local background in the opening scenes. What may

be the significance of the opening University of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia settings? Consider the irony of the story’s title in light of the brother’s alcohol problems and destructive behaviors. What may be the significance of the London setting in the second half of the story? 5 “Nobody’s Business” (174 – 219): Compare and contrast the situation in the story, with Paul trying to understand Sang, with a situation in which you have tried to help a friend involved in a dysfunctional romantic relationship. Discuss how Paul is associated with the house and Sang’s mysterious boyfriend is associated with a car. What does the title indicate about the theme? To whom does the title apply? Part Two: “Hema and Kaushik” The three stories in Part Two are a trio that feature the same characters at different stages in their lives. The effect is more like a short novel than independent stories. Why might Lahiri have chosen this structure? Note especially the shifting points of view and the shifts in time and setting in the three stories. 6 “Once in a Lifetime” (223 – 251): From what point of view is the story narrated? How is the narrator’s age related to the unfolding of the plot? Contrast the party setting of the opening scene to the revelation at the end of the story. Consider how the adults’ actions affect the children’s experience of growing up and achieving identity. 7 “Year’s End” (252 – 293): From what point of view is the story narrated? Observe the significance of food, from the contrast between Chitra’s cooking and that of the narrator’s mother to the scene in Dunkin’ Donuts with his two stepsisters. What is the significance of the Christmas setting? Why does the narrator escape to Canada? 8 “Going Ashore” (294 – 333): What is the significance of Hema’s studying the Etruscans and of Kaushik becoming a photographer? Chart the shifting points of view, back and forth between Hema and Kaushik. Does this technique show that they are intertwined or separated? What are the roles of Julian and Navin? What is the significance of the closing setting in Thailand? What may be the double meaning of the title, one related to Kaushik and his fate and the other Epigraph After reading all eight stories in Lahiri’s collection, evaluate how the epigraph applies to Unaccustomed Earth as a whole. Why might Lahiri have chosen a classic American writer of the

Romantic Period to feature in her epigraph? (Not sure what an epigraph is? Look it up.) In what work of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s does “The Custom-House” appear? All Central Juniors should have read either short stories or a novel by Hawthorne.

Connections 1 After reading Siddhartha, discuss to what degree Herman Hesse’s l922 novel (written in German and translated into English in l951) and Lahiri’s stories are spiritual journeys. 2 After reading Khaled Hosseini’s 2003 novel The Kite Runner, discuss the similarities and differences between Afghan and Bengali immigrant experiences, as portrayed in these works.