If certain books are to be termed 'immigrant fiction,' what do we call the rest? Native fiction? Puritan fiction? This distinction doesn't agree with me.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
I was always aware of what the language I was using meant in terms of my bond with my parents - how it defined the lines of affection between us. When I spoke English, I felt I wasn't completely their child any more but the child of another language.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the complex relationship between language, identity, and familial bonds.
Jhumpa Lahiri expresses how language plays a crucial role in shaping her identity and relationship with her parents. Speaking English made her feel a disconnection from her cultural roots, as if she was becoming part of an external world that diluted her bond with her family, illustrating the profound impact of language on personal identity and relationships.
Themes
LanguageIdentityRelationshipsAffectionCultural Roots
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about bilingualism and cultural identity, this quote can illustrate the emotional complexities involved.
More from Jhumpa Lahiri
All quotes →When I sit down to write, I don't think about writing about an idea or a given message. I just try to write a story which is hard enough.
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When I am experiencing a complex story or novel, the broader planes, and also details, tend to fall away.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
I think each time you start a story or novel or whatever, you are absolutely at the bottom of the ladder all over again. It doesn't matter what you've done before.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
The sky was different, without color, taut and unforgiving. But the water was the most unforgiving thing, nearly black at times, cold enough, I knew, to kill me, violent enough to break me apart. The waves were immense, battering rocky beaches without sand. The farther I went, the more desolate it became, more than any place I'd been, but for this very reason the landscape drew me, claimed me as nothing had in a long time.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
On the technical side, I hope that my writing is evolving and maturing, ripening, deepening.
Jhumpa LahiriRead
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