For
some reason, the section in which Ruma's father is talking about his former
addiction to smoking, and how Ruma kept his small, brass nagrai slipper ashtray
afterwards to play with despite the fact that she was vehemently opposed to his
smoking (21), stuck out to me.
I've
been trying to figure out what it is about the ashtray that was so important to
Ruma as a child. It's mentioned several times in the story, from both her
perspective and her father's, that she wasn't really close to him growing up.
Maybe the fact that she kept something that she viewed as so loved by her
father was out of jealousy, because she wanted to be taken notice of as much as
he gave attention to the ashtray.
It
could also be seen as a sort of trophy of Ruma's, that she won out over her
father's smoking addiction despite the fact that, "He had done nothing,
back then, to comfort her; he'd maintained his addiction in spite of his
daughter's fear" (21). Maybe she wanted to keep the ashtray as a reminder
of the fact that even though he doesn't seem to care sometimes, he does think
of her.
There's
a mention that she plays with the slipper by pretending it's Cinderella's, but
that it never fits over her dolls' plastic feet. I've been trying to think of
what this symbolism means, but I feel like what I came up with might be a
stretch. The ashtray is in the shape of a nagrai slipper, which is Indian, and
could represent India in this instance. Cinderella is an Americanized fairy
tale. Perhaps this is symbolic of Ruma's attempt as a child to integrate her
Indian heritage with the American life she finds herself surrounded by, trying
to force one onto the other, much like Cinderella's slipper itself. Her mother
especially tried to force values of India on her daughter, which apparently
don't stick or work out [such as when her mother tried and failed to teach her
to read and write in Bengali (59)], which can be seen as another view of
Cinderella's story. Despite her mother's best efforts, Indian traditions and
values don't fit Ruma; she can't be her parents' Cinderella.
Another
way to look at it could be that Ruma wants to be Cinderella herself. Despite
her independence and American lifestyle, she wants to fulfill certain parts of her
parents' wishes and expectations, as can be seen by the fact that she never
tries to argue with her father in order to keep their "already frail
bond" intact (37). She comments throughout the story on what her mother
and father would want or think of her, both now and in the past, and how she
feels she's either failed or succeeded in their expectations. At points, it's
clear she wants to please them, at other times, more ambiguous. But if we think
of her as holding herself to their standards, it becomes easier to see why she
might want to be able to wear the metaphorical slipper in order to please them.
I
tried to see if there was any special significance to nagrai slippers in India,
or any instance when they're especially worn, but I couldn't find anything. So
I think I've settled on the ashtray being a symbol of her trying to reconcile
her Indian heritage with her American lifestyle.
I don't think your idea is a stretch at all! "Trying to fit one culture onto another" is such a great way of interpreting that section. I too stopped and wondered at the slipper ashtray while I read. Here is what I think:
ReplyDeleteBecause smoking doesn't have the same stigma in other parts of the world as it does in America, I think the smoking can easily be likened to a cultural practice that Ruma's father retained from India. He even admits that it was "a habit he acquired in India" (20). The fact that Ruma, as a child tried to make her father abandon this cultural practice could foreshadow that she will abandon even more of these Indian traditions later in life.
The fact that she retains the slipper could be symbolic of what little she has retained from her Bengali heritage--3 saris out of 218, a broken language, and lazy traditional cooking (17, 12, 22).
However, unlike these other things which have been retained, but are used only on rare occasions, Ruma tried to use the slipper ashtray in new ways. This too, could foreshadow future events where Ruma tries to implement her culture in new ways. Like you said, it is impossible for American and Bengali culture to exist together perfectly, but there might be a way to still honor the Indian traditions in America, just as Ruma's father honored his traditional Indian wife before moving on to his Americanized girlfriend (59).
I love your interpretation and the points that you made about the brass shoe ashtray. In the story it was very evident that Ruma was jealous of her own son for having a relationship with her father that she did not get to have of her own. The brass shoe could have very well been forshadowing that jealousy. She was very addamnet about wanting her father to quite smoking and maybe saving the ashtray was symbolic of a relationship that she did not have with him yet but wanted.
ReplyDeleteI do however believe that your comparison to the story of Cinderella is a bit far fetched. The story of Cinderella is actually an old Eureopean folk-lore and not the Americanized Disney version that you may believe that the author is trying compare Ruma’s feeling to.
I think you are on to something with the slipper and Cinderella connection. Specifically the part where she is trying to put the Bengali slipper onto an American made dolls foot. The two objects were made in very different parts of the world will not fit together, despite how hard she tries. I think this specific moment in the text is a metaphor for just how truly hard it is to have and keep two cultural identities. Ruma has to realize that she can keep her Bengali traditions (or the slipper) and be American too(the dolls), but that doesn't mean the two cultures are going to match up perfectly or that it will be easier for her to do this, it takes some effort.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Ruma wanting to be Cinderella herself, I'm not so convinced. She may see aspects of Cinderellas unfortunate circumstances in her own living situation, but I'm not convinced she thinks of herself a slave that needs a prince to save her. As where Cinderella had a negative step family to deal with, Ruma has only her real family.
When I first read Unaccustomed Earth, I didn't even think to take the ashtray into consideration. I love how you brought that idea and gave it a purpose in the story. I agree with your interpretation of the ashtray. Perhaps she felt that the ashtray was what kept them apart. Maybe his smoking was what gained all of his attention, like you mentioned earlier. Her struggle to keep her traditional life and her American life are pertinent throughout the story and your view on the ashtray just furthers that idea.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of Cinderella is very unique and I appreciate your idea to come up with that point. Although it is a great idea, I would never have come up with that thought. The story of Cinderella makes me think of evil step sisters, neither of which Ruma had. She is most definitely not a slave to her house or son, she just seems lonely. The slipper connection that you made was very clever and I wish we could have discussed that in class because the discussion would have boomed.
Wow, I really enjoyed your analysis. I agree with Samuel; your reading of Ruma and the Cinderella aspect of the slipper is not at all a stretch, but rather a very compelling argument.
ReplyDeleteI also liked the part of your analysis where you mention that Ruma may have kept the ashtray out of a desire to gain as much attention from her father as "he gave attention to the ashtray," or that maybe she kept it as a reminder that he cares about her enough to quit smoking. I think that that's an accurate reading of the behavior of some individuals. People can graft desires and strong emotions onto objects until those objects bear the identity of those abstract ideas. I think there might also be the Cinderella identity tied into this, too. The slipper represents Ruma's struggles not only as a female Indian child in America, trying to gain her father's affection while also trying to reconcile her Indian heritage with her new American life.
Let me start off by saying I really enjoyed reading your blog. You should definitely be more confident in your evaluation of the ashtray, however. I never paid much attention to the ashtray or the Cinderella reference, aside from a mild curiosity, but your post really got me thinking about it. As far as the ashtray, I think the reason Ruma kept it was as a way to be closer to her father. It was such a big part of his life, and something that he valued greatly. By keeping the ashtray, Ruma was keeping a part of her father. Considering that Ruma and her father didn’t have the best relationship, she probably felt that the ashtray was one of her only real connections to him.
ReplyDeleteThe ashtray as a representation of India isn’t a stretch at all; in fact, it makes perfect sense. Everything we talk about in class seems to come back to assimilation and a character’s inability to hold onto two different cultures. Ruma desperately wants to hold onto her American family, but she doesn’t want to lose her parents either. In Cinderella, the glass slipper represents the royal lifestyle. All of the women that try the slipper on want to become a princess because they think their lives will be better. Similarly, Ruma wants to retain her Indian heritage; she wants to be closer to her past. The problem is, Ruma was raised in America and has inherited many American values. The India shoe (ashtray) doesn’t fit because she doesn’t fully relate to that culture.
I really liked your analysis of the story. I especially liked the comment about the slipper. The concept of the slipper not fitting on the doll being compared to how Indian and American cultures contrasting with each other is very interesting, and not at all being a stretch. I completely agree with that concept.
ReplyDeleteShe attempts to teach her son Akash Indian culture through teaching him the Bengali language, but lacks the discipline to go through with the teaching can be seen as an example of this. Although she tries to fit both cultures into her son, she is not able to. The slipper does not fit, even though she tries her very best to make it.