annotated bibliographies for jasmine
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7/23/2019 Annotated Bibliographies for Jasmine
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Singh 1
Meheak Singh
Ms. Gardner
English 10H/ Period 4
20 October 2015
Desire, or Duty?
Evans, Donald G. "Overview of 'Jasmine'."Literature of Developing Nations for Students:
Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Literature of Developing Nations. Ed.
Elizabeth Bellalouna, Michael L. LaBlanc, and Ira Mark Milne. Vol. 1. Detroit:
Gale, 2000.Literature Resource Center
. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
Donald G. Evans expertly uses antithesis to describe the constriction Jasmine, an
immigrant from India, feels from her duties as a wife, and the desires she has:
similarly, he examines the idea of Jasmine accepting her destiny or paving her own
path in life. Following her desire would result in adventure, love, and happiness
which ultimately leads to danger, heartbreak, and sadness. He analyzes Jasmines
mangled thoughts, and the overall theme of free will or predestination
Evans fluidity guides readers through the depths of language, culture and
devotion to unravel the complex knot of choices found inJasmine. He explores each
of these options and their respectively risks, showing how difficult Jasmines
decision must have been to make. His paradoxical literature explores multiple
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contrasting ideas, and it offers mindful insight to disentangle Jasmines boundless
journey.
Lost Identities
Leard, Abha Prakash. "Mukherjee'sJasmine." The Explicator 55.2 (Winter 1997): 114-117. Rpt.
in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter and Deborah A. Schmitt. Vol.
115. Gale, 1999.Literature Resource Center. Web. 1 Nov. 2015.
Abha Leard explores the cultural restrictions and violence the protagonist experiences,
and how multiple identities portrayed inJasmineallowed her to advance from those
beliefs. Jasmines names- Jyoti, Jasmine, Jazzy, Jase, Jane- slowly get more westernized,
and they help to cloak her ethnic differences and survive in a hostile, alien land. These
are also what enabled Jane to break free of the constraints put on by her strict Hindu
upbringing.
With each identity, comes rebirth, and Leards writing clearly shows the effect of these
adapted beliefs and lifestyles. It gives insight on Jasmines emotions as she grew, and
how those evolving identities were the reason she able to adapt. With this knowledge, the
protagonist, each and every one of them, and her choices becomes more understandable.
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Cultural Constraints
Mathur, Suchitra. "Bharati Mukherjee: Overview."Feminist Writers . Ed. Pamela Kester-Shelton.
Detroit: St. James Press, 1996.Literature Resource Center. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.
Suchitra Mathur accurately portrays Mukherjees style of writing as immigrant culture
which more specifically becomes finding the correct balance between old and new
cultures or beliefs. Mukherjee herself was an immigrant from India, and the influences
from her own ordeals in her novels is unmistakeable she understood the daily struggles
of being torn between the American and Hindu lifestyles. The undertone of her own
encounters is evident throughout her writing, accurately describing the hopeful dreams
new immigrants have, and how quickly those dreams can shatter.
Having had these experiences, Mukherjees eyes were opened to the fact that America
was not exactly the magical place she once held it to be making her writing as realistic
as her personal ordeals. This preventedJasmine from portraying America as the land of
possibilities that Mukherjee had falsely envisioned. Mathur even goes as far to say that
the constant violence found in Mukherjees literary works may be symbolic to this
division of culture, representing the emotions that each immigrant regularly battles with.
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The Mind of Mukherjee
Mukherjee, Bharati, and Beverley Byers-Pevitts. "An Interview with Bharati Mukherjee."
Speaking of the Short Story: Interviews with Contemporary Writers. University Press
of Mississippi, 1997. 189-198. Rpt. inShort Story Criticism. Ed. Anja Barnard. Vol.
38. Detroit: Gale, 2000.Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.
Beverley Byers-Pevitts emphasizes Mukherjees subtly placed personal experiences
found in each of her novels. Mukherjee considers each and every one of her novels
to be autobiographical- though each story different from the last- because all of
them are heavily influenced by situations and ideas that are of value to Mukherjee.
Her writing, which often included a sheer wall of metaphor in order to cloak the
true meaning, has evolved from the distant third person to a passionate first person.
These factors make Mukherjees novel,Jasmine , more understandable and realistic.
By tearing down the wall between the reader and herself, Mukherjee allows herself
to put pieces of her own life into each of her fictions, making the novel all the more
realistic. Her shift to first person allows more emotions to run throughout the novel,
emphasizing the characters and situations.
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Cultural Shock
Rajeswari, P., and K. Balamurugan. "Cultural shock: a major issue in Bharati Mukherjee's
novels."Language In IndiaNov. 2014: 259+.Literature Resource Center. Web. 8 Nov.
2015.
This article gives more insight to the restraints and cultural shock each Indian woman still
feels from her religion once she leaves her native land. It outlines the causes and effects
of these restraints while immigrating, and even goes as far to say that woman can not
escape them. Indian women are brought up with strict religions, and once they travel
abroad they must adapt to western nation which causes intense mental and physical
misery.
Rajeswari and Balamurugan carefully study the different types of culture shock each of
Mukherjee's characters go through. Jasmine, the only successful character to adapt in
America, managed to evolve through her many identities. They explain that this
transformation, her newfound identities, and the ability to break from the restraints put on
her from her culture are what allowed her to bloom in the unknown land.
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Womens Challenges
Udas, Sumnima. "Challenges of Being a Woman in India - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News
Network, 12 Jan. 2013. Web. 08 Nov. 2015.
Udas studies the horrifying facts about women in small villages in India, and the
brutalities that they have suffered from their gender. He explains that women are
pressured to abort or kill their daughters, and when they do survive, women are forced
into marriage at an age where they can not even begin to understand what is happening.
Not only that, but they are raped constantly, and receive no rights.
This article helps understands the emotions Jasmine feels more clearly. She was
pressured into marriage early in her teenage years, had little respect from family and
peers, and raped once she arrived to America. It also helps explain her desire for a new
identity, and to leave her religion behind in order to pursue a new life.
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