Objects in the Garden and the Unreachable Woman
The
inorganic objects Akash plants in the family garden in Jhumpa Lahiri’s “Unaccustomed
Earth” illustrate the impossibility for Ruma and her father to reconnect with the
identity of Ruma’s dead mother.
Toward the end of Unaccustomed Earth, Ruma asks her son Akash what he and her father are doing (Lahiri 44). Akash replies that they are planting the toys he is carrying in his arms. When Ruma follows Akash outside, she sees that her father has prepared a plot for Akash’s things. The boy plants a “pink rubber ball, a few pieces of Lego stuck together,” and “a wooden block etched with a star.” Although Akash expects, or at least pretends, that these items will grow, so much so that he later asks Ruma’s father how long it will take for the plants to emerge, all his toys are things that cannot grow no matter how well-cultivated (49). Throughout the story, both Ruma and her father make decisions and take action that evoke certain characteristics of Ruma’s deceased mother. Despite these actions, both characters remain disconnected from the identity of the dead mother. Similar to the things Akash plants, their actions are not able to produce a result.
Ruma’s decision to quit her legal work and become a stay-at-home mother of Akash and her unborn child serves as a way to reconnect with the lost identity of her mother. After her mother’s death, all of Ruma’s legal work becomes “ridiculous to her,” and all she wants to do is “stay home with Akash” (5). The loss of Ruma’s mother rips the central figure of maternity from her life, and she longs to replace it by becoming a stay-at-home mother herself. However, Akash himself stands as a block between Ruma reuniting with the identity of her mother. Whenever Ruma’s mother is mentioned to him, Akash immediately confirms that “she died” (17). He has no awareness of his grandmother except for her absence. Although Ruma tries to resurrect the identity of her mother by being a mother herself, the attempt is rendered futile by Akash’s constant verbal reminder of the dead mother, causing an emotional disconnection for Ruma. Like Akash’s toys in the garden, Ruma’s attempt to connect with her mother remains stagnant. Although Ruma feels closer to her mother “in death than she had in life,” she is still aware that they remain utterly separate (27).
Similarly, Ruma’s father begins traveling after his wife died, which could have served as a way of fulfilling Ruma's mother's dream and creating a way for him to connect with her identity. Instead, it moves him farther from his dead wife. Ruma and her mother were supposed to go to Paris after her mother’s surgery, but her mother’s accidental death leaves Ruma unwilling to go (Lahiri 19). Ruma’s father becomes the traveler instead, but rather than reconnecting with the identity of his wife, he meets and begins to fall in love with Mrs. Bagchi (21, 8). At the end of the story, Akash wants to plant Ruma’s father’s postcard intended for Mrs. Bagchi in the garden (58). Although Ruma initially wants to shred it, she chooses to post the letter, the first of her actions that allow her and her father to move on with their lives and make new connections after her mother’s death (59).
Just as Akash’s inorganic objects are unable to grow into plants, so are Ruma's and her father’s actions unable to connect them to the woman they both lost. Only when they let go of her are they able to move on with their lives.
(Lahiri, Jhumpa. “Unaccustomed Earth.” n.d. PDF file.)
Toward the end of Unaccustomed Earth, Ruma asks her son Akash what he and her father are doing (Lahiri 44). Akash replies that they are planting the toys he is carrying in his arms. When Ruma follows Akash outside, she sees that her father has prepared a plot for Akash’s things. The boy plants a “pink rubber ball, a few pieces of Lego stuck together,” and “a wooden block etched with a star.” Although Akash expects, or at least pretends, that these items will grow, so much so that he later asks Ruma’s father how long it will take for the plants to emerge, all his toys are things that cannot grow no matter how well-cultivated (49). Throughout the story, both Ruma and her father make decisions and take action that evoke certain characteristics of Ruma’s deceased mother. Despite these actions, both characters remain disconnected from the identity of the dead mother. Similar to the things Akash plants, their actions are not able to produce a result.
Ruma’s decision to quit her legal work and become a stay-at-home mother of Akash and her unborn child serves as a way to reconnect with the lost identity of her mother. After her mother’s death, all of Ruma’s legal work becomes “ridiculous to her,” and all she wants to do is “stay home with Akash” (5). The loss of Ruma’s mother rips the central figure of maternity from her life, and she longs to replace it by becoming a stay-at-home mother herself. However, Akash himself stands as a block between Ruma reuniting with the identity of her mother. Whenever Ruma’s mother is mentioned to him, Akash immediately confirms that “she died” (17). He has no awareness of his grandmother except for her absence. Although Ruma tries to resurrect the identity of her mother by being a mother herself, the attempt is rendered futile by Akash’s constant verbal reminder of the dead mother, causing an emotional disconnection for Ruma. Like Akash’s toys in the garden, Ruma’s attempt to connect with her mother remains stagnant. Although Ruma feels closer to her mother “in death than she had in life,” she is still aware that they remain utterly separate (27).
Similarly, Ruma’s father begins traveling after his wife died, which could have served as a way of fulfilling Ruma's mother's dream and creating a way for him to connect with her identity. Instead, it moves him farther from his dead wife. Ruma and her mother were supposed to go to Paris after her mother’s surgery, but her mother’s accidental death leaves Ruma unwilling to go (Lahiri 19). Ruma’s father becomes the traveler instead, but rather than reconnecting with the identity of his wife, he meets and begins to fall in love with Mrs. Bagchi (21, 8). At the end of the story, Akash wants to plant Ruma’s father’s postcard intended for Mrs. Bagchi in the garden (58). Although Ruma initially wants to shred it, she chooses to post the letter, the first of her actions that allow her and her father to move on with their lives and make new connections after her mother’s death (59).
Just as Akash’s inorganic objects are unable to grow into plants, so are Ruma's and her father’s actions unable to connect them to the woman they both lost. Only when they let go of her are they able to move on with their lives.
(Lahiri, Jhumpa. “Unaccustomed Earth.” n.d. PDF file.)
I think you hit on a really interesting idea of the inanimate objects in the garden, which I think could be really interesting to further explore. For example, the actual objects Akash chooses to plant, such as the Legos, are interesting because they include American staples. I think it could also be important to note that that the father has no objection to Akash planting these objects, which may seem surprising, considering how seriously he takes gardening. Perhaps this shows the father’s willingness to assimilate and accept the American culture (which is also reflected in his acceptance of American apparel). Furthermore, I thought it was interesting that while Akash really enjoys gardening with the grandfather, Ruma and her brother do not. The different generations’ varying enjoyment of gardening reflects the generational estrangement that Ruma expresses throughout the story. Akash, who enjoys gardening with his grandfather, fills in the generational gap, serving as the intergenerational connection.
ReplyDeleteGreat analysis! (I've already commented on three other blogs, but I wanted to visit yours too!)
ReplyDeleteI love how you set up your argument with all of the objects that will not grow, and then incorporate the postcard at the end as something that also will not render any growth. When I first read the story, I wanted so badly to believe that the postcard was a chance for a continued, deeper relationship between Ruma and her father! But after class discussion, I am less optimistic about that.
In class, we even discussed how the flowers in the garden that could potentially grow probably won't because neither Ruma or Adam are interested in nurturing them. It is interesting to turn the cliche "garden, life, growth" idea around as an inevitable death, and stagnant place.
The only real potential for growth is that the postcard did get taken out of the garden. Perhaps by taking the postcard out of the garden, Ruma saved that connection from the destruction that the garden seems to represent.
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ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of the items that Akash planted representing the futile attempt that Ruma and her father try to make throughout the story to try and form some sort of connection with Ruma's deceased mother. However I think that when Ruma mails the postcard in the end, it also carries with it a hope that her and her father can become closer together. After her small stint of anger towards her father she does end up mailing it. Mailing it well after she has had the entire time her father was staying at her house to think about how disconnected she really is from her mother.
ReplyDeleteMailing the postcard was the next step to a better relationship with her one remaining parent.
I found your take on the objects planted very interesting. I had not really thought about to the significance of the things Akash had planted. In my reading I focused more on the actual act of gardening and thought the planting was a way for Ruma's father to try to connect with his grandson. Even though he knows Akash's toys will not grow he wants Akash to feel involved and also is hoping to pass on his love of gardening to his young grandson. Ruma's father knows she is not interested in the hobby but because he is so passionate about planting and working in the garden he feels a need to encourage the past time in Akash. For Ruma's father this is both an avenue to connect and also to pass on a piece of himself to his grandson.
ReplyDeleteI must admit that I am impressed at the formalization of your garden interpretation. I never considered that the toy objects that Akash plants in the garden to symbolize the stagnancy or impossibility of connecting Ruma and her father's relationship with her mother. Your emphasis on the garden made my mind wonder greatly on the importance of this garden.
ReplyDeleteI think that it's also important to recognize that gardens and plant life represent fertility and growth. We can also not forget that the essence of planting involves a slight degree of burying. These thoughts made me think that the garden in the story represented "letting go of the past," for Ruma and her father over Ruma's mother's death. There is also some suggestive symbolism behind Ruma's father planting of the hydrangeas, Ruma's mother's favorite flower. After some research,I discovered that hydrangeas symbolize devotion and gratitude. In this line of thinking, the garden continues to support the idea that Ruma's father is grateful for his past relationship with Ruma's mother but is ready to move on as he's plants the flowers. It could also be argued that as garden's symbolize growth and promise, Akash's planting of the postcard symbolizes the upcoming growth in Ruma's father relationship with his new girlfriend.
Interesting idea about the objects in the garden and their meaning although I think it is more difficult to prove that Ruma's father was experiencing the same disconnection as Ruma. Your essay seems to suggest a similarity between Ruma and her father's crisis, but I considered them to be quite different. I do agree, however, the objects planted in the garden--never to grow--evoke a sense of futility. I considered this futility to be related to the relationship between Ruma and her father: something that wouldn't develop in the way Ruma desired. Ultimately, I guess there are probably many correlations to be made with this symbol.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your analysis of the garden and what the objects planted in the garden represent. Although it did not occur to me when I was reading the story, I definitely agree with the fact that all of the inanimate objects used represent the disconnect that Ruma and her father have with Ruma's mother.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that none of the toys that were buried had any relation to Indian culture can also be something that could show even more of a disconnect between them. Ruma's mother seemed to be very traditional in her culture and her beliefs, where Ruma and her father are not. I also do agree that the planting of the postcard also symbolizes the possibility of growth and the possibility of a connection that can be strengthened with time. A connection not only between Ruma and her father, but also the connection both Ruma and her father have with her mother.