Food and Prayer and Assimilation
By Becca Neril
I was really intrigued with Lahiri’s use of food and prayer in her short story. We first read about Lilia sucking on a piece of white chocolate before bed, while “pray[ing] that Mr. Pirzada’s family was safe and sound” (32). Ten pages later, we read how Lilia would “eat, for the sake of Mr. Pirzada’s family, a piece of candy [she] had saved from Halloween” (42). So, I wanted to point out what I think is a statement about assimilation.
While Lahiri does not detail the style of prayer, the reader assumes that Lilia’s prayer does not follow the traditional Hindu form. From the brief research I conducted while writing this post, I do not believe that there are any central Hindu prayers that involve food. Therefore, because both scenes directly involve food, one can assume that Lilia’s prayer deviates from the traditional Hindu prayer. This is especially true in the second scene when she prays while eating her Halloween candy. Because of this analysis, I think that the author is making a statement about assimilation. Lilia prays, but her prayer is, in essence, ‘Americanized.’ What, then, is the author saying about how/if her prayer will be received? Is her Americanized prayer as legitimate as one that her parents would likely say? These are all questions that I thought of, but don’t really have an answer for. Maybe you do!
*Note-I am pretty sure that Lilia’s family is Hindu, but please correct me if I am wrong.
2 comments:
I agree; I felt that the author was making this use of prayer into a way that the author assimilated into the main stream culture. These scenes, where she eats the chocolate and lets it melt in her mouth as she was praying reminded me of a communion scene. It seems that the author moved away from her Indian/Hindu roots to pray as many American Catholics, or a move towards the main stream christianity/christian way to pray. Does that mean that the narrator's prayers are "more likely" to be received or that they are some how different than the prayers that her parents say? I feel that the author is not necessarily saying that one type of prayer is better or have different goals but that the narrator has been directly influenced by the American main stream culture, which has infaltrated her identity and prayer.
Interesting observations... I think it's also pretty fascinating to look at the treatment of food in Dogeaters, especially to the extent that it is a cultural commodity that can be consumed to heighten one's status. When Abuelita Socorro visits from Spain, the family prepares a "sumptuous feast" for the Gonzaga family that conspicuously never eats vegetables. That just sounds gross. But they're not the only ones with a fixation on savory foods. Severo Alacran, too, is described as having overdosed on rich, salty foods, yet his cravings don't stop. He alternately experiences cravings for salt and an insatiable thirst. Joey, too, experiences extreme hunger, the same time he experiences withdrawal on his Uncle's father. I love Hagedorn's descriptions-- raw and carnal. The hunger that her characters experience seems to be symbolic of the national mindset of consumerism for all things white American.
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