Fasting Feasting is a novel by Anita Desai that explores the cultural divide between India and the United States through the experiences of two families. The novel follows the lives of Uma and Arun, siblings living in a traditional Indian household in a small town, and their cousin Ila, who is living a modern, westernized lifestyle in America.
Throughout the novel, both Uma and Ila struggle with their identities and the expectations placed upon them by their respective cultures. Uma is expected to conform to the traditional roles of a woman in Indian society, while Ila is expected to embrace the individualism and independence of American culture. Both characters feel trapped by these expectations and long for something more.
One of the most striking differences between the two characters is the way they relate to food and the act of eating. In the Indian household, food is a central part of daily life and is seen as a source of nourishment, community, and cultural identity. Meals are meticulously planned and prepared, and the act of eating is a social and communal experience.
In contrast, Ila's experience of food in America is much more individualized and casual. She often eats alone or on the go, and food is seen more as a means of sustenance rather than a source of cultural connection. This is exemplified by Ila's reliance on fast food and vending machines, which represent the convenient but ultimately unsatisfying nature of her life in America.
Despite these differences, both Uma and Ila are ultimately searching for the same thing: a sense of connection and belonging. Uma longs to break free from the confines of her traditional role, while Ila yearns for a sense of cultural identity and community. In the end, both characters come to realize that true fulfillment and happiness can only be found by embracing their true identities and finding a balance between their cultural traditions and personal desires.
Overall, Fasting Feasting is a powerful exploration of the complexities of cultural identity and the universal desire for connection and belonging. Through the experiences of Uma and Ila, the novel highlights the importance of finding a balance between tradition and personal freedom, and the need to embrace one's true identity in order to find happiness.
Fasting, Feasting by Anita Desai
The talks, his position at the library, his withdrew flat mate, and the dull celebrating at the school dormitories give him countless choices to withdraw and stay unknown. In a real sense, the novel is about freedoms wished for, but not seen. At college in America, Arun tries to free himself of his family and any other associations that threaten to entangle him. Then she sighed, knowing such concepts had never occurred to Mama: she did not read, she did not go to the cinema. The shorter second part covers the experiences of her younger brother Arun in a university vacation period in New England, where he struggles to fit in to the dysfunctional family with whom he is boarding.
Potter is obssessed with filling the refrigerator. The first and longest is set somewhere in India. I was constantly wondering what was going to become of Uma, one of the main characters. And after her marriage to a rich, educated man she spent her entire time in the kitchen and had a miscarriage due to the beatings by her in-laws. The story takes place in the space of time taken by a package containing tea sent from India by Uma's elder sister, to reach Arun's younger brother in the United States.
City was kind of cage for them and people was dying for feeling of freedom. Patton endeavors to encourage him, taking him on shopping trips, setting him up veggie lover suppers, and remembering him for family excursions, it is a constrained friendship. Fasting, Feasting is not plot-driven but the language is vivid and very evocative. Although I enjoyed the last part in America, it was the weakest part of the book because of its abruptness, and its stereotypes. . Uma, the eldest daughter in the family, is clumsy, myopic, prone to fits, and largely unsuccessful in life report cards at school, cooking, marriages where her family is duped resulting in lost dowries and humiliation though not for lack of effort or enthusiasm to succeed on her part. Together they wheeled the card around and avoided walking past the open freezers where the meat lay steaming in pink packages of rawness, the tank where helpless lobsters, their claws rubber-banded together, rose on ascending bubbles and then sank again, tragically, the trays where the pale flesh of fish curled in opaque twists upon the polystyrene, and made their way instead to the shelves piled with pasta, beans and lentils, all harmlessly dry and odour-free, the racks of nuts and spices where whatever surprises might be were bottles and boxed with kindergarten attractiveness.
Mrs. Patton Character Analysis in Fasting, Feasting
Section two is much shorter, but centers around the star of the family, Arun, who is in the United States going to college. When Arun does in reality passhis assessments and acquires the scholastic grant, there is no satisfaction or festivity in the event. She is beautiful, charming, kind, and intelligent. Leaving the back door, without raising his voice, with silent dignity. Educating women is considered a waste, and the ideas taught in schools dangerous. The novel begins with emphasis on Uma, the bespectacled, clumsy, childlike older sister.
I was constantly wondering what was going to become of Uma, one of the main characters. You see, the fact that I'm reading this book for school purposes did not occur to me in the beginning, I was just simply enjoying the book. She is startled, not hearing him, but he says he just came to say goodbye and he brought some presents for her that his parents sent from India. It is written well, flows smoothly but not blandly, and is compellingly interesting. . Introduction: Anita Desai is widely recognized as an Indian feminist writing in English.
Parental oppression and neglect are present in both the Patton family and Arun and Uma's family, as are unhappy children. Despite her disappointments, Uma comes through as the survivor, avoiding an unfulfilling marriage, liek her sister's or a suicidal one, like that arranged for her pretty cousin. Every time I read it, i figured out that the story's perception is really narrow and limited. She asks him viciously if he enjoyed his dinner. .
Patton and mother of Rod and Melanie, and the host who invites Arun to stay with her and her family in Massachusetts. Is this what you learnt from the nuns at the convent? She is extremely kind and generous, but a little dense regarding her family's needs. Two families in the novel seems very different from each other in the first place but until the end of the novel -despite the variety of two cultures- we can see these families are just two sides of a coin. . Wish me luck in my exam okay? I mean I got to know the Indian culture through it and I got to know how their society regard women and men, and believe me that was okay nice during the first time reading it Except only I had to read it tons of times including my goddamned notes because I don't want to fail. . The family is ruled by customs and traditions and their sole aim is to marry off the girls and educate the boys.
Collective Analysis of Anita Desai's Fasting, Feasting
I thought the first story was the stronger of the two, with more space to develop and a larger cast of characters. When he awkwardly rests, the mosquitoes swarm. At first, it does seemliberating, as school life bears Arun the capacity to isolate himself from common commitment. And the subtle similarities make for the relevance between the 2 parts one significantly longer than the other Uma, the spinster sister with MummyPapa one entity finds herself shackled by the chains of family. These parents, however, are not at all alike.
From Arun's birth, Mama and Papa proudly invest all of their hopes and dreams into Arun, smothering him with attention and forcing him to study until he has no energy left. It makes it very real and her dialogue is quite believable as well. The heroine is not a fascinating woman but a plain, nice and simple one and I liked that, I liked being able to understand her and to see her as a person rather than a two-dimension character. It's all about family relationships and you can't help but feeling sympathy for the main character, Uma, as her family is clearly disappointed in her because she has failed to find a suitable husband, and as her parents don't listen to what she really wants out of life. Mira-masi Mira-masi is a distant relative of Uma's family. . She is hostile towards her parents and Arun, and appears deeply unhappy.
