1. Cox 1
Isaac Cox
Professor Davies
English 1A
March 16th
, 2013
The Great Compromise
Marriage is a very complex subject for most to understand. Jhumpa Lahiri’s story “A Temporary
Matter” in Interpreter of Maladies a marriage is being stressed by a couple trying to overcome the
stillbirth of their child; whereas, in Jhumpa Lahiri’s story “The Third and Final Continent” a couple is
successfully attempting to overcome the obstacle of an arranged marriage which leaves the reader with
a sense of hope at the story’s end. One of the largest threats to any relationship whether married or not
is having one half of that partnership unwilling to compromise.
Lahiri shows in “A Temporary Matter” and “The Third and Final Continent” his views of
marriage. In A Temporary Matter he shows one side of the marriage by revealing the difficulties of
dealing with grief and in “Third and Final Continent” he writes about the struggles of marriage in other
cultures. But in both he shows grief, pain and struggles. He does not show the times of happiness and
bliss but instead glorifies the immortalities of marriage showing his antagonistic view towards marriage.