Traces of Freedom in Interpreter of Maladies and This Blessed House

Subject Areas : All areas of language and translation

Atefeh Lieaghat ¹ , Fatemeh Azizmohammadi ² , Mojgan Yarahmadi ³

1 - English Literature, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran
2 - English Literature, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran
3 - English Literature, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran

Received: 2021-02-12 Accepted : 2021-04-30 Published : 2022-07-01

Keywords: freedom, Anti-Power, Interpreter of  Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri, Philip Pettit,

Abstract :

This research paper attempts to carry out a Pettit reading of Jhumpa Lahiri’s two short stories from the collection of Interpreter of Maladies (1999). JhumpaLahiri illustrates the life of the collection of immigrants, who try to maintain freedoms even in other countries. This idea develops from Philip Noel Pettit’s theory of freedom. To Pettit, freedom as an anti-power removes all slavery concepts and achieves self-mastery. Pettit believes that everyone is free for doing his/ her deeds based on free will. To him, nobody can interfere with somebody’s private property as a master. Also, he centers on anti-power as no domination. The study attempts to find how the characters in these two stories convey Pettit’s theory of freedom as anti-power based on their beliefs and desires. The idea applies to the characters who portrait by Lahiri in the Interpreter of Maladies and This Blessed House. Also, the current research attempts to show the reasons that the characters attempt to keep their freedom in different situations. This research focuses on the main characters to show how they attempt to keep their freedom through their idea and beliefs like Mrs. Das and Twinkle in two story collections. Mrs. Das tries to set herself free by revealing her secret. Also, Twinkle, another character who keeps her favorite objects tries to put aside all prejudices and achieve freedom; based on the examples given, the present research shows how Pettit’s theory of freedom develops during the story series.

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