An Interpretation of "Interpreter of Maladies"

During my experience in the other block of AP English I noticed that the members of the table did not enjoy speaking as much as those in my original class. Most likely because of this fact, an important idea of the short story, in my opinion, was only briefly addressed; and I would now like to take the time to more thoroughly inspect the topic. The “Interpreter of Maladies”, essentially, is about the cultural differences that face the Das family, as observed by the third-person, limitedly omniscient narrative of Mr. Kapasi. Upon thoughtful reflection, I find the story to relate in many ways to my own life.

Within the first minutes of being introduced to the Das family, Kapasi initially notices that they look like tourists, with their bright clothing and cameras. He also makes a note of how Mr. Das “squeezes his hand”, greeting him like an American; a custom that we refer to as a handshake. As noted in discussion, Mr. Kapasi sees Bobby’s braces and can only interpret them as silver wires in his mouth, as he had never seen anything like them before. The reader again sees an example of this rift when the puffed-rice vendor half-jokingly, half-seriously professes his love to Mrs. Das through a traditional song and she does not understand what it means.

Following readings of the book revealed to me these same cultural divergences existent in my life. As an “international kid”, I have constantly juggled two different cultural existences my whole life. Almost every summer since I was young, my family would go to Korea for vacation; when I lived in Korea, I would fly back to America. But being primarily an American teen, I usually found difficulty in the former. Without an entire knowledge of the Korean language, I struggle every year to converse with members outside of my immediate family. My ‘Americanization’ has also led to many misunderstandings beyond the language barrier, creating amore than necessary share of awkward moments.

It is on account of these reasons that Mrs. Das might find Mr. Kapasi’s alternate job as a medical interpreter “romantic”. There is an indelible want to return to one’s roots in every individual- causing the Das’ to return to India and my nuclear family to return to Korea every year. The ability of Mr. Kapasi to be able to speak to and understand individuals of both cultures is something that almost every one of us desires. However, unable to be seen through her narrow vision, even the interpreter of maladies, Mr. Kapasi, can only relate to Americans and English speaking individuals to a small extent, much less than what we hope for. Although time has separated both cases likely from ever reverting to their respective cultures, it is important for us to know where we come from because, as in the story, in the end, family is what matters most. (483)