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Lisa Case
ENC1102.2529
Feb. 19 2003
Mr. and Mrs. Das lack physical communication in “Interpreter of Maladies”
The theme of communication in “Interpreter of Maladies” is illustrated in several ways. Each character communicates in his or her own personal way. Mr. Kapasi is an interpreter, communicating through spoken language. Mr. Das communicates through his photographs. Mrs. Das communicates visually, through her appearance and clothing. Written text and physical actions are also forms of communication that are utilized by several characters. These separate methods of communication result in a lack of a common form of communication, which is discovered to be physical.
The family is on vacation in India. This is a relatively stereotypical situation at first glance. Upon deeper investigation, it can be noticed that there is something missing between Mr. and Mrs. Das. The two do not seem to communicate. The two occasionally bicker like children, but do not talk a great deal. Not once do Mr. and Mrs. Das kiss, hug, or hold hands. A conversation between Mrs. Das and the Interpreter, Mr. Kapasi, takes place during most of the tour. This conversation demonstrates the two ways in which the two communicate. Mr. Kapasi communicates primarily through spoken word. It is therefore applicable that he is an interpreter, although his skills are not needed in this case. Mrs. Das communicates visually. She applies nail polish to enhance her appearance. She is wearing “a red-and-white-checkered skirt that stopped above her knees, slip-on shoes with a square wooden heel, and a close-fitting blouse… decorated at chest-level with a calico appliqué in the shape of a strawberry” (851). Mrs. Das uses her appearance to communicate. Mrs. Das communicates to Mr. Kapasi through the rear view mirror through visual contact. “Her eyes met Mr. Kapasi’s in the rearview mirror” (854). This visual communication is very important to Mrs. Das. She flirts through these two methods with Mr. Kapasi. Everything about Mrs. Das seems to be meticulously constructed to communicate a specific idea. The color of red appears throughout her ensemble and communicates femininity. The strawberry is also a symbol of femininity.
Mr. Das is quite different in his method of communication. Mr. Das is a visual communicator in a sense, but he communicates through pictures and text. Mr. Das carries a camera and a guidebook. He often consults his guidebook and sometimes instructs by “reading from his book” (857). The guidebook may be Mr. Das’s form of Mr. Kapasi. Mr. Das takes several pictures over the course of the tour. In one instance, the two forms of communication come into conflict. Mr. Das wants to take a picture and Mrs. Das complains. “‘Why did you have to wear those stupid shoes?’ Mr. Das said. ‘You won’t be in the pictures.’” (860). In this example, Mr. Das is yelling at Mrs. Das essentially because she is communicating in her own way and is not communicating in his way by not wanting to participate in the picture. This is more than a lack of communication between the two; this is a conflict in form of communication. A common form of communication must therefore be established in order to resolve the conflict in the story.
Mr. Kapasi and the monkeys provide two common forms of communication. Mr. Kapasi’s form of spoken communication does not work so well, it only seems to draw the two apart. Mrs. Das ends up flirting with Mr. Kapasi, and Mr. Das looks forward to further communication through other means, both writing and pictures in the mail. This friendly communication does not help in forcing Mr. and Mrs. Das to communicate. Mrs. Das winds up revealing a secret to Mr. Kapasi, which she “hasn’t been able to express… to anybody” (862). This makes the situation worse because Mrs. Das is growing closer to Mr. Kapasi and farther away from her husband. Mrs. Das also says “express” instead of “tell” or “say” because she does not feel that she expresses herself primarily in this way.
Like Mrs. Das, the monkeys do not communicate primarily through speaking. In this way, they are the opposite of Mr. Kapasi. The monkeys communicate only through physical actions. The monkeys surround one of the children Bobby and strike him repeatedly. While Mr. Das is attempting to take a picture, Mr. Kapasi is waving his stick to disperse the monkeys. These are two separate forms of communication, speaking and physical communication. The family notices that the boy is missing, and begins calling and looking for him. Mr. Das then hits the camera shutter and the camera becomes involved in an auditory communication. This causes in the physical act of striking the child by the monkeys.
In this odd event, three forms of communication become intertwined, which ultimately allows the family to discover its shared method of communication. Mr. Kapasi demonstrates the form of communication that is needed; he simply shoos the monkeys away with his branch, revealing the needed form of communication. Mr. Kapasi then discovers that his spoken communication is detrimental to the family’s relationship. When Mr. Kapasi is “tempted to whisper a secret into [Bobby’s] ear” (864), Mr. Kapasi refrains himself because he realizes that his communication has only brought the family farther apart.
The family discovers and accepts the proposed form of communication, physical interaction. The mother brushes the boys hair. Mr. Das brushes dirt off the boy. Mrs. Das puts a band-aid on his knee. Mr. Das pats his head. The other overly used forms of communication are absolved. The written note is lost and the visual communication the strawberry has arms folded across it. “She folded her arms across the strawberry on her chest” (864).