Well, it isn’t Schizophrenia… (3)

Hello, World.

       In this last post, I will discuss the last two topics of this sequence: the stereotypes and ignorance that Jasmine faces as well as the clothing motif in Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee.
       When one talks about cultural changes, stereotypes and clashes form the basis of conversation. For Jasmine to have switched from one completely different culture (India) to another (America) lays the foundation for Indian stereotypes to be shot at her. This is especially relevant because she lives in Iowa, where, pardon me, but people are not the most sophisticated or educated. A optimal example of this is when Jasmine was cooking dinner for some of Bud's friends:

“You aren’t making the yellow stuff, Mrs. R.?” I detect disappointment.                               “I will if you name it".                                                                                                                I see him whispering to Du, and Du’s bony shoulders shrug.                                      “Globey?” he says. (19).

For me, the attitude in which this was said was very condescending in two ways: naming their food 'stuff' and that Globey seems like a mumble of sounds, rather than a beautiful foreign language.
       Another instance of ignorance, is when she says: “Taylor’s friends in New York used to look at me and say, “You’re Iranian, right?” If I said no, then, “Pakistani, Afghan, Punjabi?” (33). This is typical American ignorance that everything apart from their own little world is the same; all African countries are the same, all asian countries are the same, all European countries are the same. They refuse to acknowledge difference and diversity and Jasmine becomes a victim of that, in her new society.
       Another important aspect of this novel is the recurring motif of clothing. A very important dissimilarity between cultures is clothing and Mukherjee plays on this very frequently. As Jasmine arrives in America, American clothing seems to have such a huge importance. One of the first steps of her recovery from the rape-incident, for example, was a trip to the Mall with Lillian. After she settles down for a bit she says a very powerful statement: “American clothes disguised my womanhood” (145). The clothing serves as a significant symbol because it is so different and new. She feels American inside it because she resembles an American citizen. She finally integrates in the culture she has actively sought.
       Finally, clothing acts as a seal, or a conclusion to her settlement in America. She says that "Lillian used to send me twenty dollars and a pair of hand-knitted pink wool slippers every Christmas" (136). This is important not only because it displays kindness in America, but also because clothing (which is also a general given to survival) is being frequently given to Jasmine. She has finally thrived beyond survival in this wilderness we call America. She has settled and emerged victorious.
       In conclusion, there are many themes, motifs, and metaphors throughout the novel: multiple identities, the clay pitcher metaphor, stereotype, and clothing, which identifies, explains, and discusses the general and major theme of cultural clash in Jasmine, by Bharati Mukherjee.


Goodbye, World.