Historical Context
The Partition Riots
Jasmine, the protagonist and storyteller in Bharati Mukherjee's novel, was born around 1965, 18 years after India's Partition Riots, in a small village named Hasnpur. Her birth occurred during a period of significant political and social turmoil, marked by two wars between Pakistan and India that year.
The Partition Riots, crucial to Jasmine's family's struggles, aimed to establish separate Muslim and Hindu states. Over 200,000 people lost their lives as Hindus fled Pakistan and Muslims fled India. The Punjab region was split between India and the newly formed Pakistan, becoming a refuge for many Hindus.
During the Partition Riots, Jasmine's family, like many Hindus, exchanged their relative prosperity for dire conditions. It was a time marked by violence and upheaval, with families leaving behind not only their material wealth but also their deep-rooted connections. The religious divide between Muslims and Hindus remains a significant source of tension in India, where nearly 80 percent of the population is Hindu, and 11.4 percent is Muslim.
In 1991, Sikhs made up about two percent of India's population. After India's independence in 1947, almost all Sikhs found themselves on the Indian side of Punjab. They have a distinct social identity separate from other Punjabis. The new Punjabi-speaking state of Punjab, established in 1966, had a Sikh majority. In Jasmine, natural tensions would have existed between Sukhwinder, the Sikh extremist, and Prakash Vijh.
The Green Revolution
Punjab, like many Indian states, values its unique subnational identity, including its language. A Punjabi has a much different cultural identity and characteristics compared to, for example, a Bengali. India officially recognizes 46 mother tongues, 17 of which are recognized languages. Among these, Hindi is the most widely spoken, though not by a majority. Jasmine spoke Punjabi, Hindi, and English. The first two were inherent to her culture, while English was facilitated by pre-Independence British influence and rule.
Punjab is primarily an agricultural region, much like Iowa in the United States. It is the main producer of India's wheat. During Jasmine's childhood, the agricultural sector was undergoing rapid technological advancements. She recalls, ‘‘When I was a child, born in a mud hut without water or electricity, the Green Revolution had just struck Punjab. Bicycles were giving way to scooters and cars, radios to television. I was the last to be born to that kind of submission, that kind of ignorance.’’
The Green Revolution of the late 1960s brought significant productivity gains and made India self-sufficient in food grains. However, poverty remains a persistent issue in India. As of 1991, about 40 percent of the nation's 800 million people were classified as poor. The life expectancy was 54 years, and the annual per capita income was approximately $300 U.S., placing India among the world's very poor countries. Paradoxically, India also boasts a sophisticated scientific, technical, and financial infrastructure.
This paradox is evident in Jasmine's family. Despite living in a mud hut without electricity or plumbing, her brothers attended technical college and later repaired scooters. Television, which first arrived in India in 1959, was becoming a common household item in Jasmine's Hasnpur.
Women's Position in Indian Society
During Jasmine's childhood and still today, India is a male-dominated society. Men hold the economic and political power. Although dowries have been officially banned, the practice remains widespread. Public debates about the merits of dowries frequently appear in newspapers and government discussions. A dowry is money or property brought by a bride to her husband at their wedding, essentially acting as an incentive to attract prospective husbands. The better the dowry, the better the husband, at least in theory. Jasmine...
(This entire section contains 830 words.)
Unlock this Study Guide Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
came of age in the late 1970s, a time when her family would have been expected to offer a dowry to her prospective husband. For someone like Jasmine, whose limited family resources were allocated to her four older sisters, the future seemed bleak.
A Hindu wife traditionally saw herself as subservient to her husband. When Jasmine's friend Vimla burned herself after her husband's death, she was following a now-illegal Hindu practice called sati, or suttee. This ritual involves a widow cremating herself on her husband's funeral pyre to fulfill her perceived role as a wife. Jasmine intended to follow this same ritual after Prakash's death. She brought his suit to America to create a pyre.
She says, "I had not given even a day's survival in America a single thought. This was the place I had chosen to die, on the first day, if possible. I would land, find Tampa, walking there if necessary, find the college grounds and check it against the brochure photo. Under the very tree where two Indian boys and two Chinese girls were pictured, smiling, I had dreamed of arranging the suit and twigs. The vision of lying serenely on a bed of fire under palm trees in my white sari had motivated all the weeks of sleepless, half-starved passage, the numbed surrender to various men for reward of an orange, a blanket, a slice of cheese."
Divorce in India is becoming more common, but it still carries a significant stigma.
Literary Style
Setting
In Jasmine, the time, place, and cultural context of the narrative continually shift. The narrator recounts past events (hence the use of past tense), but not in a linear fashion. Some events are from the distant past, while others are more recent. Readers can discern the sequence of events partly based on location. Events in Hasnpur, Punjab, are from Jasmine's childhood, while references to Lahore pertain to events before her birth. When the setting moves to Florida, it's clear that the action takes place during Jasmine's initial weeks in America. Scenes in Flushing, New York, come before scenes in Manhattan, which, in turn, precede scenes in Iowa.
Why does the narrative timeline shift back and forth? The scenes in Iowa convey a sense of urgency because Jasmine's life is progressing, potentially towards significant change. Past events are crucial for understanding Jasmine's predicament, but they lack the same immediacy. The narrative technique, therefore, is to sustain this urgency through the Iowa storyline while integrating all the essential people, places, and events from her past.
Foreshadowing
This literary device, used to create anticipation or provide an explanation for future developments, is frequently employed throughout Jasmine. The astrologer's prediction of Jasmine's widowhood and exile serves this purpose. It alerts readers to upcoming events. In hindsight, Prakash's death appears connected to this prophecy. Without foreshadowing, however, readers might not link the theme of fate with his death.
In other cases, foreshadowing builds tension. Jasmine states, "That day I found the biggest staff ever, stuck in a wreath of thorny bush. I had to crawl on stony ground, and of course thorns bloodied my arms, but the moment my fist closed over the head of the staff, I felt a buzz of power.” The vivid imagery and language—the blood, the thorns, the fist—signal the importance of this scene. It compels readers to wonder, “What's she going to do with that staff?” Eventually, Jasmine uses the staff to kill the mad dog.
The knife Jasmine receives from Kingsland functions similarly. An old saying suggests that if a writer introduces a gun in the story, it should be fired later. This is because a weapon, like the knife, implies significant danger and makes readers anticipate future violence. Essentially, it foreshadows danger. Jasmine's knife "goes off" when she uses it to kill Half-Face.
Symbolism
A symbol represents or suggests something else while retaining its original identity. In literature, symbols merge their literal meaning with an abstract concept. Mukherjee employs symbols to help readers grasp a complex web of ideas.
Jasmine holds a drowned dog in a foul-smelling river, and as she does, it breaks in two. The reader accepts the literal action of the dog splitting apart. Considering Mukherjee's exploration of the theme of identity, the reader is also prompted to associate the fractured body with the fragmentation of life. The dog divides into two parts from one, similar to how Jyoti transforms into both Jasmine and Jyoti.
One symbol recurs throughout the novel. The narrator explains that when a pitcher breaks, the air inside becomes the same as the air outside. The author revisits this symbol when Vimla sets herself on fire and during a discussion about Jasmine's father. "Lahore visionaries, Lahore women, Lahore ghazals: my father lived in a bunker. Fact is, there was a difference. My father was right to notice it, and to let it set a standard. But that pitcher is broken. It is the same air this side as that. He'll never see Lahore again and I never have. Only a fool would let it rule his life."
Another, subtler symbol is the small crack in the television set at the Flamingo Court hotel room. A reader identifies symbols based on their placement and significance within a scene. The emotionally intense rape scene, happening on Jasmine's first day in America, reveals an ugly, flawed side of the country. The television represents a medium of Hollywood fantasies and myths. Thus, the crack in the television can be interpreted as a flaw in the American dream. The fact that Jasmine's head causes the crack adds even more weight to the symbol.
Irony
Irony involves using words to convey something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning. Mukherjee employs irony to depict Jasmine's bewilderment with American culture.
Jasmine finds irony in the revolving door. "How could something be always open and at the same time always closed?" She also finds irony in the escalator. "How could something be always moving and always still?"
Metaphors
A metaphor is a figure of speech that conveys an idea through the image of another object. Metaphors suggest the essence of the first object by identifying it with certain qualities of the second object.
Sukkhi's presence in the Manhattan park terrifies Jasmine. The image of him behind the hot dog cart lingers in her mind even after she moves to Iowa. She says, "Sukkhi, the New York vendor, pushes his hot dog cart through my head." The reader understands that Sukkhi, along with all the violence and fear he represents, constantly occupies Jasmine's thoughts.
A recurring metaphor comes from Taylor, "Just pull down the imaginary shade," he whispers, "that's all you need to do." Again, Jasmine does not literally pull down a shade. Instead, she mentally blocks out all external influences that cause her fear.
Literary Heritage
Although she doesn't particularly seek recognition as an Indian author, Mukherjee aligns herself with the tradition of immigrant writers like V. S. Naipaul and Bernard Malamud. She acknowledges learning extensively from their works. Mukherjee dedicated her book Darkness to her friend Malamud and even named one of her sons after him.
In the 1980s, American fiction was dominated by minimalism, a style characterized by writers like Raymond Carver. Minimalism featured short sentences, understatement, and minimal elaboration. Mukherjee, however, chose to distance herself from this trend, opting for a more intricate style. This approach allowed her to delve into the complexities and deeper meanings within the multifaceted lives of her immigrant characters. She believes that the immigrant experience provides a rich subject matter that warrants an equally rich narrative style.
Bibliography and Further Reading
Sources
Banerjee, Debjani, article, in Bharati Mukherjee: Critical Perspectives, edited by Emmanuel S. Nelson, Garland Press.
Lesser, Wendy, "United States," in The Oxford Guide To Contemporary Writing, edited by John Sturrock, Oxford University Press, 1996, pp. 406-31.
Mukherjee, Bharati, "American Dreamer," in Mother Jones, Jan/Feb 1997.
Vignisson, Runar, "Bharati Mukherjee: an interview," in Journal of the South Pacific Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies, edited by Vijay Mishra, Issue 34-35, 1993.
Further Reading
Chua, C. L., "Passages from India: Migrating to America in the Fiction of V.S. Naipaul and Bharati Mukherjee." Mukherjee's powerful portrayal of cultural and philosophical clashes results in an ambitious and succinct work. Her vivid, economical writing seamlessly transitions between Punjab, Iowa, Florida, and New York City.
Reworlding: The Literature of the Indian Diaspora, edited by Emmanuel S. Nelson, Greenwood Press, 1992, pp. 51-61. Discusses how Mukherjee and V.S. Naipaul depict Indian immigrants in North America and their pursuit of the American Dream.
Hofstede, Geert, Cultures and Organizations, McGraw-Hill, 1997. Offers a framework for understanding cultural differences.
Kriefer, Joel, ed., The Oxford Companion To Politics of the World, Oxford University Press, 1993. Provides an extensive overview of international affairs and domestic politics worldwide.
Lesser, Wendy, "United States," in The Oxford Guide To Contemporary Writing, edited by John Sturrock, Oxford University Press, 1996, pp. 406-431. Analyzes contemporary writing from various cultures, including the literary and cultural contexts for authorship in each region.
Mukherjee, Bharati, "American Dreamer," in Mother Jones, Jan/Feb 1997. In this essay, Mukherjee clearly identifies as an American and rejects more restrictive labels.
Nelson, Emmanuel S., ed., Bharati Mukherjee: Critical Perspectives, Garland Press. A collection of critical essays on Mukherjee's work.
Vignisson, Runar, "Bharati Mukherjee: an interview," in Journal of the South Pacific Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies, edited by Vijay Mishra, Issue 34-35, 1993. Vignisson's 1993 interview with Mukherjee, where she discusses her initial attraction to literature.