The Promise of America

Jasmine (or Jyoti, or Jane) discovers both the promise and disappointment of life in America, but what is interesting about the form of is she experiences the two in reverse as a result of Wylie’s decision to leave Taylor and Duff. When Jasmine first learns of Wylie’s affair with Stuart the economist, she reflects, “In America, nothing lasts. I can say that now and it doesn’t shock me, but I think it was the hardest lesson of all for me to learn. [...] Nothing is forever, nothing is so terrible, or so wonderful, that it won’t disintegrate” (181). Jasmine thinks that perhaps she has finally found her home with the Hayes, living as Duff’s caregiver and “day mummy.” She relies on the love she assumes the parents must feel for one another for her happiness, and she constructs her American dream around them. Living with the Hayeses gives Jasmine a family, but one that she can still keep at a distance. She is both family and professional (175), able to love them but at the same time take care of them with a sense of purpose. What is interesting about her assertion that nothing lasts in America is that she also experiences sudden and dramatic change in India too, both with the death of her father and the death of Prakash. Both incidents completely change her destiny, yet she attributes disintegration to American culture, and her claim seems almost to say that this disintegration is unique in America, that only in America dreams can die.

This is perhaps because, for Jasmine, dreams can only live in America as well. At the very end of the novel, when Taylor and Duff come to Iowa to find Jasmine and take her West with them. It is the journey West, the glorified symbolic journey for one’s dreams, that allows Jasmine to finally find her own true happiness. She says, “Adventure, risk, transformation: the frontier is pushing indoors through uncaulked windows. Watch me re-position the stars, I whisper to the astrologer who floats cross-legged above my kitchen stove” (240). While first Jasmine sees her American dream die with the end of Taylor and Wylie's marriage, now she finally has the chance to fulfill her dream of finding promise in her new home only because she is free to love Taylor, not as "caregiver", but as someone exploring the new frontier out West, the place that in American memory has always held the promise of a better life. After experiencing despair in the face of losing the Hayes family, she becomes an actual part of the new Hayes family, not just an immigrant working as a nanny like all the other immigrants in the building. She is searching for her own dream.

What I found most surprising about this semester was not necessarily in the literature--it was actually in the class itself. I have of course sat through quite a few seminars in the English department, all of which of course had 12 students or less. I have often been told since coming to Loyola that smaller classes facilitate better discussions, that seminars would delve deeper into issues than "lecture" classes. Coming into this class of twenty-something students, I was expecting more superficial discussions, ones that would barely graze the surface. This, of course, was an ignorant expectation on my part and a gross misjudgment. I can honestly say that some of the discussions we had in this class, especially those about Eat, Pray, Love have been some of the most interesting, most revealing, most personal discussions I have been a part of in my four years of college.

Identity, Home, and Happiness

The most surprising thing I have learned in this class is the different ways one looks for and acquires freedom. I look to many of the characters in this course as inspirations for they went against societal values in order to do what was best for them, namely finding their own identity, home, and happiness. It is extremely difficult to live the life our parents, for instance, expect of us. There is the expectation for us to go to college, get a job, get married, and have children. However, it was extremely interesting to live through the lives of those who did not follow this set plan of life, for instance, Elizabeth Gilbert and Jasmine. Personally, at this point in my life, I am not thinking about marriage because I am focusing on my plans for after graduation, but I often wonder if I even want to get married since I am so career driven. This shocks my mother greatly, since yes, I was one of those little girls always marrying Barbie and Ken, and planning my dream wedding. However, now that I am older, I realize I may never know where life will lead me, and may have to make difficult decisions in order to find my true self, home, and happiness. At times, what one believes to be selfish, another believes to be brave. For instance, looking at Elizabeth Gilbert, we, as a class, spoke about whether or not she was selfish for leaving her husband, or brave because she knew what steps she had to take in order to find herself and to be happy. I believe that this concept of selfishness can be applied to Jasmine, as well, when Jase (one of Jasmine’s four identities) leaves behind Jane and Bud in order to find true happiness with Taylor and Duff.

Jasmine explains, “I have had a husband for each of the women I have been. Prakash for Jasmine, Taylor for Jase, Bud for Jane. Half-Face for Kali” (197). Jasmine has had many different identities throughout this work, however, I believe that when she chose to be with Taylor, she claimed the identity of Jase and left behind her other identities. Like Elizabeth Gilbert, Jasmine goes against what is expected of women. Jasmine is having a baby, but is not married, and Gilbert is married, but does not want to have a baby. This goes against the image of women as mothers. Instead, both Jasmine and Gilbert flee from their former lives in order to find their identity and happiness. Gilbert finds her identity through travel, and Jasmine finds her identity from Taylor who gave her the name of “Jase.” Her identity of Jase is one who “lived for the future. . .went to movies and lived for today” (176). She has a different life when she is with Duff and Taylor, a life full of love. Even Wylie had to decide if she wanted to leave her husband, Taylor. However, when she does leave him, it benefited both herself and Taylor, which is why what one considers selfish, may actually benefit all parties involved.

Jasmine is also faced with the decision to leave Bud. Although she is not married, society expects her to marry him since she is having his baby. However, one does not always attain freedom by following societal expectations. Another example is when Vimla accuses Jasmine and Prakash of living in sin. Vimla says, “It seems to me that once you let one tradition go, all the other traditions crumble” (75). It is as though she is saying that everyone’s identity is shaped solely by traditions, but in actuality one is able to choose what traditions to follow or ignore, which adds to one’s identity, as opposed to making it crumble. Jasmine thinks, “Who lays out the roadways of our futures?” (174). I believe we pave our own roadways and create our own destinies and futures. Elizabeth Gilbert left her husband to embark on a journey of self-discovery. She created her own path. Also, Jasmine realized that she shaped her identity and homeland around the people in her life. However, she left the man she was living with to embark on a journey to reclaim the life she loved with Taylor and Duff. Jasmine already knew the life she wanted and the man she loved. Whenever she thought of Taylor, Jasmine repeatedly said to herself, “Stop! It’s Bud who tries to make me happy now” (198), trying to ignore her feelings for Taylor and trying to be dutiful to Bud and do what she considers to be right. However, at times it is more beneficial to do what some may think is selfish in order to find one’s own true self and happiness. This proved to be true for Jasmine, Wylie, and Gilbert, and I hope to have the courage to realize if something is not right in my life, and take steps to make it better.

Changing Yourself versus Changing Who You Are

Of all the relationships Jasmine encounters and cultivates throughout the novel, I found the story between her and Du the most telling. In the opening pages of the story, I noted Jasmine’s comparison of her son to herself as the “ones who didn’t get caught” (28). Rather than say, they were the “ones who got away,” she calls attention to their similar good fortune, examining their like situations for their luck or destined fate. Unlike Jasmine, however, Du takes on a different reaction to the American culture, taking physical ownership of his possessions and material items. Whereas Jasmine absorbs American soil through her emotional experiences and human interactions, Du demands to be on his own and paint his own portrait of the country.

When speaking with Du’s teacher, Jasmine laments, “Once we start letting go – let go just one thing, like not wearing our normal clothes, or a turban or not wearing a tika on the forehead – the rest goes on its own down a sinkhole” (29). As we discussed in class on Tuesday, attempting to become someone “else” is almost always impossible. Ironically, it seems as if this task should be as simple as changing our names, our clothing style, the way we wear our hair, or how we speak. As aspects of us that we ourselves control, it seems almost ignorant to say, “You can’t change yourself.” Then how come it is so darn impossible? As Jasmine’s character suggests, it isn’t so much about “changing yourself” as it is about “changing who you are.”

Until I read this book, I never really considered the difference that exists between these two similar, although remarkably different concepts. In my opinion, changing yourself would be akin to breaking an old habit, embodying a new outlook on life, or taking on a new hobby – controllable aspects of our lives. Changing who you are, however, reminds me of the uncontrollable, internal qualities tied to our individual souls. Even if I tried to change who I was, I would still be connected to my mother and father, younger sister, and the home where I have lived for the past nineteen years. The memories I have made in our home, once an old school house, are ingrained in who I have become as a person beyond my address. Growing our “Peter Rabbit” garden together each summer, the first time I painted my own room, my sister’s swing set, and roasting marshmallows on the back porch are all memories that define who I am. I could say I want to change myself, but it would be impossible to leave behind the connection to my home for how it defines my identity.

Jasmine, too, acknowledges this difference as she explores her new life in America, while still maintaining ties to her homeland in India. “We murder who we were,” she says, “so we can rebirth ourselves in the images of dreams” (29). The “murdering,” however, is done by her alone as she decides what to hold onto and what to reject in her new life. Jasmine views her life as truly definable only by her, despite the setbacks and prejudices that attempt to disrupt her journey. In comparison, Du’s character prefers to tangibly hold onto the pieces of his life as evidence that he belongs. “He’s a materialist, no question,” Jasmine describes, “What he owns seems to matter less than owning itself (30). His means of feeling safe and secure, Du holds onto the physical objects that remind him of his life in America. Jasmine, conversely, holds onto the memories, experiences, and dreams allowing them to remain a part of who she is. Neither character is more right than the other, but both demonstrate the innate desire we have as human beings to belong to our home, be it tangible or intangibly.

Additionally, the most surprising thing I learned this semester was how very connected I am to my own home. Having lived in our house for over nineteen years, I never considered the possibility that my parents will one day move until taking this course. While this is quite saddening, I am grateful for having realized this now so that my family can continue to share and expand our love for our home. In addition to the physical structure of my house, the countless memories, milestones, and setbacks that have occurred within its walls have given me a spiritual outlook on what the definition of home truly means. My homeland is more than just the area in which I live or the neighbors I have; it is the intertwining of each and every day spent in the same location and with the same group of people. Whether I realized it before I took this class or if these novels and discussions have led me to it, my homeland is a part of me that remains unchangeable. It runs through my blood as a part of who I am and who I continue to become.

You CAN Take It With You

As Jyoti/Jasmine/Jane narrates her story, she emphasizes very many times the rigid divisions between the lives that she has lead. She uses her names to illustrate the differences between her selves, and thinks of them as separate women. She even suggests that once a new persona is born, the last must die. However, I disagree with this for several reasons. First of all, the story is told out of order; she does not tell it in a linear matter but rather in a way so that the stories jump back and forth through space and time and come together as a patchwork quilt. IF she was telling the story of her "three selves," she would tell it like: "This was Jyoti's life...This was Jasmine's life...This was Jane's life..." Clearly, she is unable to do that truthfully because all of the women are in fact the same, and the stories need each other. The truth is, whether we like it or not, we cannot leave our old selves behind. Even though our narrator is constantly trying to reinvent her life, it is evident that she is not actually replacing all of the old. For example, several times she compares herself to Du, acknowledging how similar they are because of the experiences that they have been through. Also, for another example, she acknowledges how great an influence Taylor and his lifestyle had on her. Both of these examples show that she is unable to fully sink into her role as "Jane"--Jyoti and Jasmine linger still. This general concept was something that was really interesting to me because I find that I, too, often try (or at least finding myself doing so) to compartmentalize the things that I have lived through. That is, I often find myself thinking back on times when I've had red hair, light brown hair, copper hair, black hair, long hair, very long hair, short hair, and regular hair....been an average weight, been lazy and heavier, been quite thin....been crazy and happy, been desperately sad, been stuck, been just moving forward...all of these things come together in different variations to create Selves that I can see so clearly in my mind. I may not have had my name changed several times, but I still feel that I have had different variaties of existence. I can't help but look back on the better versions of myself (better either physically or emotionally...or in some rare cases, both) and say "I miss Them." Then, too, I look back on the more tragic Selves and I say, "I miss Them, too," because I still know exactly who They are and what They're feeling. See, even though I (for whatever reason) seem to view the past sectionally, I still know that all of those ghosts are myself, and I am them. I know that the light and darkness I possess are always within me, no matter which is on the surface at any given time. I think that's why it's so dangerous for me to carelessly section myself off on a timeline, because it only allows me to oversimplify. I might view, say, my freshman year at Loyola as one of the happiest in my life, where I was always laughing and having a good time with friends on my floor all day (and night)....but then I forget to add into the equation the fact that I was totally shocked and angered by the school (coming from public school my whole life), and that lead to a lot of distress, which gets overshadowed in my memories. I think the thing that most surprised me this semester was seeing through the different texts how universal the longing for a home is. From Okonkwo in Nigeria to Jasmine in India (and America), the desires we have seen have all been essentially the same: the desire to have a home and comfort and belonging. It's not that I didn't think other cultures had this same desire, but it was just striking to me how a connected to or desire for a homeland can be one of those wordless, untranslatable, universal things. Home might be anywhere on the earth, or even inside your heart, and you might be a man, a woman, a child, African, Asian, Islander, or American, but everybody is searching to preserve the same thing. It's not that this fact itself necessarily shocked me so much as just seeing it build more and more, as we kept reading each very different text.

The power of belief

One of the most prominent themes we have explored is the theme of belief. In “Jasmine”, Jasmine is powerful in her pursuit of reshaping her own reality. At a young age she is cursed with the fate of widowhood and yet her widowhood turns into a blessing in disguise. Her marriage to Prakash is a disaster in the eyes of her village. Prakash, a modern Indian man, is not phased by the pressures of society but rather has his own agenda for himself and for his traditional Indian wife. His courage at first frightens Jasmine, will she ever have children? Will her family shun her for living such an untraditional lifestyle? But in the end, Jyoti’s transformation to Jasmine literally saves her life. While she is planning to end her own life once in America, Jasmine soon discovers the life she can create for herself. Prakash’s belief in her, and her belief in herself has helped to shape her reality. We discussed in class whether Jasmine is truly free or not because Prakash is responsible for changing her name and introducing Jyoti to a new person. Sometimes an outside influence is necessary for someone to discover their own freedom, just as Prakash did for Jasmine. His death symbolized a rebirth for Jyoti into the woman of Jasmine. I learned a lot about myself in this class. The most important and interesting thing I learned is that we are in control of our own future, our own fate, and our own idea of home. I learned that it’s not important what society expects of a person or where your own family claims their homeland. The most important thing in a person’s life is finding true happiness and in order to do that you may have to break the norm and go outside of yourself in order to discover that freedom. Freedom cannot be imposed upon you, it has to be sought after and discovered in order to evoke a true change. In search of this change we must never lose faith in our pursuit because belief can get you halfway towards your reality. I loved the novels we read in class because each story conveyed a different message that I was able to relate to my own life.

Relationships and Change

Jasmine is definitely a story that brings up important ideas about identity and a person’s ability to change, redefine herself, and move beyond her past. I, personally, sometimes find it difficult to relate to such a drastic story of moving away from home and completely redefining yourself, because I have really strong ties to my home and my family. Still, I think that everyone has parts of their past that they wish to leave behind; I just don’t know that it’s possible, or even best, to do so. I believe in finding a way to accept your past, because you can’t get rid of it. Heartbreak, loss, and other negative memories can never be completely erased, and it is important to remember that they have helped contribute to making you the person that you are today. If you can accept who you are now, you can accept your past, even if parts of it are painful.

What I especially found interesting about Jasmine’s story was that she seems to change (and change her names) according to the people who surround her and affect her life. I think that I have changed a lot because of the people around me and the people who have come into my life. I’ve learned a lot about what it means to be in a good relationship from past ones that didn’t work out, and now I feel like I’ve grown to be a much better person because of my current relationship. My boyfriend is definitely my best friend, and I think that that is what I’ve come to realize is the most important thing in any relationship. I think that a healthy relationship definitely builds you up and makes you want to be a better person, so that a good relationship can help you grow as an individual. I’ve definitely also had many friends who helped me to grow and become more confident throughout the years. I was pretty shy in the beginning of high school and was sort of a band and choir geek (and I unfortunately have the pictures of myself in a red cumberbund and bowtie, saxophone in hand, to prove it). It never bothered me, but I remember how strange it was to come to college and know that no one really knew me and that there were no groups to confine me or define me yet. I think I actually reveled a bit in not joining any particular groups on campus during most of my freshman year because I loved not feeling like I was being defined in any way. I also remember how much less shy I was at the beginning of college, because I told myself that this was my chance to start fresh and had grown up enough to have a sense of self-confidence that allowed me to branch out and really meet new people. I remember that at the beginning of high school, I barely spoke to anyone and was so shy. But in college, I distinctly remember how exciting it was for me to roam around the halls of my dorm, completely on my own, and introduce myself to anyone and everyone with an open door. As I started to make friends in college who were so diverse in so many ways, I think it helped me to see that I didn’t have to define myself in any particular way or be friends with only certain people.

I definitely felt that, in the book, Taylor was the person who was most like a friend for Jasmine. I think that Bud and even Prakash (who I did still generally like) served more as protectors or providers for Jasmine, and helped her grow in many ways. However, I thought that Taylor was the one with whom Jasmine truly fell in love because of his personality, and not for external factors or the protection or safe haven he might represent. I was so happy when Jasmine left with Taylor and Duff in the end, and I felt like that was the moment when she was finally going to be most at home because she finally had a true family to call her own. I also think that Taylor was the only one who could accept both the East and West of Jasmine, so to speak. He wasn’t afraid to talk about her past and India, the way that Bud was, and he wasn’t trying to change her to be more Western (or Eastern) in the same way that Prakash pressured her to be more outspoken and Western. He seemed to completely accept the person that she was.

I loved Mukherjee’s writing on page 43: “But that pitcher is broken. It is the same air this side as that.” Mukherjee references this expression at least one other time in the novel. I like that it, first of all, seemed to echo Hindu and Buddhist notions of the “oneness” of each person with the rest of the universe. Though we try to separate ourselves out as individuals, it is really the same divinity within us as it is outside of us and throughout the entire universe. We try to separate ourselves, but if we break the pitcher of our ego, we will find that we are the one with the universe. I also think that this image works well with Jasmine’s story, because she changes identities so much throughout the book, but, ultimately, she is the same person. She retains her persistence and her bravery, I believe, throughout the entire novel, and although she does change, every name and part of her past is a part of her. It is all one, because together, these separate parts constitute who Jasmine is. Finally, I think that it can also be an image for the separation we try to make between the East and the West, when really, there are so many similarities between the two. If we “open the universe a little,” we can find that there is really one global homeland, even if we do try to separate the rest of the world into a different category. Break the pitcher, and you find that the air inside was the same as the air outside all along.

I think that one of the most surprising things I learned related to this class was just how central and important the concept of home is. I’d never thought about all the connotations of the word and all of the various types of homes, internal and external, there are. Being at home can really relate to pretty much any piece of literature and is important in every person’s life. I was surprised to realize this, since I hadn’t necessarily thought about it much before. Home is such a central idea that people really need to think about and explore. Home isn’t just where you come from; you create your own home.

The Strength Inside You

Jasmine comes to America fleeing pain and suffering with every intention of putting a final, long-planned end to it all. After losing Prakash and the dream of living happily in an Indian community in America, she sees no hope and continues to work to gain access to America only to put to rest the dream of Vijh & Vijh and to her own life, valueless with the death of her husband. From the moment she arrives in America, however, she internally begins to conform to American ideals and customs on living whether she realizes it or not, until by the end of the novel she is filled with the “wants and reckless from hope” (241), a hope that had begun to grow from the moment she escaped Half-Face in the seedy motel in which she was imprisoned but that had really been suppressed within her for her entire life.
In India, wants and reckless hope were not accepted traits, especially in a woman. Jyoti’s brothers had these hopes in their endeavors to become engineers. Yet she was thought foolish to have these. Her want for Prakash was looked down upon, especially by her grandmother Dida. She would be a good, obedient girl if she would marry the widower who was willing to take her. But she fell in love with and had a hope for marrying Prakash. Her untraditional acknowledgement of this hope was what spurred her life forward. She became the wife of an unconventional Indian man, and though she was uncomfortable with his treating her like an equal, this kind of life was destined for her because of her spunk.
When she moved to America, she believed she must follow the tradition of dying along with the memory of her husband. Her power to overtake Half-Face gave her hope in herself, something new to her and growing from her arrival in the new country. Throughout the novel she tried hard to stick to traditions, and in so many ways she herself was the reason she could not. She could not live with Professorji because she had reckless hopes. In the end, she could not stay with Bud because she had lingering wants. She did not necessarily “become American” in giving up these traditional Indian submissive ways. She simply pulled out the strong woman that was inside herself because of her own inability to keep it silent.
The most interesting thing I learned in class this semester was just this: how the power of self seemed to be the driving force behind many characters’ actions in the novels we read. This inability to keep quiet the strength, passion, desires inside of themselves is what drives the action of the novels. And this is especially important in postcolonial literature, in a literature from the perspective of an oppressed people. Their strength is what allows them to become themselves, fight the Man, or keep their identity within a rapidly changing universe. Okonkwo’s interior strength and stubbornness to maintain that is what made his life fall apart. Chandra’s stories are all of the self: finding oneself, reconnecting with oneself, coming to terms with one’s life. In Potiki, Toko’s strength is what keeps his community fighting even after his death. The boy in Son’s for the Return Home finds himself through the girl and is able to move on without her. Oilei, in Kisses in the Nederends, learns he has been to harsh of a person with the complications in his anus. The characters in East, West all have some sort of longing to find themselves or are able to come to terms with themselves. And Elizabeth Gilbert embarks on a year-long journey of self-discovery.
Strength within yourself can save you. I found this to be such a powerful theme throughout our novels and this fascinated me. I did not expect self-discovery or self-preservation to be such an important aspect of postcolonial literature. In fact, I did not know what to expect in postcolonial literature. But I think that we can all learn something about ourselves in reading this literature. I was surprised to learn that the literature of a culture so vastly different from our own can be so telling of our own lives.