Representations of Diasporic Experience through Space and Place in Jhumpa Lahiri’s Unaccustomed Earth

Abstract

The aim of the article is to investigate the experience of Indian diaspora presented in Jhumpa Lahiri’s short story Unaccustomed Earth. Through the imagery connected with space and place Lahiri indicates differences between the experience of the first and second generation immigrants. Although the boundary between the categories of place and space is fluid (Tuan) it is possible to see a tendency to present the experience of the first generation mainly through imagery connected with space (movement, journey, dislocation, uprootedness) while the experience of the second generation is associated with place (motherhood, building a home, an attempt to grow roots), which therefore indicates a distinct character of each generation. The process of “growing roots” in a new place is time-consuming and does not happen within one generation lifespan. Interestingly, as the story shows, it can be more problematic for the second generation of diaspora than for the first. The representation of diasporic experience in the story frequently reflects scholars’ ideas on diaspora (Safran, Clifford, Brah).