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Unit 24: Jhumpa Lahiri’s “This Blessed House”: Discussion on All Important Questions

go. Twinkle also likes to tease Sanjeev. I noticed this by the way she carried herself the times when Notes
she would squeeze his leg or his arm. She likes to read when she’s bored, but also talk to her girlfriends
on the phone. I think this shows she’s easily entertained. She’s also very carefree because she leaves
clothes at the front of her closed, would read whatever magazine, and listen to whatever song on the
radio. She gets excited by the tittle things in life. Like when Sanjeev always refilled her glass when
they would go out together. As fun loving and carefree as she is though, she likes to read thinkgs like
Sonnets and German films and was getting her masters degree. So Twinkle was also very intelligent.
Even though she was not the greatest in the kitchen, she came up with a dish on her own and it even
tasted good. This shows she’s creative too. I also think that Twinkle liked to keep her emotions to her
since she cried once in the story and that was the only time Sanjeev had ever seen her cry. I don’t
think she was crying just because of statue, but it had built up and that was the final straw. Twinkle
also shows leadership. She took it upon herself to entertain the guests and get them interested in
something they probably wouldn’t normally be interested in. But by her enthusiasm she got them
excited and they followed her wherever she went.
Sanjeev responded to Twinkle in many ways. In one instance, he would dote on her and how they
met. In another he showed how much he cared by doing little things for her. Including holding her
while she cried and compromising with her. On the other hand, he talked a lot about how annoying
she was and would belittle her throughout the whole story. When the party guests arrived they
ended up adoring Twinkle. They were with her the whole time and stayed by her side through her
endeavors of finding a new “treasure”. I can’t decide if it made him jealous or even more annoyed.
To me, it didn’t seem that he truly loved her by the way he talked about her and to her.
The only thoughts that were shown was about Sanjeev and what he thought about Twinkle. The
story didn’t share hardly any of Twinkles’ thoughts. Only about how much Sanjeev throught of
Twinkle.
All in all, I think Twinkle has the whole package, minus the being orgainzed and tkdy part.

• Twinkle—an Indian who is living in America with her husband.
• Sanjeev—an Indian, as Twinkle’s husband and is rich enough to raise family very
well.
The story is all about these two main characters, and Lahiri uses third person to narrate
what happen in the new moved house around them.

Unhappy Marriage
Like Shoba and Shukuma, Sanjeev and Twinkle are an couple with unhappiness. They only met 6
months ago and it’s too short a time for them to know each other well. Twinkle is not the kind of wife
Sanjeev exprcted. His traditional thinking and her openness cause conflicts between them and make
their marriage unhappy.
Theme
Secrets withheld and Revealed
Sanjeev kept his thought which is worried about what his neighbours and fellow workers think
about the plaster Virgin Mary in the lawn. He his this hostility in the pretense of Twinkle’s comment.
Tradition and Customs
Sanjeev and Twinkle’s marriage was arranged, they just knew each other for 6 months when they
married.

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