Character Development-Kaushik

  In the novel Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri the character of Kaushik develops throughout the story of "Once in a Lifetime" and "Year's End."
  In the story of "Once in a Lifetime," Kaushik is described through the eyes of Hema and the story of her relationship with him is told by her own perspective. The way this chapter is written is as if she is telling him this story herself. Anyways, Kaushik is described as an outcast of sorts by Hema. He does not go to school because his parents were just moving back from India and have yet to find a house to call their own. Hema, despite having a major crush on Kaushik, is irked by his presence in her home and in her life. She does not know why he seems so aloof and angered to be back in America when he did not want to leave in the first place. Kaushik for the longest time seems to just be an angry kid. He seems to hate being back in America and back in the house of old family friends, who now are strangers to them, when being in Bombay was carefree and happy. When reading this chapter it is not until the end that the news of his mother's sickness is revealed. Kaushik's family moved back to America "not so much for the treatment as it was to be left alone"(Lahiri 251). As this news was developed the character of Kaushik became clear. He was aloof and angry because his mother was sick. He did not want to be in a household were he had to pretend everything was okay and that his mother's health was not declining. This news clarified the questions of Kaushik's character that were raised during the beginning of the chapter.
  The character of Kaushik is further developed in the chapter "Year's End." Kaushik is telling this story from his perspective and it fills in some of the holes that were left from the previous chapter. He explains his behavior from when he was living with Hema's family. He states that when he was in Bombay his life was carefree and his mother was not sick or at least the family was unaware of the sickness. He did not have to pretend to be happy like he did when he came back to America. So, it is understandable why he behaves like he did when he got back to Hema's house. He explains that he felt trapped behind a lie that everything was okay in his life. Kaushik also revealed to the readers that his mother had passed and that his relationship with his father had dwindled away because the loss of his mother was too much for either to deal with. They had all been in such close proximity together for such a long time due to his mother's sickness, that once the sickness was no longer there there was nothing to keep the family together anymore. In this chapter, Kaushik's character is shown to be one of a son who had dealt with a tragedy in his life and has matured him beyond his actual age. He has dealt with the loss of his mother and the news of his father's new wife and family. In the end, the true character of Kaushik is shown and how he felt during his move back to America from Bombay is revealed.
  In the first chapter that Kaushik is mentioned his character is described as one of which that does not  fit in. Later, it is demonstrated to the readers that during those times of being a "recluse" he was actually dealing with a tragedy that was kept secret by his family. He shows to the readers that he was not a recluse, but however he was just too mature for the age group he was apart of due to his mother's illness.

Character Ephiphany

    In the novel Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri, the character Rahul in the story of "Only Goodness" is an undiagnosed alcoholic. His problems stem from his childhood when his sister, Sudha, gave him his first beer when he visited her in college. That one beer was the start of his addiction which lead him to cutting ties with his family and abandoning his education. Later in life with the help of his girlfriend, Elena, he sought out help and tried to reestablish a relationship with Sudha and turn his life around.
   Rahul from a young age started drinking and he and Sudha would play a game where she would go to the liquor store and get alcohol and then hide it with Rahul from their parents. When Rahul got older, Sudha thought "the game" was over and there was no need to play it anymore, but when Rahul got home from college he came into her room and said, "Hey. Where did you hide it?" (Lahiri 131). When Sudha told him that she did not bring any home, he became distant which disturbed Sudha. Rahul was changing and not just because he was getting older; he was changing in the fact that he was starting to drink hard liquor, not just beer anymore, but this change was not brought to attention of anyone but Sudha and since she was the one supplying him she felt responsible. She did nothing about it and went back to school.
   However this game turned into a lifestyle for him. He would come home from college after failing the semester and hide out in his room. Sudha noticed his change in attitude and from what she had been told he let his grades slip. Rahul was slowly spiraling out of control and it was only going to get worse from here, but again no one was going to stop him because his parents did not want to think that Rahul was depressed and had a drinking problem and Sudha did not want to address the problem because she felt she was responsible for it. Sudha wanted to talk to Rahul about college and find out why he let things slip, but when she entered his room she noticed the "mug at the side of his bed, wondering how much he'd consumed in the course of the evening" (141). This should have been a flag of concern for Sudha, but she did not want to address the problem.
  It was not until things were starting to get worse for Rahul that Sudha finally brought the topic up to her parents. Rahul had just gotten pulled over and arrested because his blood alcohol level was high. When she mentioned to her parents that Rahul might have a drinking problem, they were in total denial, stating that everyone drinks in college, but Sudha contested that kids in college do not drink like that in college. I think her parents were starting to come to terms with Rahul's drinking problem at this moment because it explained his poor grades and his aloof behavior, but they were not going to admit it to anyone because in their eyes their children were "immune from the hardships and injustices they had left behind in India" (144). Rahul was only going to get worse from here and that was what happened. He spiraled out of control to a point were he ruined Sudha's wedding and ran away never to be heard by his parents again.
   After time had passed and Rahul had sort of become a figurative brother to Sudha as opposed to a real one, he had reached out to Sudha. He sent her a letter saying he was sorry for ruining her wedding and would like to come and visit her in London to see his nephew. In that letter he also wrote that he now lives with Elena and her daughter and got the help he needed. This news was a relief and came to me that Rahul was trying to be a better person for Elena and a father figure for her daughter, Crystal. When Rahul came to visit Sudha in London, he tried to be the person he felt he never was. He spend all of his time with Sudha's son, Neel, and seemed to have a new outlook on life.  Sudha was surprised by her brother's behavior and this to me seemed like Rahul had gone through a revelation where he realized he did not want to be the drunk, who was too self-absorbed to care for anyone especially his sister who had always been there for him.
  Rahul definitely was a better person towards the end of this story and I think he did realize he had a problem and got the help he needed because why else would he try to reestablish a connection with Sudha. Rahul had an epiphany and changed his life around and became a better person for himself and his family, but in the end things got to much for him and he had one sip that caused this time for Sudha to cut him off.