Jasmine
In the novel Jasmine, by Bharati Mukherjee, Jasmine is determined to become Americanized while at times displaying acts of desperation. Jasmine first expresses that she wants more of an education than what she had in India even though that is not her main reason for leaving. Coming to the United States would provide her that opportunity for an education. Once in America, Jasmine runs into very difficult situations and feels she needs to fit in with the rest of the Americans in this foreign land. She feels the need to find a lover and from there start a family. While Jasmine pursues these ambitions, she must face the fact that she is illegal to America, therefore forcing her into some acts of desperation. Shortly before Prakash's death, he and Jasmine talk about him going to Florida for an education. "One day in April, Prakash said, very casually, 'Well, it came through. Your looking at a bona-fide student to be of the Florida International Institute of Technology'"(90). They then go on to discuss how to obtain a visa for Jasmine. Unexpectedly, Prakash is killed right in front of Jasmine. This triggers her to fulfill Prakash's dream of gaining an education in the United States. "I turned everything over to my brothers,
In Iowa, Jasmine meets a banker named Bud. "People assume we're married. He's a small town banker, he's not allowed to do impulsive things. I'm less than half his age, and very foreign. We're the kind who marry. Going for me is this: he wasn't in a wheelchair when we met. I didn't leave him after it happened"(7). Jasmine does not give any reasonable explanation for why they should be married. She gives reasons out of desperation more than out of love. Jasmine is determined to start a family in the United States so she can feel that she fits in. The couple's sex is another indication that Jasmine is acting out of desperation. "It wasn't hard to get pregnant, but it wasn't very natural, either. It shames Bud that now, for sex, I must do all the work, all the moving, that I will always be on top"(35). Jasmine apparently will do anything it takes to start a family in the United States. She is determined to fit in and be a part of an American family. along with my plan. They were stupefied. A village girl, going alone to America, without a job, husband, or papers? I must be mad"(97). This is Jasmine's first act of desperation. She makes a wild decision in coming to America by herself. Her decision to come to America is not only to fulfill Prakash's dreams, but her own dreams as well. "She wonders, I know, why I left. I tell her Education, which is true enough"(16). While Mother Ripplemeyer and Jasmine talk, they discuss the reason that Jasmine comes to
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Approximate Word count = 998
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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