Forgetting Your Identity

Hola, me llamo Mariah y yo estudie en España por un semestre.  Living in another country which doesn’t speak your native language is a very trying experience, especially living with a family whom doesn’t understand you.  This was my situation when I studied abroad in Spain.  Living in another country you are not native to, you find very quickly how you stand out and are different from everyone else.  Upon learning this I wanted to live and breathe as if I were a native of Spain, to immerse myself in the culture and become one of them.  This is not nearly as easy as I had thought it would be.   Throughout my experience I learned of the many cultural differences Spain had from America while also learning to appreciate them, and although I tried my hardest to transform myself to be like them, I was continually drawn back to my American roots.   Jasmine, the main character in Bharati Mukherjee’s novel “Jasmine”, is fighting the same battle in America as I was in Spain, to become a local but not completely lose her cultural identity.

Part of living in another country is transforming to fit into society as Jasmine continues to do in America.  It might be suggested that in assimilating into a new culture, Jasmine is losing her cultural identity, but this is not the case.  Yes she wants to be seen and treated as an American, but it is obvious that she is still closely connected to her Punjab heritage as she is constantly reminiscing about her past experiences before coming to America.  She also expresses resentment when she says, “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).  It is apparent that Jasmine just wants to easily fall into the American way of life when she states “But plain Jane is all I want to be” (26), especially since she describes her foreignness as frightening to her husband, as well as herself.  No matter how hard she tries though, her past will always be looming near, making her cultural identity a very relevant part of the new identities she continues to create in America.

Jasmine has a strong connection to her roots, and even though she is becoming more Americanized, her past is playing a part in shaping her new identities.  Thus far in the novel it is obvious that Jasmine has struggled with difficult times in her life.  America has given her the opportunity to become anything she wants, but she can’t seem to keep her previous experiences from playing a role in her new life.  Many of her conversations tend to bring up memories of India such as the “water famines in Hanspur” (16), experiences with arranged marriages (52), and the mad dog (57).  But even though these are the memories Jasmine is trying to run away from, they have helped shape who she is by pushing her to move to America and experience a new ways of life.

Your past is a large part of who you are today, and the number of times you change your name, or move to a new city will not change that.  I attempted to transform myself when I was in Spain to assimilate completely into the culture, and attempt to leave my American identity behind, but as I believe jasmine will find in her life as well, It is hard to forget or runaway from a part of who you are, and rather then spending the time attempting to ignore it, it is more meaningful to embrace your cultural identity and let it ad flavor to who you are attempting to become.