The encounters and experiences the young
immigrant of "The Third and Final Continent" faces eventually leads
him to the state of contentment, satisfaction, and appreciation. The story gives
the reader a glimpse of how it is residing in different continents and the
journey allows for the manifestation of meaning of life and identity. The Third
and Final Continent is in fact America. Although this story touches upon the
ideas of foreignness and dislocation, as Dr. Zamora mentioned, it is much
gentle and sentimental when compared with the other stories, since he
assimilates much smoother than other characters that we may have read
throughout this course. This story embraces the promises of America.
The fact that the
narrators name is not mentioned is interesting, since as our Ethnic American
Literature class analyzed from Cisneros, "My Name",
a name gives one meaning. Is his identity not stable enough for him to reveal his
real name? Also, in the beginning travel defines his identity by his nervousness;
and later the arranged marriage provides a sort of stability.
The main character moves from India to England, than from
England to America. When he is in England,
along with other Bengali bachelors, he retains his Indian identity complete
with being “barefoot in drawstring pajamas, drinking tea”, watching cricket and
eating “pots of egg curry” (Lahiri). He then moves to America take up a job at Tech University in the
library. This is the narrator's first state of change. He has to adjust from
the British setting to the American setting. Everything is new to him. The text
says, "Even the simple chore of buying milk was new to me; in London we'd
had bottles delivered each morning to our door" (Lahiri 175). When he was thirty six he was offered
a full-time job in America, in the processing department of a library at M.I.T.
He said, “The salary was generous enough to support a wife, and I was honored
to be hired by a world-famous university, and so I obtained a green card, and
prepared to travel farther still.”
The
narrator did not have much money, and therefore had to live in a place with
poor living situations and a crowded environment. When he first comes to the States, his isolation gets
mixed in with his anxiety and inability to sleep. He had never seen such a busy street or car horns as loud
as these in his country. As mentioned in the story “Car horns, shrill and
prolonged, blared one after another. Flashing sirens heralded endless
emergencies, and a fleet of buses rambled past their doors opening and closing
with a powerful hiss, throughout the night. The noise was constantly
distracting, at times suffocating” (Lahiri). This quote from the story
clearly shows that the noises seemed to aggravate the narrator and it had
become intolerable for him to live peacefully in that place. This reaction
of the narrator to the traffic and car horns shows that the narrator came from
a place that was peaceful and quiet, this whole situation makes him feel lonely
and curious as to why people seem to be living their life in this way.
Upon his first meeting with Mrs. Croft, the
narrator is slightly intimidated and overwhelmed. But after a while, the
narrator becomes accustomed to Mrs. Croft's schedule and
habits. The narrator begins to admire
her age and marvel at the fact that she is a very special woman who has seen a
good many number of days and events. She is the first death the narrator mourns
in America. She becomes part of his life. It says, "I barely recognize the
buildings now, but each time I am there I return instantly to those six weeks
as if they were only the other day"(Lahiri 197). The next person to
accompany him is his new bride. At first, they are very much awkward upon her
first few days in the country. However, that awkwardness soon blossoms into a
love that is strong with an outcome of a child. His family is the main seed of
the narrator's growth because they define who he is now. He has more than he
has ever wanted and has found himself to be over satisfied and happy. The last
line of the text reads, "As ordinary as it all appears, there are times
when it is beyond my imagination" (page 198). The narrator has found
himself, after all of his life encounters, no matter how often they happen,
happy and content in admiration.
When thinking of the narrator, I am reminded
of my Grandfather, Diego Diaz. My Grandmother married Diego when she was
seventeen years old. He escaped Cuba from a mini boat, I just can’t recall
exactly how many years ago. My grandfather then moved to Parlin, NJ, for a
better life, and that is where he met my beautiful grandmother Maria Ramos. In
his country, food was overpriced. Having a loaf of bread was considered a privilege.
He had to hunt for his food, in order for him and his family to survive. When
he came to America, he actually hunted the bunny that he bought me, in order
for him to make it. The language barrier attacked his confidence. When he didn’t
know any English at all, he felt that he didn’t belong, and he felt that he couldn’t
defend himself. However like Mrs. Croft, my grandmother helped him assimilate
and welcomed him to her home with open arms. He lived in a studio, in a bad
neighborhood, so he ended up moving into a two bedroom apartment with my
grandma. My grandma helped him learn English, and bought him books for him to
read. Like the narrator, it was difficult to get accustomed to the many difference,
however they both had an optimistic and grateful attitude towards this
country, and that is what helps him to move along. I began to feel proud of the
narrators’ success in this country. My grandfather knows that I am beyond proud
of how well he has adapted. Unfortunately, my grandmother and grandfather
divorced, so it has been six years since I have spoken to him. But I know
wherever he is; he is happy, much happier than he was when he first moved. Both
my grandfather and the narrator are more open minded than other characters that
have been discussed in class, such as the Father in Bharati Mukherjee , who is dutiful to is
religion, and who blames his wife for moving to this country. My grandfather
and the narrator of The Third and Final Continent, transition easier since they
have a better attitude towards America. The attitude and eagerness to learn is
what helps them find themselves.
On March 20th, our Ethnic American
Literature class has discussed how the landing on the moon is an important
symbol. In the story, it is mentioned that the astronauts landed on
an unknown country, this can be referring to the narrator who had arrived on
this unknown country. This shows that the narrator had come to a new
country where he had no one to call his own, and did not have any home as well.
Coming to this country, he didn’t know what to expect, or how he would
assimilate. This turned out to be a great transition for him as he had to adapt
to various different situations, conditions and laws of this new country.
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