5/11 SHORT FICTION genre blog post
                                                  "Sexy" By: Jhumpa Lahiri

     
       The theme I saw in "Sexy" was the theme of Partition. Partition is the characters are divided against others, and are divided within themselves. "He had brought the magazine specially to her apartment, for she did not own an atlas, or any other books with maps in them" (Lahiri 1651). "She didn't tell Laxmi about Dev.She didn't tell anyone. Part of her wanted to tell Laxmi, if only because Laxmi was Indian too"(Lahiri 1654). The theme of keeping secrets is also strongly seen in this short fiction. These quotes grabbed my attention that fit the theme of separation from others, and separation of the world itself. Normally, people have maps in there homes, or an atlas. But Miranda didn't, she seemed to be on different world from everyone else. And her keeping secrets from Laxmi is dividing herself from Laxmi. Not being honest with Laxmi or Dev's wife is dividing them all together.

       This theme is seen in many other readings we have read throughout the class. It is seen in Uncle Tom's Cabin, as the slaves are divided against the slave owners and the rest of the world that is free and doesn't have to deal with slavery. Eliza is divided against her owner, when they try to sell her son Harry, which then made her run away for the sake of staying with her son. So, she felt divided within herself if she would have lost her son. In Beloved, Baby Suggs was divided against her mother Sethe who killed her own daughter. Sethe was also divided within herself, when her two sons left her. The yellow wall paper, the wife was divided against the outside world because her husband kept her in the house. Me personally when something happens in my family that isn't the best, it really divides me against them and divides them against me until something brings us back together. This theme of Partition can be seen in many readings and other issues all over.

        The quotes I used above "He had brought the magazine specially to her apartment, for she did not own an atlas, or any other books with maps in them" (Lahiri 1651). The author is suggesting that Miranda has little to no connection with other places. But once she met this man Dev, he brought the knowledge of maps and other countries to her which then made her more interested. She is divided from the outside world by not having the maps in her home. The characterization and the way Miranda was represented by the narrator seemed to be partitioning. She didn't care about her having the affair with Dev. She was fluttered with the love she had for Dev, and was disconnected from the rest of the world, and disconnected from her family and friends, and the fact that Dev had a wife of his own. The imagery used makes me picture her, clueless when he realizes that she has no maps in her apartment. I picture Miranda as a young woman that is stuck in her own world and goes day by day talking to herself and doesn't get out much. Then she meets Dev, and her world changes, and she divides herself from what her life was like, and brings him into her life and her world seems to be more about the love she has for Dev. Dev, seems to be divided against others, and doesn't realize the hurt he can be putting on people. His trust and love for his wife is divided as he has the affair with Miranda.

        I enjoyed reading this short fiction piece. It was kind of odd at first and then eventually got more interesting towards the end. I got many themes from reading this, like body image with Miranda and the lingerie trying to make Dev want her more, but he was divided by the true love connection and only wanted Miranda for the sexual aspect. But the theme of Partition stood out to me, these characters all seem to have some sort of division between other characters or just the world itself. I wonder if Miranda had more knowledge with maps, and actually had maps and could figure out where Dev was from that this story would be much different. If Dev would have stuck around and "used" Miranda. Or if her knowledge and having more smarts would have changed his mind. And Miranda who is neither Indian, nor Indian-American is not immune to the divide of cultures. Which then, she feels guilty about her love connection with Dev, but the desire for him continues. Lahiri makes her characters, and each person, their own continent.