How we cite our quotes: (Abbreviated Title.Paragraph)
Quote #4
As they waited at the tea stall, Ronny, who looked like the older of the two boys, clambered suddenly out of the back seat, intrigued by a goat tied to a stake in the ground.
"Don't touch it," Mr. Das said. He glanced up from his paperback tour book, which said "INDIA" in yellow letters and looked as if it had been published abroad. (IM 3-4)
Note the irony here: a guy who looks Indian with an Indian last name needs a tour book in order to experience "INDIA," a tour book that isn't even published in India. Mr. Das and his family might as well not be Indian at all. At least, that's what Mr. Kapasi thinks.
Quote #5
The freezer case was stuffed with bags of pita bread and vegetables she didn't recognize. The only thing she recognized was a rack lined with bags and bags of the Hot Mix that Laxmi was always eating. She thought about buying some for Laxmi, then hesitated, wondering how to explain what she'd been doing in an Indian grocery.
"Very spicy," the man said, shaking his head, his eyes traveling across Miranda's body. "Too spicy for you." (S 69-70)
How does the store owner know that the Hot Mix is too spicy for Miranda? Just because she isn't Indian doesn't mean she can't enjoy a little Hot Mix too. But we see how far she has to go to learn about Dev's culture. She can't even identify the vegetables in the grocery's freezer. Miranda in the Indian grocery is an ideal image of the meeting of two cultures and the misunderstandings that can happen.
Quote #6
He especially enjoyed watching Mrs. Sen as she chopped things, seated on newspapers on the living room floor. Instead of a knife she used a blade that curved like the prow of a Viking ship, sailing to battle in distant seas. The blade was hinged at one end to a narrow wooden base. The steel, more black than silver, lacked a uniform polish, and had a serrated crest, she told Eliot, for grating. Each afternoon Mrs. Sen lifted the blade and locked it into place, so that it met the base at an angle. Facing the sharp edge without ever touching it, she took whole vegetables between her hands and hacked them apart: cauliflower, cabbage, butternut squash. She split things in half, then quarters, speedily producing florets, cubes, slices and shreds. She could peel a potato in seconds. (MS 13)
We think it's pretty cool how Eliot's just fascinated by the different chopping tool and techniques Mrs. Sen brings to his little New England world. It gives us an unbiased view of the contrast between their worlds. Being young and naïve, Eliot simply observes and notices, without making assumptions or judgments, like his mother has done. This is similar to how Lilia observes Mr. Pirzada—watching and remembering.