How we cite our quotes: (Abbreviated Title.Paragraph)
Quote #4
She opened her mouth to say something, but as she glared at Mr. Kapasi some certain knowledge seemed to pass before her eyes, and she stopped. It crushed him; he knew at that moment that he was not even important enough to be properly insulted. (IM 162)
One glance from Mrs. Das put Mr. Kapasi back in his place—as the inferior "other" rather than valued confidante.
Quote #5
On certain afternoons Boori Ma visited her fellow residents. She enjoyed drifting in and out of the various households. The residents, for their part, assured Boori Ma that she was always welcome; they never drew the latch bars across their doors except at night. They went about their business, scolding children or adding up expenses or picking stones out of the evening rice. From time to time she was handed a glass of tea, the cracker tin was passed in her direction, and she helped children shoot chips across the carom board. Knowing not to sit on the furniture, she crouched, instead, in doorways and hallways, and observed gestures and manners in the same way a person tends to watch traffic in a foreign city. (ARD 37)
We're just going to point out the obvious here. Even though these residents aren't even in an upper social class, there are clearly some boundaries between them and Boori Ma that Boori Ma can't cross (like sitting on furniture for instance). On one hand, Boori Ma complains loudly to anyone who'll listen about her sorrows since her deportation. On the other hand, she somehow now seems to accept the boundaries between her and the other residents.
Quote #6
Miranda and Dev didn't argue. They went to movies at the Nickelodeon and kissed the whole time. They ate pulled pork and cornbread in Davis Square, a paper napkin tucked like a cravat into the collar of Dev's shirt. They sipped sangria at the bar of a Spanish restaurant, a grinning pig's head presiding over their conversation. They went to the MFA and picked out a poster of water lilies for her bedroom. One Saturday, following an afternoon concert at Symphony Hall, he showed her his favorite place in the city, the Mapparium at the Christian Science center, where they stood inside a room made of glowing stained-glass panels, which was shaped like the inside of a globe, but looked like the outside of one. (S 36)
We're guessing that part of Dev's appeal is that he gives Miranda, a Midwestern girl, a taste (literally) of the good life. Pulled pork; sangria; the MFA; the symphony. No wonder Miranda goes all in for the affair. Who knows when she'll meet another guy who'll take her out like this?