This Blessed House

I enjoyed “This Blessed House,” thoroughly. I thought the writer had a very simple yet unique style of writing. The author wrote in third person, while switching constantly from a narrator perspective to the perspective of Sanjeev, the main character. The author developed the characters very well. I was able to feel the way Sanjeev felt about Christianity, as well as how he felt about his wife Twinkle. It was obvious throughout the story that Sanjeev was slowly but surely getting irritated more and more with Twinkle. This is apparent when the author reflects on Sanjeev’s thoughts on page 142. The author, Lahiri, writes, “Now in the second month of their marriage, certain things nettled him – the way she sometimes spat a little when she spoke, or left her undergarments after removing them at night at the foot of their bed rather than depositing them in the laundry hamper” (Lahiri 142). I was also able to grasp Sanjeev’s emotions toward his arranged marriage. Although I did not exactly agree with the thoughts of Sanjeev, I completely understood how he felt.
When I first began living in the dorms at Southeastern University, I was struck with the concept of living with a complete stranger, before I could wrap my mind around the fact that I was now on my own. Before classes even began I was trying to get to know my roommate as well as I could. While doing this, I was forced to accept the personal habits of my roommate as well. This became extremely difficult to juggle when classes began. However, I soon was able to love my roommate and accept her the way she was. I believe Sanjeev also goes through something similar to what I went through my first semester of college. I can see how Jhumpa Lahiri's, life would relate to this story considerably.