What are the main themes of Fasting, Feasting?
Fasting, Feasting Themes
- Gender and Social Roles.
- Family Life and Individual Freedom.
- Plenty/”Feasting” vs.
- Tradition/India vs.
- Loneliness and Togetherness.
What is the significance of the title Fasting, Feasting?
Desai uses food as metaphor (the fasting and feasting of the title) to compare and contrast the two families. In one culture, food is used as a vehicle to express communion; in the other, it is used to express isolation. In India the sharing of meals assumes almost ritualistic importance.
Which two cultures does Anita Desai represent in Fasting, Feasting?
Anita Desai’s Fasting, Feasting, as it is implied in the title itself, is a novel of contrast between two cultures, the one, Indian, known for its pious and longstanding customs representing ‘fasting,’ and the other, American, a country of opulence and sumptuousness epitomising ‘feasting.
What is the name of the protagonist in Fasting, Feasting?
Uma
The story focuses on the life of the unmarried and main character, Uma, a spinster, the family’s older daughter, with Arun, the boy and baby of the family.
Why is Uma removed from the convent school?
Uma has an earnest desire to learn, despite her handicaps, because she seeks stimulation outside the confining world in the home of her parents. Uma’s world narrows even more when she is removed from the convent school in order to help care for her newborn brother, Arun.
Which are the two families that Anita Desai uses to represent the two cultures?
Family versus Individuality Desai portrays two families from different cultures that seem as different as night from day. Mama and Papa helm a provincial Indian family, in which traditional customs dictate their marriage, roles, and expectations for their children.
What two countries are the settings for Fasting, Feasting?
What two countries are the settings for “Fasting, Feasting”? India and the United States.
What is the profession of Papa in Fasting, Feasting?
Papa is a proud, yet insecure middle-class legal magistrate, the husband of Mama and the father of Uma, Aruna and Arun.
What is fasting and feasting?
As the name implies, you starve yourself by fasting one day and then you feast the next, and then repeat that pattern again and again.
Who is Arun in Fasting, Feasting?
Arun is the quiet, introverted baby brother of Uma, and the youngest child of Mama and Papa. From Arun’s birth, Mama and Papa proudly invest all of their hopes and dreams into Arun, smothering him with attention and forcing him to study until he has no energy left.
What is the meaning of fasting and feasting?
What happens to Uma in fasting feasting?
At an early age, Uma disappoints her parents by enthusiastically pursuing school, despite her failing grades, and showing no interest in domestic duties. Against Uma’s will, Mama and Papa remove her from the convent school early, forcing her to stay at home and take care of her baby brother, Arun.
What is the theme of fasting feasting by Sai Desai?
Download a PDF to print or study offline. Family is deeply important in Fasting, Feasting. Desai portrays two families from different cultures that seem as different as night from day. Mama and Papa helm a provincial Indian family, in which traditional customs dictate their marriage, roles, and expectations for their children.
How can I track the themes in Fasting Feasting?
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Fasting, Feasting, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. The pressures and expectations placed on the different characters in the novel show the contrast in the social roles men and women are expected to fulfill, both in India and in the United States.
What is the importance of family in Fasting Feasting?
Family is deeply important in Fasting, Feasting. Desai portrays two families from different cultures that seem as different as night from day. Mama and Papa helm a provincial Indian family, in which traditional customs dictate their marriage, roles, and expectations for their children.
What is the role of Papa in Fasting Feasting litchart?
Papa, a middle-government magistrate with a fragile ego, dominates his family life by dictating the family’s daily activities and everyone’s futures. Priding herself as the wife of an important man, Mama cooperates with Papa on almost every issue. Get the entire Fasting, Feasting LitChart as a printable PDF.