Analysis Of Anita Desai's Fasting Feasting

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How does Anita Desai’s Fasting, Feasting represent the global social mindset of that time? Patriarchy is evident throughout the world, and this essay serves to outline its prevalence through the analysis of Fasting, Feasting by Anita Desai, in order to represent global society’s mindset through its preeminent characters and the literary techniques used by Desai in order to explicitly detail its social beliefs. Desai’s novel, Fasting, Feasting relates the story of two middle class families and the identity crisis’ faced by each of its members. The book gravitates towards the position of women in the familial hierarchy, and explores patriarchal aspects in domestic life. It focuses on the intricacy of familial structure in India and the United States of America in the novel. This essay will explore the social, cultural, political and economic themes and denoting points of contrast that signify the difference in time and social stigmas, as well as the usage of symbolism. Desai has been known to focus on female psych and social dispositions, and Feasting, Fasting focuses on the female counterparts of a male dominant society. However, as Chubey (2004) said, “Desai as a true humanist puts the blame not only on men who are suffering from the complex of male superiority [sic] but also on women who oppress their kind.” Therefore, there can be many different interpretations of the text. Anita Desai’s society emphasizes on the injustice towards women due to the cultural boundaries,