In the collection of short stories “Interpreter of Maladies” written by Jhumpa Lahiri, there are multiple stories where characters feel like outsiders. For example, Mr. Pirzada feels like an outsider because he is a Pakistani in America and wants to go back because he misses his family and wonders if they are ok. Boori Ma feels like an outsider because no one believes that she came from a wealthy area and life, and Bibi Haldar does not feel normal and feels like an outsider because she is sick and needs help.
Occasionally, Mr. Pirzada feels that he is an outsider because of his isolation from his family and his home country, Pakistan. Every night, Mr. Pirzada watches the news to see what is going on with the partition between Pakistan and India. Most people do not even care about the partition going in Pakistan and India, so he feels like an outsider because it appears as though he and Lilia’s parents are the only ones that care. He also wonders if he will ever see his family again, or if they are even alive because of the war. “...and hopes of ascertaining the life or death of his family” (Lahiri 20). Throughout the story, it is mentioned that Mr. Pirzada deeply worries about his family. At the end, he does find out that they were hiding in the woods during the war. Boori Ma feels like an outsider because instead of going from rags to riches, she went from riches to rags, and no one believed her. She lives on the roof of the building she “works” in (she does not work