Interpreter of Maladies: Interpreter of Maladies

the driver

Mr Kapasi- he is also the tour guide

the family & setting

-made up of Mr. & Mrs. Das: originally from India, live in New Brunswick NJ

-they're visiting India w/ their kids & are currently touring

What first scene in this story shows how dysfunctional the family is?

their daughter needed to go to the bathroom, & the couple bickered over who takes her. Mrs. Das gave in when Mr. Das pointed out he gave her a bath the night before

How were Ronny & Bobby fooling around?

they were tryna feed a goat a piece of gum

Mrs. Das

first name Mina

-she's a diva

Mr Das

first name Raj

-middle school science teacher

What animal is widespread?

monkeys (referred to as the hanuman)

What weird thing did Mr. Das have the desire to do?

take a picture of a barefoot, emaciated homeless man

What does Mrs. Das yell at her daughter about?

Mrs. Das was doing her nails & when her daughter asked, she wouldn't do them saying "you'll mess me up"

How does Mr. Kapasi see the couple?

they act like immature siblings

Mr. Kapasi's actual job

-he works as an interpreter for patients in a doctor office

-Mrs. Das finds his job to be "so romantic" & full of mystery

-Mr. Kapasi actually wanted to be an interpreter for diplomats because of the incredible # of foreign langs he used to know

Why did Kapasi start working as an interpreter in a doctor's office?

-when his son (now dead) got typhoid, he took on a lot of debt tryna take care of son so he worked in the dr. office to make up debt

-the doctor paid him 2x as much as he earned working as an english teacher at grammar school

-his wife doesn't like his job cuz it reminds her too much of their dead son

What does Mrs. Das do that Kapasi may have taken the wrong way?

she starts seeming more interested in him

-asks him to eat lunch w/ family, take photos w/ them

-she asks & gets his address from him to send the photos to him (which Kapasi calculates exactly when they'd arrive)

Where were they touring that day?

Konark & the Sun temple

-in order to make the day w/ Mrs Das last longer, he takes them to visit these hills w/ monkeys

What about his wife hasn't Kapasi experienced?

he hasn't seen her fully naked

What crazy stuff does Mrs Das tell Kapasi?

-that Bobby isn't Raj's son: she's kept this a secret for 8 years

-she had sex w/ Raj's Punjabi friend & this is the father of Bobby

-Mrs Das confided in Kapasi because of his interpreter "talents": that she always feels terrible & wants to leave everything behind

-Kapasi feels high key insulted cuz he uses his interpreter skills to help ppl w/ actual problems they're dying from: so he basically tells her you're just guilty

What big mistake does Mrs. Das do at the hills they visit?

she started spilling tufts of rice near Bobby

-this caused Bobby to get attacked by a group of monkeys & Kapasi is forced to save him

-when Kapasi was next to Bobby, he realized he could screw this family by whispering to Bobby the secrets Mrs Das told him

What very last thing happens in the story?

Mrs. Das's slip of paper w/ Kapasi's address floats away