Mukherjee

Bharati Mukherjee, “The Management of Grief”

**Point of View: First Person, Past tense**

Characters Shaila is the protagonist of “the Management of Grief”. She loses her two sons and husband in the plane crash. In her community in Canada, Shaila is known as the “pillar” because of her emotional strength following the crash. However, some of her strength is due to her Valium prescription. After going to Ireland to indentify victims, then to India to spend time with her family, Shaila has a vision of her husband telling her to “finish what the started.” This vision allowed Shaila to move forward in her life; to return to Canada and continue living. When back in Canada Shaila is a very selfless person. She begins to support charities and tries to help other victim’s families move on from the tragedy. Kusum is one of Shaila’s neighbors. She lost her husband and daughter in the crash. Her remaining daughter is Pam. Kusum is in denial about what happened to her family. Later, however she finds the bodies of her loved ones. Kusum believes that her loved ones are in a better place after their deaths. She goes to India with Shaila where she finds a swami and goes on a pilgrimage trying to run away from her grief. Judith Templeton is a social worker in Canada who is trying to help the victim’s families move on. However, because of the cultural differences, she has trouble and she asks Shaila for help. Judith is a little naïv
 * __Vocab__**
 * Evasive** ** : ** tending or intended to evade tending or intended to evade
 * Luridly:** causing horror or revulsion
 * Frugal:** characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources
 * Multiculturalism**: of, relating to, reflecting, or adapted to diverse cultures
 * Cordovan:** made of cordovan leather
 * Liaison:** a close bond or connection
 * Looted:** to rob especially on a large scale and usually by violence or corruption
 * Instantaneous:** done without any delay being purposely introduced
 * Swami:** a Hindu ascetic or religious teacher
 * Islets:** a little island
 * Makeshift:** a usually crude and temporary expedient
 * Harbinger:** a person sent ahead to provide lodgings
 * Rationalist:** reliance on reason as the basis for establishment of religious truth
 * Abhor:** to regard with extreme repugnance
 * Aphasia:** loss or impairment of the power to use or comprehend words usually resulting from brain damage
 * Phalanx:** a massed arrangement of persons, animals, or things
 * Gymkhana:** a meet featuring sports contests or athletic skills
 * Palmists:** one who practices    [|palmistry]
 * Consolations:** the act or an instance of    [|consoling]
 * Destitute:** lacking something needed or desirable
 * Joss sticks:** a slender stick of incense burned in front of a joss
 * Ashram:** a secluded dwelling of a Hindu sage
 * Confidante:** one to whom secrets are entrusted
 * Provincial:** a person of local or restricted interests or outlook
 * Sheaf:** a quantity of the stalks and ears of a cereal grass or sometimes other plant material bound together
 * Pilgrimage:** the course of life on earth

There is a terrorist attack by the Sikh people and many families in the community are broken up. The main character, Shaila, loses her husband and sons and her neighbor, Kusum, loses her daughter. Everyone in the story deals with their grief differently. Most of the people travel to Ireland to look at pictures to identify there families who died in the crash. After returning home unsuccessful, an appointee of the provincial government, Judith Templeton, notifies Shaila and asks for her help to reach out to others in the community who are having a lot of trouble dealing with their losses because Shaila dealt with her losses well. Judith has the wrong approach, using textbooks and statistics so Shaila leaves her because she knows everyone has different feelings and manages their grief differently.
 * Plot **

Setting: The people in //Management of Grief// start out in Canada, travel to Ireland to identify bodies, and then go to India. It takes place in the 1980s. Many Indians have immigrated to Canada and are part of the Indo-Canada Society. Most of their lives have recently been changed as there is an influx of Indian immigration to Canada. They live in an area with many other Indians. Most Indians moved from India to start over in a country known as highly developed, with better working opportunities, educational opportunities, and quality of life is better. There is a conflict between different religions in the Indian culture. Some blame the Sikhs for the bombing of the plane when in fact they were being framed. Themes: Themes that we thought were in this story are; denial, hope, moving on, misunderstanding of cultures, togetherness, fear, trust, and spiritually verses science.