An Analysis of the Theme of Self-Transformation in Bharati Mukherjee's Jasmine (Essay Sample)

Student name
Instructor name
December 1, 2014
Exposition of Bharati Mukherjee’s Jasmine
In Bharati Mukherjee’s Jasmine, the female protagonist undergoes self-transformation and evolution as she moves from her native Indian village to assimilate into the American society. In her attempt to fully integrate in the American culture, the protagonist, Jasmine, does not long for the past. The novel is a story of a journey and passage as Jasmine moves from one place to another. The flashbacks of the story and change of places and names correspond to the different levels of transformation that Jasmine undergoes as she seeks a better future without the limitations of an oppressive past. The subsequent paragraphs examine the protagonist’s self-transformation progress as she integrates into the American society.
Jasmine is a portrayal of the combination, absorption and amalgamation of the East immigrants into the Western society. Jasmine voluntarily transforms herself from Jyoti to Jane to Jase and to Jasmine. Even though her personality changes from time to time, Jasmine is unyielding in her pursuit of her destiny. In the early stages of the novel, Jasmine reads the novel, Shane, which helps her to visualize the West as a utopia. During her stay in Flushing, Jasmine says that “Flushing was not the downtown of dreams” (Mukherjee 151).
Moreover, in Iowa, Jasmine expresses her desire to leave Bud Ripplemeyer, despite being pregnant. At one point she says that “I am caught between the promise of America and old-world dutifulness” (Mukherjee 240). This shows that Jasmine was willing to leave a comfortable life and resume an arduous journey to the West to fulfill her destiny, which was not in the Indian ghetto nor in Flushing nor in Iowa.
The novel employs flashbacks to demonstrate a cultural dialogue between Jasmine’s present and past. Through the flashbacks of Jasmine’s life in India and in America, Mukherjee traces the process of self-transformation of the protagonist. The story begins with Jane, who is pregnant and lives in Iowa. However, through flashbacks, the story takes the reader back to India where Jane is Jyoti. As Jyoti, an astrologer reveals to her a future life of “widowhood and exile” (Mukherjee 3).
The flashbacks also help to explain the cultural clash that the protagonist experiences in her transformation. Jasmine transformation from ‘Indianness’ to ‘Americanness’ exemplifies how her Indianness comes to the subsurface of her transformation process. Jasmine expresses her “distinctiveness” when she says: “I felt too exotic, too alien” (Mukherjee 202). In addition, when Jasmine sees a collection of toys at Ripplemeyer’s ex-wife, she claims that the toys do not fit in her ‘world’. These expressions, some revealed through flashback, help explain that the Jasmine’s transformation was affected by the cultural clash between the East and West.
The flashbacks also reveal secrets that Jasmine hides from others in her quest for self-transformation. The narration’s interplay between the present and the past represents the interaction between the protagonist’s past and present culture (Mukherjee 36). The past and the present interact to emphasize the silences that Jasmine wants to conceal. They are the very silences that are behind her multiple names and identities. In Flushing, Jasmine says she felt like an imaginary wall and barbed wire was blocking her from her past while, at the same time, keeping her from her future. Jasmine says that “I was a prisoner doing unreal time” (Mukherjee 148). This shows that for Jasmine, Flushing represents an obstacle to living her dream. In order for her to achieve her dream, she must leave Flushing.
Jasmine travels to America as an obligation to honor her dead husband. The turning point of Jasmine quest occurs when Half-face rapes her. She breaks down and is heart-boken and contemplates suicide. However, she redeems herself by killing the rapist. By transforming from a victim of rape to a goddess of vengeance called Kali, Jasmine undergoes physical and psychological reawakening. The death of Prakash and her rape signal Jasmine’s rebirth as she visualizes a new ...