Free Essay On Jasmine

The book Jasmine deals with the question of rebirth and identity within the Eastern context itself, with its incongruities and the differing Western ideals. Her character of Jyoti, though a forward-thinking individual who defies being married to a man who believes in the dowry system or disallows being called by his first name, nevertheless follows the expected norm of marrying early. Though she has outwardly discarded the expectations of tradition, she has intrinsically imbibed a similar way of thinking that she finds hard to bring herself out of, as seen when she still hopes to get pregnant early, in order to ‘prove her worth.’ All her decisions as Jyoti were also mainly influenced by the ideals of her husband who wished to turn her into a modern, forward-thinking woman. Though the theme of rebirth is dealt with individually with every character, Jasmine is only the next stage in her evolution. Jasmine ismore steely in her determination to rebel against the patriarchy of her older ideals, resolving to educate herself, on her own impetus. Not only does she not require anyone to look after her, she volunteers to adopt Duff, in an attempt to help him become self-sufficient. Living under the pressures of a third-world woman in a male-centric Western culture, she doesn’t bow down to the limitations of women of such circumstances, as Jyoti might have done, but instead strives to make the best of her situation and evolve from it, each one nuancing an aspect of her personality.Jasmine, as aptly as the title suggests, is the most suitable name of the protagonist as she is character that is constantly negotiating the cultural/social characteristics of the world around her. Jasmine is a character in transition, not the traditionally bound Jyoti, nor is she really the free, flamboyant Jess, with no care of the future. Jasmine is the realistic portrayal of a character who is finding herself and one that realises in a globalised society that process is a continuous one.