Mr. Pirzada's Lilia

3 Pages 750 Words

Mr. Pirzada’s, Lilia

The many characters, of “When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine,” by Jhumpa Lahiri, view the non vocal antagonist (the war in Pakistan) differently. The central character, or protagonist, is a ten-year-old girl, whose name is Lilia. Lilia is curious, inquisitive and compassionate. She becomes aware of the similarities and the differences among people not only in her household, but also, in her day-to-day life. She tries to understand the matters of war torn Pakistan, and how it relates to her, her family and the family’s friend, Mr. Pirzada.
Lilia, is born and so far, raised in America. She participates in American customs, and learns American history without any clue that there is another culture that she is linked to other than being Indian. She takes note that her parents, often complained that the social customs and courtesies familiar to them in their native India, do not exist here. Thus creating a need to interact with others that are familiar with and have a desire to practice these customs.
Lilia, became most aware of Mr. Pirzada’s presence, when she found out Mr. Pirzada was not, indeed, Indian but Bengali. This small discovery became a major turning


Pearson-2

point for Lilia’s character because this is when she begins to develop into a round character.
She gets an impromptu geography lesson from her father. He goes in to explaining the reasons why Mr. Pirzada is not Indian and shows her, what he thinks she needs to know for clarification. Lilia, on the other hand, doesn’t get it. She notices he looks the same and is the same religion as her and her family, but still wonders what makes him different. She began to pay more attention to Mr. Pirzada and to the situation in Pakistan. She became aware of his mannerisms and became more aware of the conversation amongst the adults. Lilia begins to feel sorry for Mr. Pirzada.
Lilia be...