Line S, Jeanette

. Characterisation of Lata

a) In the beginning she finds it difficult to accept that Cardiff is her home now. Lata finds India as her home.

     P. 8 L. 49 – “Anuj burst out laughing. “You are quite funny, you know...” “Yes, Mina used to say, you know Mina, my best friend back home, said I was the joker in the group. Stand up comedian.” Anuj looked at her steadily, not smiling. He took her hands in his. “This is your home now. Cardiff is home. That is India, your parents’ home. You must adjust as soon as you can, my dear. Otherwise things will be more difficult for you, isn’t it?”

 
In the end, she accepts that Cardiff is her home now. She now calls Cardiff for her home.

P. 10 L. 149 – “You alright?” he asked quietly. She patted his hand and replied, “Yeah, I’m alright. Let’s go home.”

b) Lata married Anuj, too safe a good future. Lata’s Baba arranged the marriage.

P. 7 Line 30 – “He had lived in Cardiff for six years, five years and eight months more than her. And he thought he was as British as the white people. Well, of course he was. He had the red passport, hadn’t he? Wasn’t that the reason Baba got her married to him? Good future for you, beti, he had said.”

She does not love him, but she is trying. Anuj made it difficult for Lata to love him.

P. 8 L. 57 – “”Let’s go to the Bay, and watch a movie,” he said, pulling her close to him. Lata closed her eyes and held on to him, breathing in his scent. He smelled so clean, of that lovely shower gel she’d bought in Boots. She took a deep breath. She would learn to love him. Yes, Ma had said so; she would learn to love him.

 2. Integration in the text

a) They say “you alright” five times in the text.
P. 9, Line 92 –  ““She laughed out loud at the memory and a man standing next to her exclaimed. “You alright, love?”

P. 9, line 98 – “You alright, my dear? Lata jumped. It was Anuj. Was is the answer to that? She asked.  Answer to what? Why do people here asked, ‘you alright?’ Nothing is visibly wrong with me, is there? Whay are you talking about? Come on now, I have a treat for you. His eyebrows were furrowed and his lips were set to a thin line. Are you alright? She asked.”

P. 10, line 147 -  “He waited till she dried her eyes and then started the car. You alright? He asked quietly.

b) In first place she does not understand the meaning of the phrase you alright, and she do not know how she are suppose to answer the question. In the end Lata knows the meaning of the phrase. 

c) Lata begins to understand the culture, and the British proverb.

d) She is interested to know the meaning of the phrase You alright, and it shows that she wants to  understand the English language. 

e) P. 7, line 5 “... let’s go out for dinner or something. Lata’s eyes brightened. A new Indian restaurant had opened in Mermaid’s Quay. She had read the review in the Western Mail and it was not the usual chicken tikka and curry, but authentic recipes from the Malabar Coast. Only if we don’t eat Balti, Anuj chewed his pencil. Want to try Welsh? The Armless Dragon is good. Had a meal there once with the department. No. There’s food in the fridge.”

Lata is afraid to try something new; she is not open for a new culture.

P. 10, line 135 “ Lata was happy, having spent three hours in sunny Mumbai, reliving her past. We
must buy a DVD player, she told Anuj. I can watch all my favourite films at home. Anytime I want to.”
Lata have to accept that she now living in Cardiff,  she still living in the past instead of accept that she now lives in a new culture, but she still lives like she is in India. 

3. The ending (p. 10, line 122-50)

a) She is looking at the background in the film, instead of enjoy the film. Lata have spent three hours reliving her past, so she want at DVD player, so she can hold on to her memories. 

b) It is the first time Lata fells that Cardiff is her home now. P. 10 line 150 – “Yeah, I’m alright. Let’s go home.”