Sunset

Everything about “A Real Durwan” by Jhumpa Lahiri struck me as resembling a childhood tale with a moral to the story. The protagonist of the story, Boori Ma, is somewhat legend-like in that her life is this inexplicable tale of previous grandeur. No one is actually sure about her past because everything she says seems to either be a blatant lie or extremely exaggerated. Additionally, she is a classic misfit character in a fairytale. She is different from everyone else but they still keep her around because she’s useful in some way or adds something to her environment. The story follows a very simple plot arc as well. All is well until something or someone new is introduced. In this case, it is the introduction of the sink that brings doom upon this little apartment building utopia. People become obsessed with this new object until it is begins eating away at their previous personalities. To put it in dramatic terms, it corrupts them, manifesting as the story progresses until the e