Coming Up Short

Shaun Bauer

Professor Brady

English 102

9 April 2012

Coming Up Short

            Failure is a theme shared by short stories “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri and “A&P” by John Updike. Failure is present everywhere in society and is a part of human nature. No matter how hard we as humans strive for perfection failure, in one way or another is bound to cross every individual’s path at some point. The world renowned movie “Rocky” also gives similar insight to the theme of failure. The main character Rocky trains nonstop night and day to become the best boxer. As you follow his epic path of hard work and dedication you learn that his efforts result in failure with his championship match against Apollo Creed. Sammy from Updike’s “A&P” quits his job as a supermarket cashier after he fails to see eye to eye with his boss with the way he treated the young girls who were in the store. In “Interpreter of Maladies” one of the main characters Mr. Kapasi has a dream of becoming an interpreter for diplomats. But he fails to accomplish his dream and ends up working for a doctor instead. Each story shares their similarities and differences, but all focus on a similar theme of failure. The characters all work towards gaining what they want but they all come up short and result with failure thus affecting them in a negative way.

            Mr. Kapasi from the “interpreter of Maladies: had a lifelong dream of becoming a diplomatic interpreter. In the story the narrator says “He wanted to be an interpreter for diplomats, the one and only person who could understand both countries and resolve serious conflicts.” (Lahiri 52). This was his dream and what he wanted to accomplish in his life. But sadly he never got the opportunity of said position. Instead he became a doctor’s interpreter. A less important position, which he felt left him unimportant and meaningless. His wife also added on to the harsh realization of his life’s short comings. The result of failing his dream left Mr. Kapasi with a negative outlook on life. He is stressed about his current standing and the fact his wife adds on to it makes it even worse.

            Updike’s “A&P” shows a very similar example of failure. Sammy is a cashier at a supermarket. This is a very low end job with minimal responsibility and importance. At the end of the story Sammy’s boss confronts these girls who are, in his mind, inappropriately dressed and didn’t meet the stores regulations. Sammy then decides that he didn’t agree with the way his boss treated the girl’s and decides to quit and stand up for them. Updike makes it a point to show Sammy’s attempt to make sure the girls hear him, he says “The girls are in a hurry to et out, so I say “I quit” to Lengel quick enough for them to hear”. (Updike 413). But the girls were not aware of Sammy’s intentions and Sammy quit his job for no reason. He failed to make his point and “stand up” for the girls. All he really did was lose his job for absolutely no reason. This story ends with Sammy standing in the parking lot and the girls are nowhere to be found. But Sammy’s failure will most likely lead to having negative effects for him in the future. His parents aren’t going to accept the fact he quit for reason, and now he is out of a job.

            The blockbuster “Rocky” directed by Sylvester Stallone is an epic tale of an aspiring boxer who came up to fame from nothing. The first half or so of the movie you are brought along with Rocky as he trains to become a championship boxer. All of his efforts lead up to a big championship fight against the infamous Apollo Creed. Sadly his efforts weren’t enough, and rocky loses the fight after a long fought battle. The defeat was shocking and the emotion of the film quickly changed. Rocky was directly affected by this failure similar to Sammy and Mr. Kapasi.

            “Rocky”, “A&P”, and “Interpreter of Maladies” show the causes and effects of failure. In all three situations each character had a goal and a struggle to achieve that goal. Bun in the end they all came up short. The after effects of these failures were similar in all three pieces. Although “A&P” leaves you without knowledge of what happens next you can assume he won’t gain anything positive from it. The other difference is the Rocky learned from his failure and in future films he succeeded his missions to become one of the best boxers in the world. Failure is something that we as humans have to grow accustomed to. The way you deal with it and learn from it to better your self for the future is a vast benefit that comes from failure. In any case no matter how big or small what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.