What are the symbols in the chapter "Mrs. Sen's"?

Some symbols in the chapter "Mrs.
Sen's" in 's include the food consumed by the characters within the
story, Mrs. Sen's chopping knife (brought to America from where she grew up in India), and Mrs.
Sen's driving. The knife, food and eating in general, and Mrs. Sen's driving all appear
throughout the entirety of Lahiri's short story and tie together in meaningful ways.

Food plays a central role in this story. In nearly every
scene, someone is either eating, cooking, or talking about food. Mrs. Sen, for example, explains
to Eliot, the young boy she looks after while his mother is at work, her love of fish. Fresh
fish from the market is what connects Mrs. Sen to her home back in India. Each afternoon, Eliot
watches as Mrs. Sen prepares elaborate, party-worthy dinners that will shockingly only be
enjoyed by herself and her husband. In comparison, Eliot thinks back to dinners shared with his
mother, who, right after work, fills herself up on bread and cheese (and wine) to the point
where she cannot even enjoy the pizza she ordered for the two. Eliot and his mother drift apart
because of the profound lack of bonding over food. Food, then, comes to represent community and
home. The love and care in preparing the food allows us to better characterize both Mrs. Sen and
Eliot's motherMrs. Sen seeks out food and its preparation in order to better connect with those
around her; Eliot's mother is hasty and lazy in her relationship with food, even when it is
lovingly prepared for her. Mrs. Sen offers her homemade snacks upon retrieving Eliot at the end
of the day; Eliot's mother deems the gesture unnecessary and criticizes the food behind Mrs.
Sen's back.

Deeply connected to the symbol of food is Mrs. Sen's
chopping knife, a common kitchen instrument the likes of which
Eliot has never seen. Mrs. Sen's knife is not your typical chopping knife; instead, it has
"a blade curved like the prow of a Viking ship, sailing to battle in distant seas."
Each afternoon, Mrs. Sen sits on her kitchen floor chopping vegetables, and sometimes chicken or
fish, over newspaper. She instructs Eliot to remain on the couch during her intense chopping
sessions so she can ensure his safety. Mrs. Sen explains this knife to Eliot, sharing that back
home in India, during large celebrations like weddings, all of the neighborhood women would
bring their knives over, and they would all chop vegetables together on the roof. The knife
becomes a symbol of power and control for Mrs. Sen, a woman who feels powerless and out of
control because she was forced to leave her home and her family. Mrs. Sen's chopping knife
connects her to her home through experiences of food and friends. Most importantly, Mrs. Sen
recognizes the ultimate dangers of her knife, as she implements strict rules for Eliot€“to
remain on the couchwhile it is in use. Eliot remains unharmed, and we recognize the knife as a
tool over which Mrs. Sen has immense mastery.

The third symbol presents a
foil to Mrs. Sen's chopping knifeher relationship with driving.
Mrs. Sen, as it is explained at the beginning of the story, cannot drive but is slowly but
steadily learning from her husband. She harbors intense anxieties over the act, and we see her
frequently hesitating to signal and turn while she practices with her husband. Driving becomes a
physical embodiment of Mrs. Sen's feelings of loneliness and alienation in America. While the
chopping knifea symbol of home, family, and nourishmentdemonstrates to readers Mrs. Sen's
comfort and ease, even in the face of something potentially dangerous, driving illustrates her
difficulties adjusting to her new home. The most striking comparison between the knife and
driving can be identified through the final scene of the story. Mrs. Sen decides to illegally
drive herself and Eliot to the fish market, driven ( intended) by her need for fish to include
in a stew she is preparing. On their way to the market, Mrs. Sen swerves into a telephone pole,
slightly injuring herself and Eliot. Mrs. Sen, despite her efforts to keep Eliot safe when she
uses her knife, is unable to keep him out of harm's way once she is driving a car. While Mrs.
Sen confidently steers her "Viking ship" of a knife, she falters and panics behind the
wheel of a carsomething foreign, alienating, and impersonal.