Image

As I read "This Blessed House" I noticed that Sanjeev's character constantly seems to be concerned with image. One of the first times we notice this is when Sanjeev and Twinkle are preparing to have people over to their house and he becomes embarrassed by the poster that is "displayed in [their] home": "what about the housewarming? They'll want to see all the rooms. I've invited people from the office" (4). From this statement we can conclude that Sanjeev is terrified of the judgements his co-workers may place on him if they see that poster. This kind of anxiety surrounds Sanjeev throughout the story as he and Twinkle find various "little biblical menagerie" type items around their house (4). His concern about image made me think of how much image plays a huge role in society today. Because people can be so worried about appearance, it really limits their freedom of expression. We are constantly attacked by the media for how we should look or are suppossed to look. As a result of this, we are forced to limit ourselves to doing things that only the people around us would approve of. This directly relates to "This Blessed House" as Sanjeev refuses to hang biblical decor around their house because of the fear he has that his friends will judge him. This made me wonder...what would we be like, what would the world be like, if we weren't so preoccupied with image?