A Temporary Matter

Study Guide

Literary Devices

Motifs

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Literary Devices Motifs

Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes.

Darkness

Throughout the story, when the lights are off, Shukumar and Shoba can be honest with one another and truly reconnect. Darkness is an important motif in the story because each night, the power outage provides them a space to talk honestly, something they haven’t been able to do in months. Something about the physical darkness reflects their inner darkness and provides a safe environment in which they can lay down their guards. In India, family members recited poems or told jokes in the darkness. In their Boston apartment, Shoba and Shukumar are able to rediscover the intimacy of their relationship that they have lost.

Light

Light plays an integral role in the story and opposes the darkness in which Shoba and Shukumar reconnect. When Shoba comes down from her shower on the first night of the outages, she is surprised to see the placemats set out and the old birthday candles lit as if for a romantic dinner. Each night, Shukumar brings longer-lasting candles for their conversations. But when the last power outage is canceled, Shoba turns on the lights to tell her biggest secret. The light is harsh compared to the warm, inviting darkness in which they grew closer. The light represents the brutal truth of their breakup which neither has been able to voice or accept.

Food

Food recurs in the story as an indicator of familial happiness. Shukumar remembers a time when Shoba cooked and prepared food often. Now, in her grief-stricken state, she does not make any food. Shukumar cooks all the meals for them. The rogan josh he makes on the first night of the outage sparks a reconnection. When the fifth night arrives, he plans on cooking a shrimp dish. When he finds out the power will stay on that evening, his zeal for cooking wanes because the power outages somehow made the meals more important. Food ultimately facilitates a part of the couple’s newfound connection.