Individuality is an important component of one's character that may be challenged when moving to a new environment or culture. To hold onto this identity, one has to choose to either assimilate or acclimate to this new lifestyle. The Interpreter of Maladies by Juhmpa Lahiri is a compilation of stories focused on immigrants and their process of assimilating or acclimating into American culture. Their actions in trying to “fit in” to American social norms vary among all of the characters and their stories. The Interpreter of Maladies is a clear showing of assimilating into American society, while The Third and Final Continent is an example of acclimating into America. A guide book is used in both stories to resemble the difference in the characters' efforts to hold onto their cultural identity. Mr. Das, born from a family of Indian descent, feels as if he is an outsider to the place where his ancestors would call “home”. He uses the book as his only source of information, and as a sense of comfort. Mr. Das uses the book as an escape from his hectic family troubles. Contrasting to the Narrator, who uses the book as a guide but also finds other resources including people he meets and paying attention to the experiences around him. The consequences of assimilating into America is shown by the terrible family dynamic and failing marriage of the Das family. On the other hand, the Narrator is an example of the benefits of acclimating by showing a growing relationship and a tight bond between him and his son. While the Narrator initially struggles with balancing his marriage and his Americanized lifestyle, he learns to adapt to the changes and realize what matters most, preserving his cultural identity. Lahiri uses the Das’ family dynamic and toxic marriage to highlight the terrible consequences of assimilation, resulting in a substantial loss of individuality compared to the Narrator who chooses to acclimate and hold onto his cultural identity. 

The guidebook and the difference between how Mr. Das and the Narrator use it,  stands as a symbolic representation of the contrast in their efforts of trying to connect to their cultural heritage. Acclimation is the act of becoming accustomed to new conditions or lifestyles. This process is seen throughout many incoming immigrants throughout their journeys to America, one includes, the Narrator in The Third and Final Continent. The Narrator is first described sitting on a plane, speaking about what he has learned about America. He states, “I learned that Americans drove on the right side of the road, not the left, and that they called a lift an elevator and an engaged phone busy.”(170) The Narrator is reading from a book called, The Student Guide to North America. He uses this knowledge to help him navigate through the process of immigrating to a new continent. He is not admitting that he would change the way he says a”lift” instead of an “elevator”. Though, he is acknowledging that there are changes in the way it is said in America compared to where he is coming from. He reads more on the flight,“‘The pace of life in North America is different from Britain as you will soon discover,’ the guidebook informed me. ‘Everybody feels he must get to the top.”(170). He reads a lot of negative comments about America, but he is not letting these critiques change the way he views America himself. The narrator not only learns from his guide book, but more importantly he pays attention to his surroundings. He learns from others' actions around him. He reads, “Don’t expect an English cup of tea.” As the plane began to descend over Boston Harbor, the pilot announced the weather and time, and that President Nixon had declared a national holiday: two American men landed on the moon. Several passengers cheered. ‘God bless America!’ one of them hollered. Across the aisle, I saw a woman praying.”(170). The Narrator is realizing the love and pride people have for their country, despite the critics he reads about in the guidebook. Throughout the story, he learns more and more about the process of adjusting to his new routines and overall lifestyle. He learns to hold onto his culture while also picking up on some new habits and hobbies. On the other hand, Mr. Das uses the guidebook as a way to navigate a country that seems almost foreign to him. Even though his family originates from India, he has managed to disconnect himself from his Indian identity by assimilating into American culture. Mr. Kapasi realizes the family's Americanized ways. He judges Mr. Das as he skims through his guidebook. According to Mr. Kapasi, “He glanced up from his paperback tour book, which said “INDIA” in yellow letters and looked as if it had been published abroad.”(44). Mr. Das uses his guidebook as a way to easily navigate India as he is preoccupied with his uncontrolled family. It is very startling that Mr. Das is reading a book about India that was not published in India. Even when Mr. Das tries to connect with his culture, he still relies on other countries to educate him on it. Mr. Das reads this guide about India while sitting next to a man who’s job is to guide tours and educate people on India. Instead of trying to learn from experiences or people of that culture, he chooses to learn from a guidebook written by someone in a completely different country. He fails to gain the real significance of Indian lifestyle and culture without learning from the people that actually live there. This directly contrasts with the Narrator of The Third and Final Continent, as he uses the book as a guide, but also pays attention to his surroundings and learns to educate himself from others' experiences, and later creating his own.  The guidebook displays the struggles after assimilating into a country, highlighting how one can feel almost “foreign” to a culture that makes up their own cultural identity . On the other hand, the guide book is used by the Narrator as just one source of information but shows how he chooses to have his own beliefs that may even differ from what the book is telling him to believe, he learns to adapt to US culture while still holding onto his true identity. 

The contrasting family dynamics and marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Das and the Narrator with his wife, shows the struggles of balancing cultural background with assimilation and the idea that individuality in a family is primarily a reason why families can stay together to form a sense of togetherness and bonding. The Narrator is devoted to carrying along his cultural traditions. He describes he and his wife's adjustment, “Mala no longer drapes the end of her sari over her head, or weeps at night for her parents, but occasionally she weeps for our son. So we drive to Cambridge to visit him, or bring him home for a weekend, so that he can eat rice with us with his hands, and speak in Bengali, things we sometimes worry he will no longer do after we die.”(192). The Narrator makes sure to carry-on with his cultural identity while maybe not practicing it as frequently. He chooses to balance out his American hobbies and lifestyle with his past cultural beliefs and traditions. A fear of his is that his son will choose to completely assimilate into American culture, which would mean cutting ties with the identity that brings their family together. The Narrator wants to take advantage of his differences instead of trying to conceal them in an effort to fit American “norms”. On the other hand, The Das family has cut off all their ties to Indian culture, as the parents basically try to ignore their children. “The little girl stuck out her hand. ‘Mine too. Mommy, do mine too.’ ‘Leave me alone,’ Mrs. Das said, blowing on her nail and turning her body slightly.”(48). Mrs. Das is so concentrated on how she looks that she can’t even pay attention to her own daughter who is just begging for affection. Painted nails, and the obsession with looks is seen frequently through American culture. There is no motherly daughter connection because Mrs. Das chooses to use her children as more of an accessory to fit the “American lifestyle” and hide all the differences that make their family stand out. Her belief of assimilating into the US is by hiding their true identity to fit the “normal American lifestyle” seen on TV shows and commercials. She doesn’t appreciate the factors that make her and her family unique. As described by Mr. Kapasi, “The family Indian but dressed as foreigners did, the children in stiff, brightly colored clothing and caps with translucent visors.”(44). Their clothing is described as very flashy and “in your face”. This describes classic American fashion as they are not dressed for functionality but for looks. Visors are used for blocking the sun so when a visor is translucent, there is no real use for it. Mrs. Das is prioritizing looks over comfort for her children. She is showing what she truly feels is important. Not only do the Das’ struggle with parenting but they also have serious issues with their marriage. As Mr. Kapasi reflects on their marriage, “He wondered if Mrs. and Mr. Das were a bad match, just as he and his wife were. Perhaps they, too, had little in common apart from three children and a decade of their lives.”(53). As Mr. Kapasi realizes the lack of togetherness in the Das marriage, he forgets to mention that their families both originated from the same place, India. They have shared cultural identity but because they are so distant from their Indian heritage, that factor does not even come to mind for Mr. Kapasi. The marriage is failing because they are not using their cultural backgrounds and individuality as a way to connect and relate to each other. A sense of togetherness in a relationship is necessary for it to succeed. As Mr. Kapasi explains, the only reason they are together is because of their children and the years they have spent together. In contrast to this, the Narrator and his wife at first have some troubles with their marriage when trying to balance the big move to America but as they adapt to this new lifestyle, they start to bring back their cultural identity and bond over this, as a feeling of comfort. The Narrator explains, “Though we visit Calcutta every few years, and bring back more drawstring pajamas and Darjeeling tea, we have decided to grow old here”(192). They are able to hold onto their past by going back to visit and keeping up with traditions of drinking tea and eating rice with their hands. Once they realize how important it is to use their past experiences and beliefs as a way to relieve each other of the stress of moving so far away, their marriage begins to settle. The Das family's unhappy marriage and lack of togetherness, both consequences of assimilation, directly contrasts with the Narrator and his wife’s feelings of belonging and the strong unity with their son, two benefits of acclimation. 

Lahiri uses the clear example of assimilation seen by the Das family and compares it to acclimation, displayed by the Narrator, to show the consequences of choosing to assimilate into a newly immigrated place resulting in a loss of cultural identity, and lack of familiar bond. She exaggerates the consequences of assimilating into American culture, showing the Das family’s terrible parenting and the failure of their marriage. Lahiri highlights the hard choices one has to make when trying to Americanize, the decision to hold onto individuality or directly assimilate into the new culture. Lahiri calls attention to the complex struggle that many immigrants have to go through and the false belief that being American means you have to hide everything that makes you different: your individuality.