In Search for Suburbia

In regards to the discussion we had on Eliza having a breakdown from the suburban lifestyle, I also saw her ordeal as a result of her inability to obtain a true suburban lifestyle. There were many things about Eliza that kept her distant from typical suburbaia which I think caused her to make up Joan as an ideal suburban wife/mother.
One of the key things seperating Eliza from suburban life was that she never embraced modernity as other suburban families had. For example she doesn't even have a car. Everywhere she goes, she always chooses to walk as she says many times throughout the novel she prefers to do so and would rather walk than even get a lift by anyone else. She also doesnt care for materialistic things unlike other families who were more preoccupied with consumption. We see this through their continuous comments on her earings and dress given by 'Joan'. Even though Eliza has "plenty of money" (45), she would rather not spend it on new outfits or latest trends or else she could have bought the earings/dress at any earlier point in life.
The biggest factor seperating Eliza from suburbia, and the most obvious, is that she has no children. Although something not in her control, being child-less distinguished her as just a housewife rather than a suburban woman as being a mother is a large part of the suburban lifestyle. Dealing with problems, buying the newest toys, taking them to school/practice: all an established part of a mothers life in suburbia yet something Eliza could never take part in.
In addition to this, it also seems that when Eliza is hit with modernity, she chooses to be 'invisible' if she can, because thats how she feels most comfortable. Even in her role as housewife, she chooses instead to be an "invisible wife" (45) because this way she can be aware of the typical household problems yet remove herself from them if necessary so theres never anything she has to deal with. This occurs again when she is dealing with "Sarah's" pregnancy incident, she wants to be invisible on the meeting with the godfather so she wouldnt have to deal with the awkward situation as a real mother would have to.
As Eliza runs away from suburban duty and never really experiences a true suburban lifestyle, I see her breakdown as a result of not being able to obtain the suburban lifestyle she wanted rather than a breakdown because of the suburban life. I find her goal is to become a suburban woman rather than wanting to escape from it and the first steps she takes in making this so is finally coming to terms with the reality of Joan and finally bringing her family together by speaking with Henry and going to visit her stepdaughter.

In regards to the pros and cons of everyday in Rita Felski's article The Invention of Everyday Life, I tried to apply both sides of her argument in relation to my own life and come to a conclusion on the paradox of everyday: mundane and repetitive or liberating and celebrated? I realized that if I was to sit down and look at every aspect of every activity I do during the day then obviously it would seem boring; however, in looking at the everyday as a whole, I find the scheduled life is a welcomed thing. Like most students, life is run by semesters and within semesters there are set times for assignments/finals etc. and in order to make sure the deadlines are met I set goals and make timelines to follow in order to allow a stressfree life. Therefore, the ritual of planning out the semester is definatly something that is welcomed as it allows me to use my time more wisely and make the semester more manageable without going crazy. I live by my agenda which has all my obligations laid out, just like other students, to help with any spur of the moment changes/appointments which I find to be a hasstle rather than a positive to the scheduled semester. Life is so much easier, in regards to school, when it is laid out and the learned habit of making sure things are done in order and on time is something that I would never want to lose or escape from. Nevertheless, if ordered life of school ever became too much changes can always be made by taking a semester off and going on spontaneous trips or doing activities. I dont feel that one has to choose between the everyday as being good or bad but something that can be a mix of both, and I agree with Felinski when she says that habit -although boring - is a liberating thing.
In addition to the article proposing the everyday having to be good or bad, I think that for everyone there is always the option of change in the everyday so that no matter what it can always be good even if it is as little as the housewife trying out a new dishwashing soap, there is always the little bit of excitement in trying out something new.

One of the elements of the novel, Buddha of Suburbia, that I think has been overlooked is the connection to Japan, whether it be through the Buddhist religion, Shinko, or Eva's design techniques. As I am taking a Japanese Literature in Translation course, one of the Japanese aesthetics that stood out for me while reading the book was the idea of Wabi Sabi which means that out of a normal everyday object/idea (wabi) there is some sort of imperfection (sabi); however, one should embrace this imperfection and see beauty in the wabi once again. One translation of this wabi sabi concept into Western life has been the fact that men are the flawed/imperfect beings but women are able to see the beauty in them despite their flaws and deal with the males in their lives. By keeping this concept in mind, I looked at the relationship between Anwar, Jamila and Jeeta in respect to Changez being the sabi with his physical flaw and his disruption to their family as well as how he is treated in respect to his imperfections.
The first incident that came into mind was Changez's ability to help out with the store. Anwar assumed that because of Changez's physical flaw he was incapable of doing anything productive and therefore never bothered to ask Changez of his capabilities. Changez was stuck with the lousiest jobs making him feel even more useless. As as result, by not being accepted, Changez decided to do even less work and just made things harder for Anwar. Jeeta however, embraces whatever help Changez can offer. By not seeing his physical flaws as a barrier but just dealing with it and allowing Changez to do something he is good at, they were able to work together and make the store more successful.
This reaction towards Changez occurs again with the fact that after going through with the arranged marriage, Changez would be incorporated into the family causing a disruption to their norms of life. Anwar had believed that in having Changez in the family, there would be more help with the business allowing himself more time to be with Jeeta and to make her happy. However, in seeing Changez's dissability, Anwar is never able to assimilate him into the family because he believes all his dreams are ruined. He sees Changez as an obstacle and never gets passed this notion, eventually causing his own downfall and death with the pain of the situation. Jamila however, deals with Changez being in the family. Despite the inconvenience he has caused her, she chooses to deal with the fact that he will be a part of her life. She carries on as normal not letting him get in the way of her life plans but incorporates him into them to best fit her needs.
In both situations we see how sabi, in the male form of Changez, is embraced by the female characters Jamila and Jeeta so that even though he may have caused some disruption, they were able to deal with it and positively move on. Anwar, being a clashing sabi to Changez, is incapable of dealing with him resulting in a negative influence on his life.