"Interpreter of Maladies"

"Interpreter of Maladies"
by Jhumpa Lahiri

The Das family is going on a tour together and right away we see the family is not perfect.  The mother yells at her daughter to, "Leave me alone" while she's painting her nails, and the tour guide even observed that, "Mr. and Mrs. Das behaved like an older brother and sister, not parents" (Lahiri, 151).

Question one asks about the conflict in the story.  The main conflict is that Mr. Kapasi has feelings for a married American woman who does not seem to have feelings for her husband or children, as shown by the above quotes and other examples in the story.  Mr. Kapasi imagines writing Mrs. Das and becoming closer to her.  He even considers making a move on her when her husband isn't looking.  But at the end of the story, Mrs. Das loses Mr. Kapasi's address.  Mr. Kapasi notices this, Mrs. Das does not.  Mrs. Kapasi chooses not to say anything; therefore, he will receive no pictures or letters from Mrs. Das, and they will not continue their connection across countries.
I think Mr,. Kapasi doesn't mention the paper because he sees that the monkey attack brings the family closer, and actually elicits some parental compassion from Mrs. Das.  Mr. Kapasi observes the seeds of a  new connection among the family and accepts that when Mrs. Das leaves, she will have left forever, hopefully to have a happy life with her family.
 In reference to question six, I hope Mr. Kapasi takes this event and uses it to inspire and encourage himself to get closer to his wife.  When families grow closer, the end is happy.