Interpretation of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

Interpretation of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri The process of analysis for this English Extended Essay on Interpretation of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri was definitely a journey where in I discovered and learnt a lot. When I was assigned this project, initially I was a little apprehensive about how to execute this extended essay. My teacher gave me a good briefing about the entire process which I had to follow for the execution of this analysis. I began by reading the novel in its entirety several times. Every time I read the different stories in this novel, it was like going on a new literary journey altogether. The realistic presentation of the characters by the author brought in life to them and at a point I no longer felt that I was a mere reader but transcended into the stories with the characters and played a mute spectator. Post having sufficient understanding of each story, I made note of the thematic aspects of each story, the stage setting and how this helped in portrayal of the mindset of each characters. I employed literary analytical aspects of thematic analysis, language analysis, stage setting analysis to give an in-depth analysis of the novel Interpretation of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. In the concluding part of this extended essay, I wound up by indicating the effect of the stories on the readers and why the readers could relate to each character as this is an important aspect of story narration and effective engagement of the reader. Introduction: The Interpreter of Maladies reflects the trauma of self-transformation through immigration which ends up being an attempt in futility as resultantly there is a series of broken identities that form multiple anchorages. Lahiris stories present the futile diasporic struggle to keep hold of culture as primary characters that of her stories create new lives in foreign cultures. Relationships, language, rituals, and religion all help these characters maintain their culture in new surroundings even as they build a hybrid realization as Asian Americans. But the lack of harmony and happiness ultimately makes the attempt a futile experience. Interpretation of Maladies brings to the forefront many complex issues with identity confronted by the Diaspora community. The book has the tales and experiences of first and second generation immigrants who are Indians, as well as a few tales comprising involving ideas of otherness among Indian communities. The stories focus around the complexities of several relationships, communication and a feeling of a loss of identity for individuals in diaspora. Despite where the tale takes place, the major players struggle with the similar feelings of exile and the struggle between the dual worlds by which they feel torn apart. The stories essentially deal with the always shifting lines between gender, sexuality, and social status within a diaspora. Whether the player in the tale is a homeless woman belonging to India or an Indian male pupil in the United States, all the characters show the effects of displacement in a diaspora. The characters in her stories dwell with a sense of dissatisfaction on account of their personal lives and experiences. The settings, narration, the mindsets of the characters and the interaction characters have with each other assist the readers in comprehending their plight and the futility of the situation. Findings and Analysis: Interpreter of Maladies: Jhumpas thematic presentation of futility in the Interpreter of Maladies is somewhat subtle yet effective. The setting is just about perfect with the character placement effectively facilitating the futility in their relationships and aspirations. The Central characters in this tale are Mr. and Mrs. Das and the tour guide Mr. Kapasi. The writer through the interactions of the Das couple with their children Tina, Bobby and Ronny present to us the fact that their relationship with their children lack perfection and to a great extent seems futile as the children do not seem to obey their parents and Mr. and Mrs. Das seem more of sibling to their children than their parents as they are constantly squabbling among themselves. Mrs. Das is evidently not interested in the relationship which seems futile to her and the very fact that she describes Mr. Kapasis job as an interpreter of maladies as a romantic one leads Mr. Kapasi to fantasize about her which eventually turns out to be a futile e xercise. An aspect which does not fail to draw attention of the reader is the instance when the Das couple are engaged in an argument as to who would take Tina to the bathroom is indicative of each one desire to shun responsibility. Here, a sense of futility is existent in the parental relationship the couple share towards their children. Jhumpa has utilized the lack of communication as an aspect to present the futility of the relationship all the characters are dwelling in. Mr. Das is presented as a character always buried in his guide book while Mrs. Das hides her inner self behind her sunglasses. Mr. Kapasi is trapped in a loveless futile marriage spending lonely nights drinking tea by himself. The futility of the relationship the Das family is in is very evident in the action of Mrs Das especially when she fails to offer puffed rice which she was gorging on by herself. The element of family sharing a meal fails to be present. This action of Mrs. Das indicates indifference and an underlying sense of hostility towards her spouse and children. The relationships they share is thus understood as being a futile relationship. Mr Kapasi reveals the futility of his existence as he is working as an interpreter feels that his job is a failure as he is a scholar of many languages. The dissatisfaction he experiences in the job of an interpreter leads to a sense of futility within him. Futility is further expressed by the character when he states that the job of an interpreter was taken to pay of medical bills of his son who had contracted thyroid. His sons death made his sacrifice of sorts a futile effort. Mr. Kapasis fantasy ride commences with Mrs. Das. It becomes very evident to Mr. Kapasi that the Das Couples relationship lacks charm and harmony and is futile. He begins to fantasize about Mrs. Das when she admires his job as that of an interpreter. His fantasy leads to a peak when he and Mrs. Das are conversing while staring at the nudity depicted in the form of temple carvings. The sensuality of the situation is well created by the writer by placing her characters in a setting which is erotic leading to temptation but futile desires. He decided to begin with the most obvious question, to get to the heart of the matter, and so he asked, Is it really pain you feel, Mrs. Das, or is it guilt? This quote appears towards the end of the story where Mrs. Das reveals the fact that Bobby is the son of a friend of Mr. Das whom she was intimate with while her husband was away. Mr. Kapasi questions her about her feeling and Mr. Kapasi makes one final interpretation. Mr. Kapasi feels that Mrs. Das desires absolution and not questioning, relief and not reflection. She and Mr. Kapasi are both lonely but the fact that they have differences keeps them apart thus making the possibility of a relationship futile. Revelation leads to futility. The revelation made by Mrs Das about the legitimacy of her child to Mr. Kapasi was the blow which tarnishes the fantasy of Mr. Kapasi. For a short spell of time, Mr. Kapasi was on an imaginative trip which proved baseless and futile as he failed to accept the person who he was daydreaming about to have a scandalous past as such. The revelation of Mrs. Das proves her infidelity further shattering the image of the Das family proving the fact that the relationship is more of an arrangement than a bonding of love. The writer has aptly used setting to bring all her vital characters in the scene and weaving a storyline in a natural way facilitating the flow of human emotions at their various moment of interaction. The writer crafts every character in a natural and believable manner leading us to realize the fact that there are several relationships where people are bound together for the sake of fulfilling an arrangement commenced to fulfill a certain purpose but the lack of depth and gravity of the relationship proves the relationship to be a futile on as in the case of Mr. and Mrs. Das and their relationship, Mr. Kapasi and his profession as an interpreter and a tour guide and his fascination for Mrs. Das which later on sours as he learns about her real self. With regards to being in India, Mr. and Mrs. Das fail to connect with the country India as their home but have a tourists perspective which is very evident when Mr. Das snaps away a picture of the starving peasant instead of helping him. When Bobby is need of help when surrounded by monkeys, Mr. Das is excited about the picture he clicks instead of immediately helping the boy. This indicates a lack of understanding and connection with each other and the country they are in which they understand as being home. Thus the trip too can be safely understood as being an exercise in futility. The camera of Mr. Das is symbolically employed by the writer to present the fact that Mr. Das view the world through his camera and in not in direct touch with reality. The camera proves to be an obstruction and proves to be a futile aspect blocking Mr. Dass chance to view the real world devoid his camera. Interpreter of Maladies is a story with a setting and dialogues which may not be larger than life but is as close and real as life could be though the writer presents her work as a fictionalized account of her imagination and creativity. A Temporary Matter: In this tale, the writer in all clarity wishes to point out that lack of trust and deceit in a relationship makes the existence of that relationship futile. The futility of the relationship of Shukumar and Shoba is visible to the reader as the play the game wherein they reveal to each other their secrets. We the readers learn that the element of deception is predominant and this causes the relationship to be extremely strained and leads to a point of deterioration and a point of no return. The couple indulges in lying to each other and the lies have been with selfish motives in mind. They avoid bring in discomfort to each other and their selves by indulging in not speaking the truth. They have lied to each other, and the lies have been selfish ones-told not to spare the others feelings but to allow the person telling the lie to escape some discomfort or sacrifice. The sanctity of their marriage to a good extent is at stake and to a large extent they do not seem to care about this fac t. The sweater incident reveals to the reader that they lie about petty issues. Shukumar had returned the sweater to get some money which he could use in order to get drunk to the core. The couple drifting apart commenced after the loss of their baby and the began to care less for each other and this is revealed by the fact that they have been lying unceremoniously. They no longer connect with each other emotionally and this indicates the fading of their relationship. When Shoba displays the fact that their sorrow was on account of a deceptive game, she is following a pattern which is established. All through the week of electricity cuts, Shoba can be seen attempting to reach out Shukumar. But in truth, she is working out her final separation from Shukumar. During the same time frame, the game that seems to be putting them together also displays a past filled with lies. Matters have hardly been as they seemed between these two individuals. To add to this, readers understand early in the tale that Shoba has always been the person to plan way ahead and that she maintains a separate bank account. Readers are left to think as to whether the pattern of deception will end or increase beyond repair. The story indicates a shift decisively towards a happy finale when, on the fifth evening, the writer declares, They had survived a difficult time. Shobas silent behavior that particular evening has been disrupted as the calm after a storm. But that understanding is as misleading as Shobas pattern of conduct has been. We, the readers, like the character of Shukumar, have been given complex signals and only understand at the end which set of aspects was reliable. The stage setting adds to the realm of this tale. To depict futility of the relationship of the protagonists, the writer places the Bradford couple as neighbors Mr. and Mrs. Bradford are neighbors of Shoba and Shukumar. Shoba and Shukumar often witness them strolling by, holding arm in arm, on their path to the bookshop on the second night of the power cut or failure. The Bradfords appear to be a happily married pair and as such make provision of a contrast to the main lead pair i.e. Shoba and Shukumar. The writer specifically mentions that the Bradfords kept a card of sympathy as a goodwill gesture in Shoba and Shukumars mailbox when their baby was lost. The light and dark stage setting present a realistic scenario where the reader can identify with the inner feeling of the characters. As the primary characters have their conflicts within their selves and with each other, the lightning assists in quick identification of their inert feeling. Here the writer, I opine has very meticulously employed the element of light and darkness to reveal the thought, apprehensions and turmoil of the characters making the presentation of the entire story line noteworthy. You went to answer the telephone in the other room. It was your mother, and I figured it would be a long call. I wanted to know if youd promoted me from the margins of your newspaper. Instead of looking for clues about her future husband or finding something of earth-shattering importance, she looks to see if she is making up the little details of Shukumars life. Again, it is clear that the little things mask the greater realities. Alienation further triggers of futility of the relationship. Shoba and Shukumars grief has led them to withdraw from each other. Until the nightly power outages began, they avoided each other. Shoba leaves for work early each morning, returns late, and often brings home extra work to occupy her evenings and weekends. When Shoba is home, Shukumar retreats to his computer and pretends to work on his dissertation. He has put the computer in the room that was to be the nursery because he knows that Shoba avoids that room. She comes in briefly each evening to tell him goodnight. He resents even this brief interaction, which Shoba initiates only out of a sense of obligation. Shoba and Shukumar do not attempt to comfort or support each other. Each withdraws from the relationship, and they endure their grief as if they were two strangers living in a boardinghouse. An important aspect to be noted about this story is the fact that the writers tone in presentation of this tale of grief, tragedy and deception is in totality neutral. This neutral tone is essentially employed to by the writer as the writer, I believe desires the readers form their own individual perspectives of each character and decide who and why they wish to empathize with. This style of presentation makes provision for an unbiased formation of a point of view on the part of the reader facilitated primarily by the writer. Many a times, writer tend to shadow their narrative with their personal and judgmental opinion which I believe that the writer here has refrained from doing so making this an exemplary work of art. Mrs. Sen: Mrs. Sen, the titular character of Lahiris story demonstrates the power that physical objects have over the human experience. This aspect is employed by the writer to display a sense of futility in the thoughts and existence of the titular character. During the entire story, Mrs. Sen is preoccupied with the presence or lack of material objects that she once had. Physically though Mrs. Sen is there where she is but mentally or rather emotionally she seems to be dwelling in another world, a world of the past. Whether it is fish from her native Calcutta or her special vegetable cutting blade, she has the tendency to cling to the material possessions that she is accustomed to, while firmly rejecting new experiences such as canned fish or even something as mundane as driving a car. At home that is all you have to do. Not everybody has a telephone. But just raise your voice a bit, or express grief or joy of any kind, and one whole neighborhood and half of another has come to share the news, to help with arrangements This moment illustrates that Mrs. Sen is referring to her neighborhood at home as a much more closely-knit community than that of the area where Eliot lives. Here she uses a slightly superior attitude when referring to her culture as opposed to Eliots, which helps her remain confident about staying true to her Indian roots while she physically lives in a different place. Lack of the ability of the central character of Mrs. Sen to transcend successfully and accept her new world presents the futility of the situation. Mrs. Sen being homesick is certainly understandable given her meaningless social life, her reflective nostalgic feeling deepens the situation to such an extent that she fails to relate to the individuals she meets in America and the eventually end up as no barrier to her acclimation. The person selling fish at the market fails to immediately address her as Mrs. Sen but he surely reserves special fish for her. The man of the law does not book her but just asks her questions after her car accident does not indict her. The writer presents all characters in the story as people who make life easy for her and facilitate the process of her settling down comfortable in America. But Inspite of all this, Mrs. Sen fails to settle in to any degree, drapes herself always in saris, serving to the mother of Eliot, Indian canapà ©s and putting aside com pletely the prospect of learning to drive. By conducting her life differently through recollected tales imprinted on her her saris, and her aerograms which are grainy, Mrs. Sen deliberately stays away from any kind of assimilation through the empowerment of material objects and what they mean to her. In this tale, 11-year old Eliot commences living with Mrs. Sen a professors wife after school. Mrs. Sen who is the caretaker cuts and makes meals as she tells Elliot tales of her past life in Calcutta, thereby assisting in crafting of her identity. Like A Temporary Matter, this stale is full of lists of produce, catalogs and recipes with descriptions. Stress is placed on ingredients and the mode of preparation. Other aspects are definitely emphasized as well, such as Mrs. Sens collection of saris which are multicolored brought in by her from India. The The entire storyline rotates around Mrs. Sens customary practice of purchasing fish from a seafood market locally. This fish helps in reminding Mrs. Sen of her house back and holds great importance to her. But reaching the seafood market needs driving, a skill that Mrs. Sen has failed to learn and is not interested in learning either. Towards the finale of the story, Mrs. Sen tries to learn to drive to the market without her better h alf but this attempt leads to a car accident. Eliot soon stops living with Mrs. Sen after this. Conclusion: To conclude with, I am of the conviction that Jhumpa Lahiri, the Pulitzer prize winner for this literary work of art The Interpretation of Maladies has undoubtedly excelled in creating a work of literary expression which presents human emotion and interaction in its rawest form. This makes each story believable and close to the readers heart. She has very well employed the human emotion of sorrow in most of the stories as this I believe is one emotion which every individual can deeply identify with and relate to. Her characters such as that of Mrs. Sen, Shoba, Sukumar, Mrs Das and the others are very realistic as they are presented as ordinary humans with issues which every other individual deals with. The added aspect to this realistic presentation is the fact that her characters are primarily migrants finding it hard to get acquainted to a European culture and are being confronted with culture issues and discrimination. She has woven a beautiful story line in each story and the rea ders are drawn enigmatically into her world and her style of storytelling which is essentially different in a unique way than their contemporaries. The stage setting employed in each story differs and is highly apt to the story complementing the story and presenting the characters in a comprehensive way. The Temporary Matter, Mrs. Sen, Interpretation of Maladies etc. has stage setting which make the story realistic and not deviate the attention of the writer. This is an important aspect which can be understood in her works. The language employed by the writer to present her characters is another vital aspect. The language is simple and precise without being dramatic. More importantly the body language of the character plays vital part in communicating the essence and the feeling within the characters. Each story of hers has message or a theme which is learnt by the reader in the process of acquainting himself in her stories. Her bring out themes of deception, love, tragedy, discrimination in a manner most beautiful and subtle.

Islamic Womens’ Rights Essay

Islam since its inception has maintained the claim of universality – a message and a way of life applicable and appropriate to all peoples in all places and times. Now more clearly than at any other point in the history of the Islamic tradition, this claim seems to be manifested through the presence of Muslim communities literally across the world. The Muslim population is estimated in the range of one billion, approximately half of whom are women representing a great range of cultures, racial-ethnic identifications, interests, attitudes, and aspirations. While it may be rather daunting to attempt to generalize about Muslim women, it is nonetheless true that certain themes emerge with some regularity when one looks across the Islamic world. Muslims struggle with and attempt to reconcile the affirmation of their heritage with the challenges of the modern world and the ongoing legacy of Western imperialism. Muslim women in all societies are key to these discussions, both subjects and objects in a very important and continuing debate about what it means to be a Islamic woman. Women’s rights (both Islamic and constitutional) are under constant debate, as are matters of seclusion and segregation, the relationship of women’s circumstances to fundamentalist religious pressures, and the role of women in political struggles for independence and economic advancement. Some countries such as Egypt have stressed the importance of women’s education for the better part of the century. Others like Saudi Arabia have only recently begun to work toward this goal. It is clear that overall there is increased attention to the importance of education for Muslim females both as a right and a value in and of itself, and as an essential ingredient in the advancement of nations. As in many areas, it is also clear that enormous differences exist educationally for women in urban and in rural areas, a dichotomy that at least in the short run probably will become even more pronounced (Carroll 85). There is also the major concern of women’s employment in Muslim countries and the debate over which occupations are considered proper for women to pursue. In many countries shortages in the labor force are making it imperative for women to work, but the tide of traditionalism tends to mitigate strongly in limiting those opportunities. In many countries increasing numbers of women are engaged as wage earners, but they are limited primarily to such occupations as teaching and medicine (Hussein and Radwan 12). The oil wealth of the Gulf states had led both to better education and to more work opportunities, although the conservative Islamic ethos has severely complicated the situation. Kuwait offers the greatest opportunities for women’s employment, and Bahrain with its economic diversification is opening new doors for female employment (Hussein and Radwan 12). Whether because of or despite Islam or government policies, women across the Islamic world are becoming more economically active. This does not necessarily mean, of course, that they are pressing for increased work opportunities. Many women would prefer not to work, doing so only because of economic necessities and happy that the extra money earned means a more comfortable life for their families. Enhanced professional opportunity for women is not without its down side. Women in a number of cultures have come to realize that along with the societal and familial strains that occur when women work outside the home (including perceptions that men cannot support their families) is the reality of women taking on added responsibilities without the expectation that they will be able to do less in other areas of their lives. And the relationship of economically and politically active women to the advancement of the state adds further strains for many women (Mintjes 17). In Iraq, for example, women’s liberation and full integration into society is a part of the Ba’th party platform. But reforms in personal status laws lag behind the political rhetoric, adding to the burdens of women (Sanasarian 124-125). This is generally true across the Islamic world, and it means that these burdens will continue as long as there is no real resolve in the tension between needing women for national development and not being able to accord them full status in society because of socio-religious restrictions (Rassam 99). The other issue is, undoubtedly, the question of women’s dress which is one of the most pressing concerns of Islamic societies today. Sometimes the government in allegiance with the religious establishment and seeking its support insists on women wearing â€Å"appropriate† covering. In other instances governments are making every attempt to discourage the wearing of Islamic dress precisely because they fear the rising power of extremist fundamentalism (Yeganeh 26-27). Today controversy over the government’s ban on students wearing Islamic dress at the universities has become a major ideological and political issue. Islamic conservatives say that the Quran dictates the wearing of the turban, preferably with a kind of long loose overcoat covering the body to the feet. The government’s supreme educational council has recommended disciplinary action for any female students appearing in such dress. The debate has become a major one in the struggle between secularist ideology and Islamic revivalism in that country (Bahry 502). Besides, the question of birth control is a matter of major concern to many Muslim families. While a few of the ulama, if supported by state efforts, are saying that there is Islamic sanction for some preventive measures, the majority oppose any such control as un-Islamic. When young Iraqi men and boys were being killed in the war with Iran, the government waged a campaign stressing the role of women as mothers. Contraceptives were no longer allowed at the same time that men were encouraged to take second wives for the purpose of having more children. Clearly there are differences in men’s and women’s attitudes on the issue of birth control. In Tunisia, for example, where legislation concerning women is generally seen to be more progressive than in many other countries, a survey showed that far more women than men favored the use of contraceptives. Where official policy does not support the possibility of contraception more subtle measures are sometimes used. In Bahrain housing projects limit the number of bedrooms so that they are available only to families with two children (Bahry 509- 511). Finally, a word needs to be said about Muslim women and the rise of feminism. It cannot perhaps be emphasized too strongly that whatever stand Islamic women may take on issues of education, employment, and equal opportunities in society, they have serious reservations about what they understand to be feminism in the Western context. For the most part they find it too individualistic, too removed from genuine cooperation between males and females, and too much tied to forms of Western colonialism and imperialism. â€Å"Sexual behavior that may strike an American feminist as liberated,† said one young Tunisian woman, â€Å"may strike me as just another form of slavery, and a rather neurotic form at that† (Megademeni 10). Muslim women and men together are still very much in the process of working out ways in which to affirm their Islamic identity as members of societies and nations moving into a new century. The issues they face will not be quickly or easily resolved. Women are not only faced by a number of conflicting pressures and claims on their allegiance, but find themselves speaking to a number of different audiences – their husbands and families, their Islamic sisters, their Western critics, the clerics or government agencies responsible for determining many of the circumstances of their lives, themselves. There is little question that many women across the Islamic world are becoming increasingly aware of the rights that belong to them within the Islamic system, as well as of themselves as key players in the movements that will continue to redefine the Islamic way of life. The responses they give to their own changing circumstances may vary with the different situations to which they are called to respond, and they may change fairly dramatically in the next few years. But it is clear that whatever solutions are found to the issues that they face, for most women they will be discovered in conversation with other females as well as males in the Muslim community, and they will be – in one form or another – Islamic solutions. Works Cited Bahry, Louay. â€Å"The New Saudi Woman: Modernizing in an Islamic Framework.† Middle East Journal. Vol. 34: 4, 2002. Carroll, Lucy. â€Å"Nizan-I-Islam: Processes an Conflicts in Pakistan’s Programme of Islamisation, with Special Reference to the Position of Women. † In Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics. Vol. 20: 1992. Hussein, Freda and Radwan, Kamelia. â€Å"The Islamic Revolution and Women: Quest for the Quranic Model. † Freda Hussein, ed. , Muslim Women. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994. Megademeni, Negiba. â€Å"Muslim Women Developing a Theory of Islamic Feminism. † Unitarian Universalist World. Vol.16: 8, August 15, 1995. Mintjes, H. â€Å"The Doctor and the Ladies: A New Debate on ‘Women and Islam’ in Pakistan. † al-Mushir. Vol. 25: 1993. Rassam, Amal. â€Å"Revolution Within the Revolution? Women and the State in Iraq. † Iraq: The Contemporary State. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2002. Sanasarian, Eliz. The Women’s Rights Movement in Iran. New York: Praeger, 2001. Yeganeh, Nahid. â€Å"Women’s Struggles in the Islamic Republic of Iran. † Azar Tabari and Nahid Yeganeh, eds. , In the Shadow of Islam: The Women’s Movement in Iran. London: Zed Press, 1982.

How Does Jell-O Gelatin Work

Jell-O gelatin is a tasty jiggly treat that results from a bit of chemistry kitchen magic. Heres a look at what Jell-O is made from and how Jell-O works. Whats in Jell-O? Jell-O and other flavored gelatin contain gelatin, water, sweetener (usually ​it is sugar), artificial colors, and flavoring. The key ingredient is the gelatin, which is a processed form of collagen, a protein found in most animals. Source of the Gelatin Most of us have heard that gelatin comes from cow horns and hooves, and it sometimes does, but most of the collagen used to make gelatin comes from pig and cow skin and bones. These animal products are ground up and treated with acids or bases to release the collagen. The mixture is boiled and the top layer of gelatin is skimmed off the surface. From Gelatin Powder to Jell-O: The Chemistry Process When you dissolve the gelatin powder in hot water, you break the weak bonds that hold the collagen protein chains together. Each chain is a triple-helix that will float around in the bowl until the gelatin cools and new bonds form between the amino acids in the protein. Flavored and colored water fills in the spaces between the polymer chains, becoming trapped as the bonds become more secure. Jell-O is mostly water, but the liquid is trapped in the chains so Jell-O jiggles when you shake it. If you heat the Jell-O, you will break the bonds that hold the protein chains together, liquefying the gelatin again.

What Javascript Cannot Do

While there are a great many things that JavaScript can be used to enhance your web pages and improve your visitors experience with your site, there are also a few things that JavaScript cant do. Some of these limitations are due to the fact that the script is running in the browser window and therefore cannot access the server while others are as a result of security that is in place to stop web pages from being able to tamper with your computer. There is no way to work around these limitations and anyone who claims to be able to perform any of the following tasks using JavaScript has not considered all of the aspects of whatever it is that they are trying to do. It Cannot Write to Files on the Server Without the Help of a Server-Side Script Using Ajax, JavaScript can send a request to the server. This request can read a file in XML or plain text format but it cannot write to a file unless the file called on the server actually runs as a script to do the file write for you. JavaScript cannot access databases unless you use Ajax and have a server-side script to perform the database accesses for you. It Cannot Read From or Write to Files in the Client Even though JavaScript is running on the client computer (the one where the web page is being viewed) it is not allowed to access anything outside of the web page itself. This is done for reasons of security since otherwise a web page would be able to update your computer to install who knows what. The only exception to this are files called cookies which are small text files that JavaScript can write to and read from. The browser restricts access to cookies so that a given web page can only access cookies created by the same site. JavaScript cannot close a window if it didnt open it. Again this is for security reasons. It Cannot Access Web Pages Hosted on Another Domain Even though web pages from different domains can be displayed at the same time, either in separate browser windows or in separate frames within the same browser window, the JavaScript running on a web page belonging to one domain cannot access any information about a web page from a different domain. This helps to ensure that private information about you that may be known to the owners of one domain is not shared with other domains whose web pages you may have open concurrently. The only way to access files from another domain is to do an Ajax call to your server and have a server side script access the other domain. It Cannot Protect Your Page Source or Images Any images on your web page are downloaded separately to the computer displaying the web page so the person viewing the page already has a copy of all of the images by the time they view the page. The same is true of the actual HTML source of the web page. The web page needs to be able to decrypt any web page that is encrypted in order to be able to display it. While an encrypted web page may require JavaScript to be enabled in order for the page to be able to be decrypted in order for it to be able to be displayed by the web browser, once the page has been decrypted anyone who knows how can easily save the decrypted copy of the page source.