“The First Party” Argumentative Essay

"The First Party," by Attia Hosain discusses the attitudes of Eastern culture through an unfolding story of a party. Hosain paints a picture of how women were received during early Asian times through the thoughts that women had about other women. By the end of the story, it is clear that a young bride is moving into a westernized world of her husband and will have to adapt to a difference in culture very quickly.

One of the immediate points that Hosain makes with "The First Party," is that of the young bride's self-conscious perceptions of what others think about her. At the onset of the story, the young bride is convinced that her husband and a tall woman were talking about her. Hosain uses the language "pin-points of discomfort pricked her, and she smiled to hide them," noting that the bride within herself was self-conscious about what others thought about her. This of course, is a prevailing thought not just within the story but in general that many people have. Self-confidence and self-determination is a significant theme of "The First Party," and with this scene in the story, Hosain, is able to provide in-depth detail about how shyness can sometimes be one's undoing if they are not careful. This lack of confidence that the bride has is not necessary a horrible thing as she is being introduced to her husband's western world friends and does not know what to make of it given her being brought up in an Eastern cultured household. Hosain helps the reader to understand this through the young bride's actions in the lines "she did not know whether she was meant to stand up when they were being introduced, and shifted uneasily in the chair, half rising" (Hosain), pointing to the fact that the young bride would have a lot to learn about the western ways of the world. One's first party or rather experience as a newlywed is supposed to be unforgettable and enjoyable and for the Indian bride, hers is a very traumatic one drawn against the hustle and bustle, newer thoughts of western civilization.

Hosain draws distinctions between eastern and western clothing in "The First Party" also. In addition, the bride's inability to shake her lack of confidence at meeting her husband's worldly friends, the young bride also is uncertain about what she is wearing. Hosain weaves these both into a tapestry that at the core is self-confidence and being proud of one's culture even if it is different from another. 

Hosain writes, "she shrank into her chair, lonely in her strangeness yet dreading approach. She felt curious eyes on her, and her discomfort multiplied them. Overheard light chatter appealing to her woman's mind brought no relief of understanding. Their different stresses made even talk of dress and appearance sound unfamiliar", unveiling how the young bride feels she cannot relate to her husband's friends in any form or fashion. The young bride in fact, feels out of place or even like she should not be that man's wife because of the differences between hers and his friend's cultures. Hosain pokes humor into the situation unknowingly by evoking a thought into the reader that you cannot change how you have been raised but you can adapt new ways of thinking and doing once you have been exposed to something different from what you initially thought. Hosain in essence, tells us that we should appreciate who we are as people and have the ability to be able to stand up for our beliefs and culture regardless of what others think. Hosain uses the young bride as a metaphor for this message, and while the thought is probably easier said than done, Hosain nevertheless seeks to instill this message through the writing of "The First Party."

Another interesting item that Hosain notes in the story is the difference in how eastern and western thoughts on drinking and eating are. The young bride from the story appears to be used to being served, rather than getting her own food. Hosain writes, "they were eating now, helping themselves from the table by the wall. She did not want to leave her chair and wondered if it was wrong," indicating that the young bride was in conflict about whether to wait for someone to ask her if she wanted food or if she should join the others and relish in the cuisine with them. Hosain continues, "they would notice she was not eating. In her confusion she saw a girl coming towards her, carrying a small tray. She sat up stiffly and took the proffered plate with a smile". By inputting this line into the story, the reader is given a contrast by Hosain as to the young bride being able to see a glimpse of her eastern culture with the woman carrying the small tray, yet not knowing if she should help herself or wait to be served.

Hosain moves back and forth with the self-confidence argument throughout the story. There are hints that the young bride is learning to adapt to the new ways of thinking and living, but is still trying to hold onto the old ways as well with the lines "she fed her resentment with every possible fault her mind could seize on, and she tried to deny her lonely unhappiness with contempt and moral passion. These women who were her own kind, yet not so, were wicked, contemptible, grotesque mimics of foreign ones among them for whom she felt no hatred because from them she expected nothing better". By writing, Hosain is showing both the eastern thought about western cultures and people in addition to the conflicting feelings the young bride has about adopting her husband's westernized aspects.

The young bride is simply not used to the western ways of doing things.  This is made evident by Hosain's words "a few couples began to dance when they had rolled aside the carpet. She felt a sick horror at the way the men held the women, at the closeness of their bodies, their vulgar suggestive movements. She wanted to break those records, the noise from which they called music." This is not to say that the young bride was unfamiliar with music or even dancing, but Hosain is making the point that there were and are stark differences in how the East does things and how the West does things with regard to parties.

As Hosain winds the story down, she emphasizes the feelings the young bride has that move from anger to hatred to bewilderment of the newfound concepts she will have to adjust to by marrying someone not of her kind so to speak. "She was trembling with the violent complexity...when her husband walked up to her and pulled her affectionately by the hand. 'Get up. I'll teach you myself.' She gripped her chair as she struggled, and the violence of her voice through clenched teeth, 'leave me alone,' made him drop her hand with shocked surprise as the laughter left his face," allows the reader to see that the young bride is not taciturn by any means as to the contemporary processes of western culture but is anxious ridden by it. She has been so steeped in what she has learned being an Indian woman that she is afraid of what it would mean to depart from her culture. Hosain's statement here is that one does not leave their culture behind by becoming married but merges with their partner to form new ways of thinking and acting. Hosain makes the point to show that the young bride has begun to accept the new life she will now lead as a bride of a westerner. Of course, she made the decision to marry the man thus there was a part of her that indeed had made up her mind that he was worth having, so the end of the story was not surprising. Hosain writes, "in confusion and despair she was surrounded by ruins. She longed for the sanctuary of the walled home from which marriage had promised an adventurous escape." In saying this, Hosain is making the clear-cut point that the young bride sought to depart her eastern ways but did not realize how rapidly they would alter with the marriage.  

"The First Party,' is very quick with its many points. Hosain does not intend to draw the reader into lengthy dialogue or unnecessary prose, instead Hosain, seeks to enthrall the reader into a metamorphosis tale. "The First Party," unearths how change is often necessary, but not always accepted initially. This tale of a young bride emerging from her eastern culture is one of courage, fascination and poignancy all rolled into one.

Work Cited

Hosain, Attia. "The First Party." An Anthology of Colonial and Postcolonial Short Fiction. Ed. Dean Baldwin, Patrick J. Quinn. 1st ed. Cengage Learning, 2006. Print.