“Like many children of immigrants I felt an intense pressure to be two things, true to the old world and fluent in the new, approved on both sides of the hyphen” ( Lahiri). Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri describes herself as Indian-American, while she feels she is neither Indian nor American (Lahiri). Lahiri feels alienated as he struggles to live two lives while maintaining two distinct cultures. Most of Lahiri's work is recognized in the United States rather than India, where she is descended (Mullan). Lahiri's characterization and imagery in her short stories and novels depict the cultural differences of being American Indian and how Indians maintain their identity by emigrating to a new Western world. Lahiri's inability to feel accepted in her home, the inability to be fully American, to be an Indian-American, and the difference between families with the same culture create a struggle to maintain her Indian identity. Additionally, through characterization and imagery, Lahiri shows the complexity and struggle of being an Indian-American immigrant in one of her short stories “Once in a Lifetime.” Nilanjana Sudeshna Lahiri, of Indian descent, was born in London in August 1967, to Indian parents who were Bangladeshi immigrants. The Lahiri family moved from England to Rhode Island when Jhumpa was two years old. His father was a librarian at Rhode Island University and his mother was a teacher (Hansen). At the age of seven, Lahiri began to embrace writing what she saw and heard. Growing up, Lahiri lived two lives: an Indian at home and an American outside (Hansen). Despite living much of their lives in the Western world, Lahiri's parents called "Calcutta" their home unlike Lahiri who thought that Rhode Isl...... middle of paper......" Log Post web. Reply to Jhumpa Lahiri's "Once in a Lifetime" post Blogger, March 26, 2012. Web. November 21, 2013. "Borderless: On Jhumpa Lahiri and "Once in a Lifetime"" Isak: Celebrating Tales and Truth Ed 2010. Web . November 21, 2013. Lahiri, Jhumpa. "Once in a Lifetime." Facts on File, Inc. Web. November 21, 2013 Lahiri, Jhumpa. Literature on File, Inc. Web. November 21, 2013. , March 5, 2006. Web. November 21, 2013. "John Mullan on Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth." The Guardian John Mullan Ed. 2013. Ula, Neda. "Jhumpa Lahiri's Struggle to Feel American," NPR, November 25, 2008 . Web. 21 November. 2013.