Foreigners Essay Essay

Is Paia a better choice for Luba than Lachance? Luba Dominescu, the only girl of the Dominescu family, plays an important role in the novel â€Å"Foreigners†. After going through a hard time with her family in Canada, the country they have just immigrated to, Luba becomes more mature and her feminine charm gradually shows up. Paia Manescu and Lachance are two boys who fall in love with this young lady and they compete with each other to win her heart. Although the blue-eyed boy, Lachance, seems to be more attractive to Luba, Paia’s love for Luba has lasted for a long time and their families fully support their marriage. They also have more things in common to promote their relationship, such as language and culture. Furthermore, Paia can be both a nice husband and a wonderful son to help the Dominescu family out of difficulties. Therefore, Paia is a better choice for Luba than Lachance. First of all, Paia makes a better mate for Luba because Luba’s parents, Stefan Dominescu and Sofie Dominescu, have been really good friends with Paia’s parents since they were in their old country Romania. In these two families, â€Å"It had always seemed clear to everyone that Luba would marry Paia† (155). As soon as the second time Lachance visits the Domincescu to court Luba, Stefan along with Luba purposely visits Paia’s family to tell them that it is necessary now for Paia to propose to Luba if he wants to marry her. This example shows that Luba’s parents wish their daughter to choose Paia instead of Lachance and there is no doubt that a life of marriage with parents’ blessing and full support will be happier. In addition, for Luba herself, she has known Paia since they were little children and â€Å"he had cared her for such a long time† (158). However, Paia is just a boy she knows from school only a few months ago. Compared with Lachance’s unfamiliar and sudden affection, Paia’s love is obviously more reliable and sincere. Another advantage Paia has is that he comes from the same country as Luba, in other words, â€Å"he was one of her people, spoke the same language, played the same music† (158). As a mew immigrant, Luba apparently can not speak English exactly the correct way so that if she marries an English boy like Lachance, she may have difficulties communicating with her husband and it greatly increases the possibility of misunderstanding and arguments between the couple. Besides language, things such as traditions, eating habits, belief and music are also important factors that can influence a relationship. For instance, when Lachance plays music at Luba’s home, â€Å"the tunes sounded strangely to the Romanians’ ears† (155). However, since Paia grows up in the same culture as Luba, there are no cultural differences and communication barrier between he and Luba and it is a lot easier to maintain and improve their relationship. Not only can Paia be a better husband, but he also becomes a more helpful son of the Dominescu family. After Luba marries Paia, they will live in the same house with Sofie and Stefan and stay with Luba’s family rather than follow Lachance to join his father and have â€Å"a more unsettled life† (158). In this way, Luba is able to continue to take care of her little brother and â€Å"Paia would work with tata, helping with everything† (158), which means Paia can share the heavy burden of supporting the whole family that has placed on Stefan’s shoulder since they moved to Canada. These two aspects shows that Paia both brings more family happiness to Luba and helps the Dominescu family gradually get out of difficult circumstance. In conclusion, marrying Paia is obvious a better choice for Luba. He cares for Luba for a longer time than Lachance, has more support from their parents and he shares the same culture and speaks the same language as Luba. Also, he can take care of Luba, as well as her family. Although Luba has difficulties choosing her husband between two gentlemen who are both charming and attractive, it is still lucky for her to have the freedom to decide her own marriage.