The debt is putting on the mask of happiness in front of their repressors. Today’s America is better, but we still have prejudices. We see this in subtly ways and in the extremes. Subtly, one doesn’t befriend a particular race group because of
At the same time Gates could have tried to understand Crowley’s view of the situation and could have spoken respectfully to Crowley. The reports cites research that shows people’s feelings about a police encounter depend significantly on whether they feel the officer displays respect and courtesy. I feel people of color tend to over exaggerate and most of the time play the racist card. I do feel sorry for officer’s that do play by the book and still gets the short end of the stick. Communication is supposed to be the key with dealing with people so they do not misunderstand you, but then again it is hard to deal with people who are so strong
I think that this use of contradictory was brought upon to help the readers and people around the United States better cope with what happened. It served as a reality check to the audience. Junod knew that the word could possibly put him at risk with his audience because he could offend readers and potentially make them outraged but he did not care because he wanted them to deal with their emotions and face them instead of running away from
Changez, also had the same feeling when he went to study in America seeking for a better life. However, Changez isn’t the only one feeling like an outsider in the text. In fact it is evident in most of the characters and by showing that each character felt the same thing to some extent of their lives, it makes the readers to think that this is also happening outside of ‘Changez’ world. All of Changez’ experiences in America and all the experiences of the other characters where they feel different from others might have also been experienced by real people. This is what the author is trying to tell the readers, that being an outsider is a universal experience.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Moshin Hamid is a dramatic monologue that, is half-conversation and half story, this allows a complex and engaging puzzle which challenges readers about the very nature of fundamentalism. At the beginning of his personal life journey, and as a self professed lover of America, Changez sees his newly adopted home as a place of possibility and ‘magical vibrancy’, his loyalty to America is the catalyst to his personal American dream. However, during a series of psychologically confront events, such as 9/11, Changez’s understanding of his inner world is gradually transformed, and he eventually accepts that he belongs in Pakistan. His love affair with the dream is over. Changez initially places his identity within the context of fulfilling his personal American Dream.
With the novel being written as a monologue we discover how Changez feel throughout his life experiences in America as a Pakistani man. However choosing to embrace his culture even more post 9/11 and maintaining a beard leads the reader to a very dramatic and controversial ending that leaves them enclosed in their own perceptions of how everything pans out. Changez’s identity adjusts thought-out the novel. At the beginning he is very friendly and playful as he speaks to the American in very polite manner, while giving off a shifty and uncertain image of what the American is like. Due to the narrative being a monologue it leaves a big uncertainty of what the American’s real identity is.
Mohsin Hamid’s dramatic monologue, The Reluctant Fundamentalist tells the story of a young Pakistani man who is consumed by the status of America and becomes immersed in the American way of life. The narrator, Changez is unsure of who he is, and whilst certain personality traits remain, his sense of identity is changed significantly by the novel’s conclusion. America is the country that Changez becomes enamoured and then disillusioned with. This turbulent emotional journey is reflected in Changez’s professional and personal relationships. At first, he is enchanted by the beautiful Erica, with whom he attempts to pursue a romantic relationship; likewise, he is enticed by the career and status opportunities that elite valuation firm Underwood Samson offers.
As a result of the first person perspective the readers view is bias and reliant on trusting the accounts that Changez provides. Initially the text is awkward to read as it depicts one side of a conversation. Changez appears to approach the American with a strong, almost badgered tone. The technique Hamid uses of silencing the American gentleman engages the reader and initiates their thinking. Where there are gaps in the responses of the other characters the reader must imagine what is being said themselves in order for the text to make sense.
The way media presents men and women may distort how we see ourselves and what we perceive as normal and desirable. Typically the things a person learns come from an outside influence such as another person or implanted thought such as a movie, TV show, music, or something they read. With the media being such a prevalent influence in American society, people are extremely likely to pick up on the lifestyle depictions presented in the media they watch. These images shape thoughts and imagination regarding their own lifestyle and opinions. This can be detrimental to long term successful self-image.
(As you can see, Hamid is quite heavy-handed with the way he names his characters. He makes his Erica-America parallel so obvious that it becomes annoying.) When Changez first arrives in the US, he discovers that the opulence that surrounds him in his Ivy League school and his Wall Street job makes it difficult to maintain the same vision of national identity that he brought with him from home: For we were not always burdened by debt, dependent on foreign aid and handouts; in the stories we tell of ourselves we were not the crazed and destitute radicals you see on your television channels but rather saints and poets and—yes—conquering kings. We built the Royal Mosque and the Shalimar Gardens in this city, and we built the Lahore Fort with its mighty walls and wide ramp for our battle-elephants. And we did these things when your country was still a collection of thirteen small colonies, gnawing away at the edge of a continent.