Even until the September 11 arises, America is inclined to be nostalgic, and turn its cannon with fury to Third World, especially Islamic world, instead of sensitive introspection of its own deeds. A window of mutual communication is shut down. American flags “invaded New York after attacks”. In Changez’s eyes, a “cosmopolitan” state has turned to an arbitrary and narrow-minded foreign world. The flame of hatred is lit up, America has not only lost thousands of lives, but also the chance to talk and
Mohsin Hamid actively involves the reader in his novel. How does he do this? The Reluctant Fundamentalist, written by Mohsin Hamid, 2007, displays the cultural and social differences in a time shaped with terrorism. It follows the protagonist, Changez, who finds himself alienated from his American life, while being victim of unprecedented prejudice. The novel is displayed in a frame narrative technique using an extended monologue directed towards Changez’s newly met acquaintance known only to the reader as ‘the American’.
In The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Mohsen Hamid explores the importance of power in his protagonist, Changez’s personal life, as well as the political engagement between the nations. Like the other characters, Changez in particular is continuously searching for power and tries not to resist change throughout the novel as he concedes that “power comes from becoming change”. However, his interpretation of power at the end is considerably different from it at the beginning of the text or perhaps his strategy changes to achieve the power. His education, experiences and his growth in different landscapes and in America in particular is the main reason behind this shift in perspective. To obtain his initial power he travels to America as a “lover of America” and “focus[es] on the fundamentals” whereas, finally he refuses to be a “modern-day janissary, a servant of American empire” and as anti-American in Pakistan “[his] days of focusing on fundamentals [is] done”.
You can’t pray a lie-I found that out” (Twain 227). Huck is trying to follow what society views as normal. Although he attempts to pray for it, he knows he cannot because it is not what is right. The reason Huck is unable to pray what he wanted is because, in his heart, he knows it is wrong. He knows that he should not turn in Jim because Jim has done nothing but help Huck in his adventure and has done nothing wrong to Huck.
He had blamed Iraq to be holding terrorists, he had made America believe that Iraq had been under Saddam Hussein’s clutches and that whatever he had to say was law. President Bush had stated in his speech that, “Saddam Hussein is harboring terrorists and the instruments of terror, the instruments of terror of mass death and destruction, and he cannot be trusted. The risk is simply too great that he will use them or provide them to a terror network”. He had made Americans believe that Hussein was creating weapons and developing a nuclear weapon so that he could “blackmail” the world. President Bush had not trusted Saddam Hussein and he didn’t want rest of America to either.
Bomb any Muslim country – that's the policy? Get a map of the Middle East and just throw a dart at it? Well, apparently George W Bush was listening that day because that's exactly what we did. The United States should not be the world's policeman, or so U.S. President Barack Obama argued in his address to the nation on September 10, in which he explained his position on military intervention in the Syrian civil war. The president is wrong.
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.
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.
“ I was never an American. I was immediately a New Yorker” How is Changez’s sense of identity altered over the course of the novel? In Mohsin Hamid’s novel “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” the narrator Changez is confronted with the public’s perception of his identity of whether he is a Pakistani man or an American. He exhorts some particular characteristics all the time while others only come to the surface towards the end. With the novel being written as a monologue we discover how Changez feel throughout his life experiences in America as a Pakistani man.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist Prompt: In what ways does Hamid use symbolism and setting to explore the main themes of the novel? ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ by Mohsin Hamid is a dramatic monologue in which Changez, a Pakistani man recounts the tale of his brief and torrid love affair with America to an anonymous American whose responses can only be heard through Changez’ verbalized perceptions. The novel revolves around Changez’s changing identity as he struggles with his fluctuating allegiances to America and Pakistan during the aftermath of the terrorist bombings on September 11, 2001. Hamid uses setting as a tool to demonstrate the different stages in Changez’s personal development and discovery of his own identity. He also created a symbolic connection between Erica, Changez’s love interest and America, partnered with his purposeful use of setting in order to demonstrate the destructive nature of nostalgia.