The Great Gatsby’s failure to answer the questions of whether or not Tom knew of Daisy’s involvement in Myrtle’s death and what the exact meaning of Nick’s assertion at the end of the book meant reflect the ongoing themes that are based upon the harsh reality that the American dream brings, the confused disillusionment of the time, and the synthetic moral and societal values of the United Sates during the nineteen twenties. In the final chapter of The Great Gatsby, Nick claims that the American dream was originally based on pure and optimistic desires, such as individuality and the idea of producing one’s own gladness, but it was then clouded by the growing greed of man and the progressively weak ethical standards created during this period. Nick’s visions of the West as having a more honest and moral based culture indirectly imitate Gatsby’s romanticized feelings towards the future he hoped for with Daisy. The “real snow” (Fitzgerald, 175) that he refers to helps to drive this idea into a more directly formed opinion. All in all, his romanticized feelings towards the west compared to the growing phoniness of the east help to create the image of the dream of America moving from a state of bright development to a point of tainted existence.
Changez does find his identity throughout his journey, however, at time he loses himself and is confused about where he belongs. Ideas: Finding his identity: Realisations, moves back to Lahore Losing his identity: Pretending to be Chris, starts acting like an American (in Philippines) Confused about his identity: Beard, 9/11 attacks, “Princeton made everything possible…but it did not, could not, make me forget such things as how much I enjoy the tea in this, the city of my birth” Mohsin Hamid’s novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist, illustrates the conflicting struggle between the protagonist Changez and his ongoing pursuit to discover his identity throughout his peregrination. Through the duration of the novel, the reader is subjected to Changez’s transitioning character as he endeavours the challenges which are faced by a foreigner in New York during the terrorist attacks of September 11th. Changez battles with the uncertainty which is bestowed up him from being both a New Yorker and a Pakistani man, which puts his identity into question. Through the many events which feature in the novel, the reader is able to deduct that whilst Changez may lose himself and become perplexed about his identity during his time in New York, he ultimately is a man who is entrenched in his heritage.
However, during a series of psychologically confronting events, 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"-America is over. Nevertheless, it is a long and arduous task for Changez, as he seeks to discover a sense of his own self and of the internal connections between his personal and political ideology. Changez's life journey encompasses his understanding of the need for spiritual development.As a"reluctant fundamentalist", Changez is forced to strip back the layers of his personal and professional life to see his situation with more clarity. This new clarity also reveals something fundamental about America that he, and perhaps readers, must come to terms with in the course of the novel.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist In the text ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ by Mohsin Hamid, the protagonist Changez is slowly revealed as an unreliable narrator through the progression of the framed narrative. Mohsin Hamid has written this piece as an extended monologue and used it create security within the reader and the details of the story, but then slowly shifts the whole situation and little by little continues the development of Changez being an unreliable narrator. Slowly but surely, as the novel progresses, the reader is shown the comparisons that the narrator Changez makes between cultures, the views that he has and racial prejudice he develops towards Americans when talking to the unnamed American tourist. It is also gradually revealed to the reader that Changez has forgotten many details of his story when recounting it, also exaggerating parts and giving his views on certain things, hence making him an unreliable narrator. It is very easy to believe everything that Changez says in the beginning, because of his likeable characteristics, but the more and more one connects with the narrator, the harder it becomes to be so gullible.
“The Reluctant Fundamentalist” is a story about nostalgia. Roshin Hamid’s “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” is a story with many different themes and ideas, but the one that is highlighted throughout the novel is definitely nostalgia, also known as a “longing for the past”. The main character in the novel, Changez, viciously states in the that; “nostalgia is America’s crack cocaine”, which can be seen as something very harmful, as well as temporarily lifting. Nostalgia comes in many different forms, for in America, it is the time before 9/11, or in Erica, as her ‘crack cocaine’ is Chris, a lost lover. 9/11 was an extremely significant moment in time not only for America, but for the rest of the world to observe as well, as it is the only time in history that America has been “brought down to it’s knees.” After this event, nostalgia was prevalent throughout the nation, as millions upon millions continue to this day to mourn and hope for the times before this event.
Changez initially places his identity within the context of fulfilling his personal American Dream. When Changez arrives in America he envies everything the country represents, freedom, patriotism and pride. He ‘immediately [was] a New Yorker” assimilating himself into the New York culture. Changez relinquishes his ‘Pakistaniness’ in order to fit in with his Underwood Sampson colleges ‘my Pakistaniness was invisible, cloaked by my suit, by my expense account.’ ‘Unsheathing’ his American Express card as though it was a rare commodity at the Pun Jab Deli expressing ‘I have an expense account’ is a subtle sign of the change within in Changez as he becomes more like a New Yorker, consequently though the card was not accepted. As there were aspects of Changez sacrificing himself to achieve the American dream there is also examples of his true feelings about the façade he comes to understand the American dream to be.
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.
PROMPT: “The novel is presented in the form of one man’s monologue. Discuss the effects of the narrative technique.” The ‘Reluctant Fundamentalist’ has a mesmerizing monologue which interprets the point of view of a Muslim and the situations he encounters whilst in America before and after the events of 9/11. The novel takes place in a café where the Pakistani protagonist; Changez confesses to an American his experience whilst living in America. Mohsin Hamid’s (the Author) monologue allows the reader to emotionally connect with the text as it addresses the reader indirectly through the American. Hamid’s narrative technique of silencing all other characters besides Changez is a unique method which allows the reader to feel as if they are a part of the scene.
“ 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.