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. However, Changez later realises that America is not what he first imagined. As his respect for his migrant country deteriorates, so too does his relationships with Underwood Samson and Erica. Changez was “one of only two Pakistanis in (his) class, two from a population of over 100 million souls”. When changez graduates from Princeton University and secures a job at underwood Samson he seems to be pleased and excited with his new life and opportunities he has been given.
“ 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.
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. Changez’s odyssey to New York caused him to become a ‘lover of America,’ however it also resulted in him losing touch with his true character. For Changez, arriving in America was a ‘dream come true,’ and attending Princeton inspired him into feeling that his life was a ‘film in which (he) was the star and everything was possible.’ As novel develops, the reader is able to see a progression from the originally ‘polite’
Changez's journey is personal as well as political.Do you agree? ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ is a dramatic monologue, half -conversation and half story, a complex and engaging puzzle which challenges readers about the very nature of fundamentalism. The protagonist, Changez, is a Pakistani who makes his home in the elite and prestigious world of New York city with an established and respected American identity. At the beginnning of his personal life journey, and as a self professed ‘lover’ of America , he sees his newly adopted ‘home’ as a place of "possibility"and "magical vibrancy",and his relationship with Erica is a symbolic measure of his loyalty to America. 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.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist Character Summaries Changez * A Pakistani from Lahore, Pakistan who graduated at the top of his class at Princeton University. * Changez attended Princeton University on financial aid. * Changez worked for Underwood Samson & Company * Like at Princeton University, Changez is also at the top of his class at Underwood Samson & Company. * Changez was in love with Erica, a Princeton classmate who he met on his vacation to Greece. * Changez deliberately gets fired from Underwood Samson & Company because he fundamentally opposed to Underwood Samson’s ethos of ‘maximum efficiency.’ The American * The American is never named.
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.
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.
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.
The novel " Reluctant Fundamentalist" by Mohsin Hamid appears to be about a brilliant young Pakistani national named Changez immigrating to the United States who finishes at the top of his class at Princeton and hired by Underwood Samson, the most prestigious and world-famous corporate valuation firm based in New York City. It would seem that he is the living embodiment of the American dream, having toiled endless hours for these opportunities and possessing a bright, unbounded future. However at some point he felt irritated even though it shows that Changez was a modern immigrant character. When Changez's holidays in Greece with a group of Princeton friends, where he first became enamored with Erica. He describes the behavior he observed which irritated him:“But you told us,” they would say to Greeks twice their age, before insisting things be done their way.
At this point Chuck was offered a corporate banking job in New York, as a Managing Director of the Financial Institutions Sector, which he was more than happy to accept. After the acceptation of the new job, Chuck encountered a difficult work environment and a lot of friction between