Review: The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid BY ABHIMANYU CHANDRA · AUGUST 2012 The question “who is to be blamed” wafts uneasily through the entire tapestry of Changez’s tale. The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid, leaves the reader disturbed and questioning. Why does Changez adopt the rabid path that he does? Who really is the quiet and muscular American sitting across the table from Changez, sharp and cautious, with a metallic object by his chest, for which he repeatedly reaches
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The Reluctant Fundamentalist Mohsin Hamid, 2007 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 184 pp. ISBN-13: 9780156034029 Summary Excuse me, sir, but may I be of assistance? Ah, I see I have alarmed you. Do not be frightened by my beard: I am a lover of America. I noticed that you were looking for something; more than looking, in fact you seemed to beon a mission, and since I am both a native of this city and a speaker of your language, I thought I might offer you my services as a bridge. From the author
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Identity is as much about public perception as it is self-perception. In Mohsin Hamid’s novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist the reader is confronted with this fact in a bid to understand what it means to be American and Pakistani. 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. Through the use of a dramatic monologue Changez is able to explore how he sees himself as he attempts to clarify
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Set in the years following 9/11, The Reluctant Fundamentalist tackles, through the engaging, articulate words of its narrator Changez, what it is to be a Pakistani living in the suspicious, terrorism-altered Western world. The novel is brief, and the narration takes place during the course of one long evening in a Lahore café. The reader, addressed as ‘you’, takes on the persona of an American businessman or CIA agent – the exact occupation and reason for his presence in Lahore is never made clear
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The protagonist of Mohsin Hamid’s novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a deeply introspective character whose story is an emotional rollercoaster. Changez is a Pakistani man who comes to America in pursuit of his own “American Dream,” and while working to achieve his dream he slowly begins to hate himself. Hamid’s novel is the story of the rise and fall of Changez’s relationship with America. The novel takes the form of a dramatic monologue, with Changez as the speaker addressing a mysterious
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Mohsin Hamid’s ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’, is a framed narrative that explores the inflective journey and internal struggle for a sense of inner contentment. The author tackles these incredibly complex themes through the confronting story of a young Lahore man. Adapting himself towards a patriotic American society and diluting his personal contentment through the suppression of his own Heritage. Hence Hamid’s intentions behind the allegorical name of ‘Changez’ for ‘Change’. Hamid makes it quite
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the reluctant fundamentalist? “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” is a tale of where two different cultures clash. The novel is told through the point of view of a Pakistani by the name of “Changez”, who has a cross-culture love who speaks with a complete stranger (American). But ultimately the question that arises when one reads this book is who the reluctant fundamentalist is? The most obvious answer is “Changez” is he really the only one? To determine whether or not Changez is a fundamentalist, one
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ENGL124 Literature Analysis Nov.11 2014 The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a novel written by Mohsin Hamid, set in the year following 9/11, constructed through a conversation between a Pakistani named Changez and an unnamed American in a café in Lahore.. The Reluctant Fundamentalist uses a variety of narrative strategies that contribute to the novel’s atmospheric world. This essay is going to focus on the metaphorical and symbolic techniques used in the novel and analyze the connection between
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“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? Identity is as much about public perception as it is self-perception. In Mohsin Hamid’s novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist the reader is confronted with this fact in a bid to understand what it means to be American and Pakistani. The narrator Changez is unsure of who he is, and whilst certain personality traits remain, his sense of identity is changed significantly
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THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST – MOHSIN HAMID 1. SETTING LAHORE: * Decline from a majestic, imperial capital * Poor, funded * Rich history: withstood invasions, occupations – implied strength * Represent a fallen empire OLD ANARKALI: * Important for the way it changes throughout the novel * Beginning of the evening: * busy, well lit, bustling with people, amicable * Changez and American newly established relationship: decidedly friendly * Night progresses:
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