He has experienced what it is like to live a life of struggle and hardship. I… found myself wondering by what quirk of human history, my companions-many of whom I would regard as upstarts in my own country, so devoid of refinement were they-were in a position to conduct themselves in the world as though they were its ruling class (Hamid 13).Ĭhangez comes from a culture where the elder is respected and values are upheld. He is annoyed at how they spend a large amount of money for a meal, and how they talk down to those whom they pay for their service. He does not see himself in the way they behave. The mundane activities that take place around them seem to stress this point, too.ĭuring Changez’s journey to Greece, he stands an observer an evaluator of his peers’ behavior. The sarcastic manner in which Changes converses with the visitor seems to mock his fear, which is exaggerated. Another instance is when the unnamed visitor seems suspicious of a man who turns out to be the waiter. Do not be frightened by my beard” (Hamid 1).He specifically refers to his beard because it has come to be falsely associated with fundamentalism and terrorism. This is evident in the very first sentence:”I see I have alarmed you. The narrator repeatedly and sarcastically reassures his interlocutor that he means no harm and everything that seems to alert him is simply the result of the stereotyping and exaggeration that make fear, suspicion, and caution be his first instinct in Lahore. Moreover, it makes the reader accept or seriously reconsider his point of view”(153)Ĭhangez’s interlocutor appears to be unjustifiably fearful. As Ingrida Egle Zindziuviene comments:”Changez’s determined voice and strong opinion make the reader sympathize with him. Changez believes that the Muslim voice on the 9/11 attack is ignored.
The fact that the novel is written in dramatic monologue gives the Muslims, represented in Changez character, a voice.
The first half of the title connotes a state of hesitation and resistance and the second half connotes an extreme reaction, though not purely religious, which represents his state of mind in the novel. However, throughout the novel, he fluctuates between one identity and the other, and the fusion of the two identities is shortly lived and finally ends with the 9\11 attack.
#CHANGEZ DAIR CODE#
HomiBhabha remarks in his book The Location of Culture that this third space destroys the representation of culture as an integral code but rather a “homogenizing, unifying force.”(37)Changez is a Pakistani who develops a hybrid identity as he immigrates to America in pursuit of the American dream and aiming for a better life. This fusion leads to the existence of an in-between space. Bhabha however, is interested in the interaction between the colonizer and the colonized, which results in a fusion of cultural forms and cultural perspectives(167). While Edward Said’s Orientalism keeps the space of the colonizer and the colonized separate, Spivak argues that because of the dominant regime of colonial discourse, the post-colonial subjects have no voice. HomiBhabha introduced the concept of hybridity to describe the construction of culture and identity within the conditions of colonial discourse.
Hybridity is used here to refer to the cultural mixing between the West and The East. This paper discusses the struggle of Changez’s hybrid identity, and how the personal, social, and political conditions affect him. The shift from caring about one’s self to one’s nation and country is reflected clearly in this novel. Changez also struggles to find a place for himself in the American school, market, and society. Being a Pakistani and a Muslim is no longer a reference to one’s religion and culture, but a stereotype and a label with many implications. He suddenly has to stop at airports for inspections because of his identity. The world after 9/11 is not the same, and this has greatly contributed to his struggle. The story takes place in Lahore where Changez meets an American tourist, and he tells him his story of how he loses his love, job, identity and sense of belonging. Changez is a Pakistani who graduates from Princeton University and joins a high-end valuation firm. The main Character in The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Changez, struggles to find his identity within the western culture.
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