The Reluctant Fundamentalist Narrator

Changez, the narrator of The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid was overall relatively reliable when telling the story of his life to a stranger he had met in a cafe. However there are certain points in which his truths or missing details are more prevalent. Often this lack of detail correlated with certain points in his life. One would think that lack of detail would change the purposes of the novel, but Hamid was able to drive his theme of exposing american judgemental views towards the middle east as well as admitting middle eastern responsibility and use these lapses of reliability in Changez's narrative to strengthen his purposes. The story of Changez is best described through his early years in America, then progressing to …show more content…
When thinking of New York, Changez will “Tend to become sentimental when I think of that city” (33) His fondness of the city lay not within the buildings but rather the people and their diversity. It was there that Changez felt not as a Pakistani or as an American but as a New Yorker. This place gave him a sense of home and comfort when he lived there for eight months while he worked. Hamid uses this part of the book mostly for background, however it does allow the American that is sitting with Changez to also build trust with him. Which later when tense moments arise, the American would have less of a reaction because he feels closer to Changez. Not that Changez did not like the united states, he even admitted “I am a lover of America”(1) Changez loved america for all it stood for even though it had faults. However, New York stood out because of its diversity and acceptance. Once this changed, changez felt differently. Exposing americans for being judgemental and creating hate is the purpose of this quote because it changed the way he felt about America. Note however that because of the ending, since neither Changez or the American dies, Hamid is simply recognizing the issue rather than taking …show more content…
Hamid had to do this so that readers of his story on both sides of the argument could sit back and analyze the existing problem rather than getting angered by an unfavorable ending. Had the story ended with either dieing, the purposes of the novel would have been overlooked. As an american, this ending was perplexing and did make me contemplate it as well as make me think about the narration as a whole and see Changezs faults and triumphs. Hamid conveys almost a reluctant sympathy for Changez because as the reader I was against the fundamentalists but yet I wanted him most to continue in the American dream. Without the mystery as well as facts of the narration, hamid wouldn't of been able to convey his