The perception of myself is very subjective, it is never concrete, but rather develops as my experiences and biases change. The one book I have read explore the concept of the loss of an identity. Set pre to post 9/11, The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid explores, the engaging narrative of Changez, who is a Pakistani living in the terrorism altered America. He recounts his life story to the reader, who is presumed to be an American agent or a business man. On the other hand, Schindler’s List by Tomas Keneally is a true story of Oskar Schindler a German businessman, who does not object to using Jewish slave labor. Over time, he is deeply affected by the treatment of the Jews and beings to protect his Jewish employees. Schindler’s list…
Mohsin Hamid and Jamaica Kincade craft their novels Lucy and The Reluctant Fundamentalist with a focus of the main protagonists Lucy and Changaz coming of age in America. They institute the hope of enriching the life’s of Lucy and Changaz, as well as achieving their American Dream. Kinked developed Lucy’s character through using an American mentor; Mariah. Who provided Lucy with a loving family atmosphere she was craving, and became a mother figure for her. Hamid’s lead character, like Lucy…
The human mind often develops and clings onto joyful recollection of memories. This wistful longing and sentimentality for the past is nostalgia. Nostalgia is not necessarily destructive, but being unable to accept reality inevitably can lead to misery and hopelessness. In The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Mohsin Hamid depicts the life of a Pakistan immigrant, Changez, in America before and after the 9/11 terrorist attack. While being employed under Underwood Samson and living in post 9/11 America,…
Life as an Ottoman Subject During the Reign of Sultan Abdulhamid II: The Resurrection of a Constitution The power of the Ottoman Sultan knew no bounds, and the consequences of Abdulhamid II’s poor authority were felt by everyone but the Sultan. Anyone who supported the 1876 Ottoman Constitution was not an aid to the Sultan either which can be seen by the fact that he revoked the Constitution’s power early in his reign. All levels of people were affected by the Sultan’s expectations and actions,…
Stanley Kramer’s Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) and Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007) are set in starkly contrasting contexts but, through similar values explored in both, we can see how concerns of the human condition are universal. Both texts explore the racial prejudice, negative stereotyping and reluctance to move forward as fundamental elements of the human condition. Stanley Kramer’s Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) criticises the racial prejudice and…
Mohsin Hamid is a Pakistani Novelist and story writer born in 1971 in Lahore. His father was a university professor in the United States of America. He stayed at united states from the age of 3 until 9 and then moved back to Pakistan. He then returned to the USA and graduated from Princeton university in 1993. He also studied law, but didn't practice law, instead he started writing. He wrote three novels and a book containing short stories. His first novel was ''Moth Smoke'' that was published…
The True American Culture with Respect to Family and Economy The United States of America, being the current hegemon that it is, attracts more attention and more ridicule than any other country currently. The US is seen as a powerful source of culture from some and imposing figure of military and economic power to others. In the novels My Year of Meats by Ruth L. Ozeki and The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, topics regarding what American culture and how it should be seen, and how it…
studied and worked in the United States. Author Mohsin Hamid doesn’t simply tell his tale The Reluctant Fundamentalist, but delivers it in such a matter where you can interpret several meanings from the simplest things. From the names, their conversations and even to the way the book was composed gives this book such an extraordinary style. From the beginning of the book the reader is drawn into the world of Changez by the way the novel was structured. The chapter starts of with Changez saying,…
When Mohsin Hamid wrote The Reluctant Fundamentalist, he intended his readers to use his novel as a “mirror” that would reflect how they themselves viewed life. In my personal journey, two things seemed to reflect the brightest. In one light, I examine relationships; and in another light, I look at social construct and opinion. While these are aspects of my life that I am familiar with, Hamid’s novel demonstrated that my ideals, morals, and life experiences are all part of my experiences of…
consciously or unconsciously, and in Hamid's situation, he is aware of his influence by Conrad due to the closeness in circumstance amongst Conrad and Hamid. Joseph Conrad is a Polish lived in England, thus, Hamid is a Pakistani lived in America. Conrad personally visited the Congo before writing his novel and he wrote about a place he knows, likewise, Hamid has been to America and studied at Princeton before composing his novel. Both novels reflect a real journey of their authors. Conrad wrote…