The Reluctant Fundamentalist

1. The Reluctant Fundamentalist Chapter 1, 2 & 3

2. Revision Last lesson, we discussed: • The story as an ALLEGORY • Changez’s assuming tone. He ‘analyses’ the American, but he also tells the American that he is doing this. Is he trying to intimidate him? Is he just being observant? • The open ending and the unknown identities of the American and Changez. • That we are going to collect evidence (quotes & summaries) as we go to support possible interpretations

3. Grab out your one page summaries • Chapter 1 & 2: Evidence for different interpretations of ending

5. Foreshadowing: • “I am a lover of America” – p1 • “we were expected to contribute our talents to your society…we were happy to do so…at least at first” – 4-5

6. Other themes/concepts: • America and Pakistan : Complex and conflicted relationship • Changez makes a distinction between American society with its “ranks of….meritocracy” (4) and the “traditional, class-conscious society” (11) in which he was raised. • Although Changez insists Princeton gave him endless opportunities for success, it cannot make him forget the tea in Lahore, “steeped long enough to acquire a rich dark colour” (17) – suggesting that Pakistani traditions are more satisfying than the financial opportunities that the U.S offers. • This difference is evident in architecture too. America pretends and parades its history – gothic buildings are made “to look older” (3) , while Pakistan is “layered like a sedimentary plain” (8) • He wonders how his fellow Princetonians “were in a position to conduct themselves in the world as they were its ruling class” when they are so “devoid of refinement” - 24

7. Other themes/concepts • Fear and Suspicion • By asking the American to not be “frightened” (1) of his beard, Changez highlights the way in which a simple hairstyle, popular and uncontroversial in Pakistan, has become a symbol of terrorism, anti-Americanism and Islamic fundamentalism due to common portrayals of ‘the bearded terrorist’ in the American media • Changez himself is suspicious – he fears the American is armed and takes him to be a “seasoned army officer” (7) because of his “hardened face”, “short –cropped” hair, and “expansive chest” (1).

8. Other themes/concepts • Modernity vs Tradition • Changez observes women in the street – some in traditional dress, others in jeans. Draws attention to the combination of traditional and liberal mindsets in Lahore. • Changez is shocked by the behaviour of his fellow Princetonians in Greece - not respectful: • “their self-righteousness in dealing with those whom they had paid for a service“to Greeks twice their age… insisting things be done their way” – 23 • Having worked hard to pay his way, he also feels uncomfortable with “the ease with which they parted money” (22) – he’s not impressed with their hedonistic lifestyle and holds onto the traditional values of his childhood.

9. Other themes/concepts • Home Erica is attracted to Changez because he represents everything that she is not. He give[s] off this strong sense of home” (22) , solidness, and the sense of being comfortable with himself. She feels rootless, empty and afraid of being alone. Erica identifies Chris as her sense of home, whom she misses, because he died – “my home was a guy with long, skinny fingers.” (32)

10. Themes/Concepts • America’s yearning for its Christian past • Given that Chris’s name evokes ‘Christianity’ – her nostalgia for him recalls America’s nostalgic rediscovery of religion in the aftermath of 9/11. During this time there was a rise in church attendance across the country. • As America undergoes change and upheaval, with foreign elements posing ever-more threats, one response is to turn back to a past that might provide answers, certainty, a sense of familiarity, and comfort.

11. Writing Task: • USE THE EVIDENCE PROVIDED • Medium: • Choose one of three interpretations : - Changez intends to harm the American - American intends to harm Changez - or neither intends to harm Write a paragraph about how the first chapters suggest one of these. Topic sentence starter: By the conclusion of the second chapter, Hamid has established with the reader that… Advanced: Write a paragraph about how Hamid has made the first chapters intentionally complex and ambiguous. (Use evidence from all four columns)

12. The Reluctant Fundamentalist Chapter 3

13. Chapter 3 What happens? (Summary) • Changez tells the American about his recruitment at Underwood Samson, meeting Jim and his awe of the company • He tells of his sense of belonging in New York • He indicates his hunger for success and attraction to wealth and luxury of the American lifestyle • Important Vocab • Pragmatism: a practical approach to problems or affairs. A way of thinking about achieving results. Rational, Logical, Practical, Matter of fact, No nonsense • Systematic: done methodically, based on a system or procedure. • Orderly, Regular, Organised, Efficient

14. Evidence for interpretation of ending

15. Underwood and Samson Write answers for questions: Use quotes to support your responses: What is the business of Underwood Samson? • How does Changez feel to work there? (p 37, 42) • Underwood Samson claims to be a “meritocracy” (39) • What else has been described as a meritocracy? • How does his employment there affect his identity? (38, 42-3) • Any ideas so far about how Underwood Samson works as a metaphor for the U.S? • Find quotes to show that he and Wainwright connect

16. Other themes/concepts • Comparison of Lahore, Pakistan and NY, USA: • FEELING HOME: - “Moving to New York felt…like coming home” (36) - “In a subway car, my skin would typically fall in the middle of the color spectrum…tourists would ask me for directions” (37) - “I was, in four and a half years, never an American; I was immediately a New Yorker” (37) - “I tend to become sentimental when I think of that city” (37) • FEELING OF RESENTMENT:“their offices were perched on the forty-first and forty-second floor…supporting my feet were the achievements of the most technologically advanced civilisation our species had ever known…[it] made me resentful” (38) • “four thousand years ago, we…had cities that were laid out on grids and boasted underground sewers, while the ancestors of…America were illiterate barbarians. Now our cities were largely unplanned, unsanitary affairs, and America had universities with individual endowments greater than our national budget for education…[I felt] ashamed.” (38)

17. Other themes/concepts Pragmatism – “systematic pragmatism…that underpins your country’s success in so many fields” (41) • Another difference between Pakistan and America implied. • Seems to approve of/admire this quality Hints at the effects of the U.S’s “war on terror” on the East- • “this beggar is a particularly unfortunate fellow. One can only wonder what series of accidents could have left him so thoroughly disfigured” - 45 Italicised ‘accident’ implies there is more to it than that.

18. Foreshadowing • “And that, as you will come to understand, is saying a great deal” – 50 • “My world would be transformed, just as this market around us has” – 51 • “we have acquired a certain familiarity with the recent history of our surroundings, and that – allows us to put the present into much better perspective” – 52 - perhaps trying to intimidate?

19. Writing Task • Write a paragraph (WITH LOTS OF QUOTES /EXAMPLES AND THAT FOLLOWS TEEL) about: • Changez’ complicated feelings towards America and New York as outlined in Chapter 1, 2 and 3. READING AND NOTE-TAKING TASK Read Chapter 4 and 5. Make one page summaries using the same table you used for 1 and 2.