IdentityThe Reluctant FundamentalistLesson III

Who is Changez?Give Changez an identity in New York and Pakistan. Use information from the

novel to complete the profiles.

Name:Country/City:Nationality:Occupation:Mission:Special traits:

Name:Country/City:Nationality:Occupation:Mission:Special traits:

Tip: consult pp. 5 (par.3), 112 (par.2), 203 (par.2).

Who is Changez?

Name: CHANGEZCountry/City: USA, New YorkNationality: AmericanOccupation: Underwood SamsonMission: “Focus on the fundamentals”Special traits: businessman, suit

Name: CHANGEZCountry/City: Pakistan, LahoreNationality: PakistaniOccupation: university lecturerMission: ‘advocate for a disengagement’ from the USASpecial traits: beard, kurta

PerceptionDescribe, compare and explain these reactions towards Changez. Think about time, place and reasons. Take notes of your exchange to report your findings to the class.

Student A: In Manila Student B: In New York

I glanced out the window to see, only a few feet away, the driver of a jeepney returning my gaze. There was an undisguised hostility in his expression; I had no idea why. We had not met before (…) his dislike was so obvious, so intimate, that it got under my skin. I stared back at him, getting angry myself.p.76

I was approached by a man I did not know. He made a series of unintelligible noises – “akhala-malakhala,” (…) and pressed his face alarmingly close to mine. (…) “Fucking Arab,” he said. (…) my blood throbbed in my temples (…) I felt, at that moment, fully capable of wielding [the tire iron] with sufficient violence to shatter the bones in his skull.p.134

Perception

In Manila In New York

Context: business trip to ManilaWhen: before 9/11Why: resentment, hatred towards Americans, disgust towards Changez’s hypocrite behaviour After the incident Changez admits he feels ‘much closer to the Filipino driver than to’ his colleagues. (p.77)

Context: in a New York parking lotWhen: after 9/11Why: in the aftermath of 9/11 Americans, especially New Yorkers, started to express discriminatory views towards people with Eastern complexion fear of terrorism, clash of two cultures, war on terrorism