Identity In The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Who Are You?

When it comes to the topic of identity, what comes up to your mind? To be honest, the concept of identity is really complex. Some might have one, others might have two or more. Everyone is born into different families, communities and cultures with certain values that are naturally inherited. So what defines an identity? This interesting topic is discussed in the 2007 award-winning novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist, written by Mohsin Hamid. Born in Pakistan, Hamid received an education at the Princeton University and got a job from a management decisions evaluating company in New York after he graduated. Hamid chooses to tell his own story by writing the semi-autobiographical novel and names himself Changez. Along with the use

He tries hard to identify himself as an American by starting off the monologue confidently and tells the stranger that, “I am a lover of America,” (1) where a strong patriotism has been shown here. Furthermore, Changez reveals that he has a strong understanding of the Americans by commenting on the stranger’s appearance and behavior: “your hair, short-cropped and your expansive chest…are typical of a certain type of American; but then again, sportsmen and soldiers of all nationalities tend to look alike. Instead, it was your bearing that allowed me to identify you.” (2) As we continue to read, Changez even emphasizes that he does not feel out of place and separates New York from America, because he finds out the similarities between New York and Lahore, where this connection he feels comfortable: “I was, in four and a half years, never an American; I was immediately a New Yorker.” (33) Even though both statements sound resonant, it contradicts his reactions to 9/11 later in the novel. “I stared as one–and then the other–of the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center collapsed. And then I smiled. Yes, despicable as it may sound, my initial reaction was to be remarkably pleased.” (72) The italic word ‘smiled’ indicates significantly that Changez is actually still an alien in the United States. Different people

When encountering multiple identities of oneself, people start to get lost, whether they belong to this and that or in between them. As reflected from the title of this novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, ‘reluctant’ means unwilling and hesitated. It is clearly seen that Changez, throughout the whole novel, goes through a couple of striking experiences, where he starts to feel getting farther from the place he stays. This common migration journey is also written in another controversial but inspiring novel, Lucy, written by Jamaica Kincaid in 1990. Similar to Changez, the protagonist, Lucy, is a migrant from the West Indies to America. Both of them have different experiences at first, but they end up identifying themselves as a foreigner and suffer from loneliness. The reason behind this is because the original identity will not be replaced, it could be only added on. Since Changez and Lucy lives in other countries before coming to the United States, some beliefs and values have been naturally formed and inherited to them. This is the core of shaping their true identities. Although they somewhat get used to the American culture, including the people surround them, all of their families and friends are left behind in their home country. Whenever Changez and Lucy are reflecting their own past and future,