Character Analysis: The Reluctant Fundamentalist

The Identity Within Changez’s Beard

The protagonist of the novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, Changez states to, “not be frightened by [his] beard [as he is] a lover of America” (Hamid 1). Changez is a Pakistani man who comes to the United States for an education, and a job, he is living the American dream. After four and a half years of living in the United States, Changez is seen as a “polished, well-dressed man” since he has adopted the look of an American (8). After the occurrence of 9/11, Changez visits his home in Lahore and realizes he has lost his sense of identity from being in America. Changez chooses to grow the violent image of a beard as it is a natural extension of himself and a connection to his family and homeland, as opposed to wearing to wearing a kurta which is susceptible to cultural appropriation.

After 9/11, a beard on any Middle Eastern man was associated with violence, since the terrorist group behind the attack, Al Qaeda’s founder, Osama Bin Laden had a beard. In the United States, Changez is trying to fit in, so he did not maintain a beard. However, when he has a beard, he becomes an outsider in America and is subjected to verbal abuse by strangers, and stares from his co-workers. Changez decides to grow and maintain a beard despite the fact that many Middle Eastern men were shaving their beards to avoid discrimination. Changez could

After four and a half years of living in the United States, Changez is seen as a “polished, well-dressed man” who did not maintain his beard (8). Changez allows the natural process of the growing beard to express his Pakistani self as it grows versus a kurta, in which he can take it off and choose to never wear again. Even though the beard can easily be shaven off on a daily basis, it is still forever a part of his body as it will continue to grow