Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Discovering identity from the Mohsin Hamid’s Reluctant Fundamentalist Abstract:

The present research paper is an attempt to study and analyze Mohsin Hamid’s ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist ‘in the light of Identity Crisis, cultural discrimination, terrorism political corruptions and inferiority complex in the socio-economic and cultural areas. The novel describes the positive and negative developments in the Pakistan and American relations. Hamid in The Reluctant Fundamentalist has attempted the issues of colonialism and the quest for identity on the part of people from the so called developing cultures in the present day context. Hamid has shown that America has assumed the status of neo-colonial power, and behaves like a colonialist country.

Hamid conveys that Americans culture expresses a sense of superiority among American and their behavioral attitude. American think that other people would become their servants. Chages experienced religious and geographical differences. Jim, the interviewer caould not accept a person from Third World Muslim country like Pakistan. Even Erica’s Father has similar attitude towards Changes. He reminds to Changes that he comes from a backward culture with its inherent problems of corruption, dicatatorship, the class differences and poverty. Jim Ottewil in The Observer (March 11, 2007) review rightly maintains that The Reluctant Fundamentalist is in an elegant and superb indictment of the clouds of suspicion that now shroud our world.

In further Changes speaks regarding dress code, especially points out that Pakistani girls from National College of Arts wear T-Shirts and jeans, to reflect the flexible cultural attitude of the people of Pakistan. The entire world especially, Asians impacted by American culture. Erica was a metaphor for American culture and colonialist ideology.

Still America is showing its dominating nature on other countries. Mohsin emphases upon the issues of struggle for individual identity, collective identity in Pakistan and the resultant shame and regret, who experience attraction and repulsion towards American culture

The impact of horrible experiences and situations made him disappointed. Unknowingly he starts hating America. He gets unconscious smile at the time of WTO attack. Mohsin shows that Pakistanis and Asians after 9/11 were subjected to a similar humiliation and even worse. Changes discriminates at the Manila airport based on his racial and cultural home. It was very terrific that he is separated from his colleagues at the immigrant counter. He was treated like a criminal and he was made to sit near by a tattooed criminal at the New York airport. Heartless American colleagues did not wait for him and he rides to Manhattan that evening very much alone. E.M Forster conveys in his book (A Passage to India) that love or friendship is not possible between the masters and subjects. Due to similar, Dr. Aziz returns to his own Indian identity in the end. Mohsin expects a positive relationship between America and the non- european world. But Changes gets disappointed by American policies and attitude. Mohsin says that American capitalism focuses upon the fundamentals. This kind of issues makes Changes to discover his own identity. Changes regrets the colonialist ideology and its assumptions of superiority by asserting his pride in his past Asian culture and civilization. He remembers the past achievements of the native culture he comes from and reminds American. He worries that every Pakistani abroad