After 9/11, Changez’s double consciousness causes him to try to remain loyal to both Pakistan and

America by denying any change in social and political circumstances, and convincing himself that any
conflict would eventually pass.

Changez assuages his double consciousness after 9/11 by ignoring news about increasing hostility from
Americans towards Pakistanis. As Changez loves New York and had found a job and a workplace where
he felt like he belonged, Changez does his best to ignore the “rumors [he] overheard at the Pak-Punjab
Deli” about physical violence from New Yorkers against Pakistanis (94). Despite the stories of Muslims
disappearing and the FBI raiding Pakistani people’s property, Changez elects to assure himself that such
stories must be mostly untrue and exaggerated. Because of his love for America, Changez tries to
convince himself that none of the stories are true and that he is in no real danger, as he does not want
to have to leave, and doesn’t want to believe that the accepting environment he had grown used to in
New York could have turned against him. He also assures himself that even if a few of the stories did
true, such violence would not be directed toward him because he isn’t any random poor Pakistani
struggling in New York, but a “Princeton graduated earning eighty thousand dollars a year” (95).
Changez alters his own perception of his identity to separate himself from the group of people that are
being rejected by New Yorkers in order to calm his anxiety about being in danger due to his nationality,
while still remaining loyal to Pakistan.

Changez also reassures himself that his nationality would not become a problem for him in post-9/11
America by assuring himself that the political tensions would not result in real conflict. As Changez
holds America in high esteem, he was not surprised when the “mighty host” he had been expecting was
“duly raised and dispatched”, but was dismayed when the hostility was directed at his home country of
Pakistan (94). Changez’s family expressed concern at the political tension between the two countries,
but Changez clung desperately to his father’s belief that “this would all pass” (94). As Changez is in
denial about the political and social tensions between the Americans and Pakistani, it is reassuring to
him to believe that nothing will come of the tension, and that he can remain in America safely. He also
shows this when Wainwright asks him if he is concerned about the conflicts, to which he reaffirms his
faith in America’s alliance with Pakistan, and that he believes that the “Taliban’s threats of retaliation
were meaningless”, and his family would be fine (94). Changez assuages his double consciousness by
telling himself that he doesn’t have to pick a side as the two aren’t really fighting, even going as far as to
persuade himself that the Taliban meant nothing by their threats. As a person from Pakistan who has a
great life in America, Changez does not want to have to pick between the two parts of his identity, and
so denies any conflict and tension between them to calm his anxiety about having to leave either his
home country and family, or his new, successful life for his own safety in a changing social and political
environment.