The Reluctant Fundamentalist Essay

The novel is as much a coming of age story as a criticism of the American dream

Moshin Hamid’s 2007 novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a poignant exploration of a

migrant, Changez’s, coming of age journey as he becomes disillusioned with the
alluring but unattainable American Dream. These two ideas, the American Dream and
coming of age, form a dependent relationship with each other, with neither aspect
overshadowing the other in the messages evoked by the novel. Changez’s character
development is facilitated by the early - 2000s context where the changing racial and
societal dynamics in a post 9/11 society provides a historical background for his own
personal change. In particular, three prevailing ideas emerge; the futility of the American
Dream, his coming of age, and the interconnectedness of these two ideas in Changez’s
character development.

Hamid reveals the futility of the American Dream and the racism actually occuring within
America, when Changez, a marginalized Muslim migrant, exposes the shortcomings of
this belief to provide an equitable society. Changez’s initial denial of the pervasiveness
of America’s racism is exemplified in the metaphor, “I suspected my Pakistaniness was
invisible, cloaked by my suit, by my expense account” where the imagery of clothing
and concealment proposes that wealth and status to be imperative to suppress his
supposedly-undesirable ‘Pakistaniness’ in America. This suggests that America’s
acceptance of others, and the facade that the American Dream is available to everyone,
is contingent on how well an individual can assimilate and hide any undesirable aspect.
It also reveals how transient the protection of status is, just like clothes it can easily be
removed. The idea of the American dream is further demonstrated in Jim’s allegory “I
was outside the candy store looking in, kid” where the naive imagery of a candy-store
being compared to the various obstacles in achieving success, evokes that the
American dream is childlike and fantastical. Furthemore, the use of the diminutive ‘kid’
demonstrates the American’s belief in their superiority over Changez, and subsequently
the entirety of the developing world. Ultimately, Changez demonstrates the futility of the
American dream while the country is plagued with racism, “you should not imagine that
we Pakistanis are all potential terrorists, just as we should not imagine that you
Americans are all undercover assassins” where the parallel structure creates a
confronting tone as he chastises the unnamed American listener’s, who is symbolic of
the actual county America, prejudices. Also he reveals his own assumption that the man
is an assailant, thus demonstrating how he views America to be vengeful and an enemy
to those of marginalised groups like him.

Changez’s coming of age is revealed by his growing understanding of the disastrous

implications of America’s self-identified cultural superiority. His realisation is revealed in
Changez’s reaction to 9/11, “I was caught up in the symbolism of it all, that fact that
someone had so visibly brought America to its knees” where the personification of
America demonstrate its vulnerability during the attacks and how the country was
initially proud in its identity. This personification is further developed in, “America, too,
was increasingly giving itself over to a dangerous nostalgia at that time” which reveals
its nationalistic and severe response, with the adjective ‘dangerous’ accentuating the
violence involved in America’s response. Changez’s disillusionment in America, and
subsequent character growth, is then developed in the metaphor, “the entire planet was
rocked by the repercussions of your tantrums” which portrays America to be infantile
and immature thus revealing the rest of the world’s, and his own, derisive opinion of it.
The use of the second person direct address ‘you’ also distances Changez from
Americans, which reveals his development from wanting to assimilate in the country to
boldly perceiving himself to be an outsider to it.

Ultimately, the crucial development in Changez’s character, and his ‘coming of age’ is
his significant realisation of the failure of the American Dream. His character
development is recorded through the dramatic monologue form, where the heightened
personal perspective presented allows for his disillusionment to be vividly related. In
particular his relationship with Erica, who is symbolic of his relationship with the country
Am‘erica’, demonstrates this. Initially, he is drawn to her, like many others, “I watched
as she attracted people to her” which represents the immense allure of the American
Dream. However his development is then revealed as he leaves her, and so he leaves
his fantastical perspective of America, “And so I left my jacket on the curb as a sort of
offering...a wish of warmth for Erica - not in the way one leaves flowers for the dead, but
rather as one twirls rupees above the living” where the imagery of death like “flowers”
suggests at a finality of this departure. Additionally, in describing that he is leaving her
behind in the manner that, “ one twirls rupees above the living” he reveals how he is
forsaking her and America to embrace his Pakistani heritage, indicated by the cultural
symbol “rupee.” Changez reinforces his development with the metaphor, “I was a
modern day janissary, a servant of the American empire at a time when it was invading
a country with a kinship to mine” where the imagery of him as a supplicant to America
and the irony evoked in how in that country he was working against cultures similar to
his own, demonstrates his resolute development as he embraces his Pakistani heritage
as well as his immense regret and his exploitation in pursuing the American Dream.

In conclusion, The Reluctant Fundamentalist is both a story about the American Dream
alone, coming of age, and most importantly, Changez’s coming of age as he becomes
disillusioned with the American Dream.