MY SON THE FANATIC

BY HANIF KUREISHI
Eva González Romero
Rocío Fraguela Caneiro
Enes Ekinci
HANIF KUREISHI
My Son the Fanatic (1994)

•Playwright Recurrent topics:

•Screenwriter •Immigration
•Filmmaker •Racism
•Novelist •Sexuality
1997
CONTEXT
POSTCOLONIALISM: Theory focused on the human
consequences of the control and exploitation of colonized
people and their lands.

India

Bangladesh
British Raj Myanmar

Pakistan

Pakistani immigration to Britain:

• 1st generation: born in Pakistan and move to Britain.
• 2nd generation: search for identity.
The Islam:
• Monotheistic religion
• God: Allah
• Holly book: Koran
• Five pillars:
1. To pray 5 times a day (Friday in the mosque).
“He prayed five times a day” (line 135)
“Where have you been?” “The mosque” (line 358)
2. Zokat: To donate some of their riches to relieve the soul.
“Soon the room was practically bare” (lines 26-27)
3. Saum: To fast during the month of Ramadan.
4. The predominance of faith.
“There are more important things to be done” (line 29)
5. Hajj: To go on pilgrimage to Mecca.
PLOT
SETTING
• External time: 1994.
• Internal time: several days.
“After a few days of constant observation” (line 107)
• London, UK.
“Parvez looked out of the
window as if to check that
they were still in London”
(lines 232-233)
POINT OF VIEW
• 3rd person limited narrator.
“He was aware that he had became slightly afraid of his son”
(line 15)
“He was too ashamed” (line 40)
• Free indirect speech.
“Was it asking too much for Ali to get a good job, now, marry
the right girl and start a family? […] Where had he gone bad?”
(line 46-50)
“His boy – the drug addict killer!” (line 71)
“Surely it wasn’t a crime to have a drink when he wanted one?”
(line 183)
CONFLICT
• Parvez vs. Ali:
• Generation
• Religion
• Authority

• Ali vs. Western Society:

• “The Western materialists hates us” (line 222)
• “The West was a sink of hypocrites, adulterers, homosexuals,
drug takers and prostitutes” (lines 229-231)
• “Western education cultivates an anti-religious attitude” (line
271)
STRUCTURE
• The story begins in media res, important events had
already happened.

• Exposition: lines 1 – 54.

• Rising action: lines 54 – 386.
• Climax: lines 387 – 392.
CHARACTERS

•Parvez, as the Father

•Ali, as the Son
•Bettina, Parvez’s Friend
 Parvez
• A taxi driver,grown up in Pakistan.
• A First generation immigrant.
• Ghettoization of Taxi Drivers.
• A hardworking and worried father figure.
• “Initially Parvez had been pleased: his son was outgrowing his teenage attitudes” (Lines 7-8)
• “Was it asking too much for Ali to get a good job, now, marry the right girl and start a
family? “ (L. 46-48)
• “'I can't understand it!' he burst out. 'Everything is going from his room. And I can't talk to him
any more. We were not father and son - we were brothers! “ (L. 54-56)
• Assimilating the Western way of life as a way of freedom after painful experiences
in his youth.
• “Parvez had grown up in Lahore where all the boys had been taught the Koran. To stop him
falling asleep when he studied, the Maulvi had attached a piece of string to the ceiling and
tied it to Parvez's hair, so that if his head fell forward, he would instantly awake’’ (L. 141-145)
• ”Ali then reminded Parvez that he had ordered his own wife to cook pork sausages, saying to
her, 'You're not in the village now, this is England. We have to fit in.' ” (L.212-214)
• Hypocratical behaviour.
• His wife mentioned just twice, lack of exchange of ideas and communication.
• Avoided all religions because of force; but exerting his authority and lifestyle on Ali.
• Flat character.
 Ali
• Parvez’s son.
• Studying accountancy in his late teens or early 20’s.
• A Second generation immigrant.
• Used to be an excellent student and athlete.
• Generational clash.
• Parvez’s detached attitude towards religion and liberal lifestyle.
• Ali’s embrace of religion and conservative lifestyle.
• Tendency toward Islam.
• “The boy was praying. Without fail, when he was at home, he prayed five times a day’’ (L.134)
• Tendency toward extremism.
• Meddling with the other people’s life.
• Bound to the extremist ideas.
• Separation from English Girlfriend.
• “according to Ali, in the world of accountants it was usual to meet women, drink alcohol and practise usury”
• ”But one day, beside the dustbin, Parvez found a torn bag which contained not only old toys, but computer disks,
video tapes, new books and fashionable clothes ”(L. 8-11)
• Threatening with the brainwashed ideas.
• ’’Ali addressed his father fluently, as if Parvez were a rowdy crowd that had to be quelled or convinced. The Law
of Islam would rule the world; the skin of the infidel would bum off again and again; the Jews and Christers
would be routed. The West was a sink of hypocrites, adulterers, homosexuals, drug takers and prostitutes.’’
(L.226-231)
• Hypocrisy.
• Living in a society full of „full of infidels” with full of freedom to be dedicated into radical Islamist
ideas, but never moves to another place.
• Not showing any toleration to anyone where he is given tolerance.
 Bettina
• Parvez’s Friend.
• A prostitute working until late.
• Wearing high-heels. short-skirts to attract clients.
• So intimate with Parvez, giving advices to him.
• Mellowing Parvez from his anger towards Ali throughout the story.
• Not paying attention to the importance of Ali’s change.

“ 'I'm going to tell him to pick up his prayer mat and get out of my house. It will be
the hardest thing I've ever done, but tonight I'm going to do it.‚
'But vou mustn't give up on him,' said Bettina. 'Many young people fall into cults
and superstitious groups. It doesn't mean they'll always feel the same way.' She
said Parvez had to stick by his boy, giving him support, until he came through.
Parvez was persuaded that she was right…” (L. 284-291)
LANGUAGE
• Imagery:
• Visual.
• “the boy was throwing his possessions out! - - The TV, video
and sound system followed the guitar. Soon the room was
practically bare. Even the unhappy walls bore marks where
Ali's pictures had been removed. ”
• “Parvez kicked him over. Then he dragged the boy up by his
shirt and hit him. The boy fell back. Parvez hit him again. The
boy's face was bloody’’
• Metaphor:
• “Hehad always been aware of the pitfalls that other men's
sons had fallen into in England.”
SYMBOLISM
• Parvez as the representative of first-generation immigrants
with liberal and traditional understanding.
• Alias the representative of second-generation immigrants
with extremist and conservative ideas.
• Islamic vs. Non-Islamic:
• Worship.
• “The boy was praying. Without fail, when he was at home, he prayed five
times a day.’’
• Beard as a dedication to Prophet Muhammad.
• Alcohol.
• Gambling.
• “Surely it wasn't a crime to have a drink when he wanted one? 'But it is
forbidden,' the boy said. Parvez shrugged, 'I know.' And so is gambling,
isn't it?”
THEMES

• Extremism is the worst type of ideology.

• Without respect between opposite sides, the cultural
and the generational gap increases irreversibly.
• Cultural differences challenge relationships.