Predator or Prey: "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" by Mohsin Hamid

Predator or Prey: The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007) 

              by Mohsin Hamid

The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a story about a talented young Pakistani who has a good chance of getting to the top of American society, but who gradually changes his mind about America after 9/11 because American society has become hostile towards strangers and because American foreign policy has become a threat to his home country. This would be an interesting story in itself. What makes it special, however, is its clever design which draws readers into the story and makes them experience the ambiguities and uncertainties both of the narrator-protagonist´s experiences as a Pakistani immigrant in America and of world politics. “Who is predator and who is prey”? is a question which they often wonder about in the course of the novel.

The reader´s attention is captured in the first few paragraphs by the unusual point of view. The narrator urges an American-looking person to have tea with him in a café in Lahore, Pakistan. In fact they spend all the evening there while the narrator is telling his life story to the American. When he remembers graduating from Princeton top of his class and starting a promising career at Underwood Samson`s, an elite valuation company, tension is built up between the young Changez´s amazing success in American society and the narrator´s present whereabouts which suggest that he has returned to Pakistan meanwhile. The anxiety which the narrator notices in the American´s behaviour makes the reader wonder if Changez has actually developed into an Islamic fundamentalist as the title suggests. On the one hand the narrator´s intention seems to be to reassure the American with his explanations about Lahore and Pakistani culture that there isn´t any danger. On the other hand his words suggest a hidden threat creating uncertainty and doubt. However, the narrator also feels threatened by the American as well which becomes obvious towards the ending of the novel when he talks about his anti-American political activities fearing that the American might have been sent to silence him.

The atmosphere becomes more and more threatening but there is no resolution. Until the end it remains uncertain “who is predator and who is prey” or if the anxiety is only the result of groundless suspicion caused by stereotypical thinking.

The relationship between the narrator and the American mirrors the relationship between Muslim countries and America. The narrator advises both sides to stop suspecting each other as a condition for peace. The narrative itself is a step towards a better understanding between the cultures as the American listener/reader becomes familiar with the point of view of an educated young Muslim whose aim to integrate in America/in the West had been prevented by circumstances.

In the course of the novel the reader learns that Changez was gradually pushed into returning to his home country because of the changes in American society and politics after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 (September 11, 2009). So the novel highlights the impact of political decisions (made in America) on the life of the individual (immigrant). When Changez hears the news of the airplanes crashing into the World Trade Centre he doesn´t anticipate that his life will change considerably as a consequence. At first he is able to ignore news of hostility towards Indian and Arab looking persons and to cope with his rage at being insulted himself because of his appearance. The TV reports on the war against terrorism in Afghanistan trigger his change of mind, but not until his home country Pakistan is threatened with war by India is he thrown off balance. He neglects his work for the first time feeling that America betrayed Pakistan which he supposes to have been neutral in the conflict. From that moment he perceives America from the point of view of the victims of its politics both military and economic (his blinders came off (chapter 10)). He becomes aware of the social consequences of the activities of Underwood Samson the company he works for both in developing countries like Chile and in America. Now he recognizes that valuing a company means deciding on its future and on the future of its employees. Reflecting Changez´s experience the narrative turns from a polite conversation in praise of America and its opportunities into an account of the collateral damage caused by its policies and finally into an accusation of America which is addressed to the American tourist as a representative of his country. Changez´s critical attitude towards America is the result of a slow and painful awakening which he asks readers to witness and to understand.

As the narrative becomes an accusation of America the atmosphere becomes more and more threatening. By now readers have come to understand that the American reaction to 9/11 has led to the destruction of Changez´s American dream, so rage seems justified. However, the narrator remains polite throughout the narrative using a language which reflects both his excellent academic education and his upper class Muslim background. However, it is the self-control taught him by his upper class Muslim upbringing which enables him to cope with the terrible rage at America and the pain caused by his girlfriend Erica and to transform it into the story of his life. On the one hand this could be considered as a repression of his emotions which could lead to their violent outbreak and finally to violence as a last consequence (Islamist fundamentalism). On the other hand it could be seen as an act of sublimation with strong emotions being turned into artistic creation, a view of writing which Erica represents. So even the narrator´s language reflects the ambiguity of and the uncertainty about Changez´s personality. Considering the narrative as an act of sublimation can be justified with an extract from an interview in which the author conceded that he wrote the novel to help him to cope with his own rage at America. With The Reluctant Fundamentalist he managed to turn it into a plea for a better understanding between cultures, especially between the Islamic and the western world.

ⁱFinally the novel provides a psychological explanation of American politics after 9/11 on an allegorical level. It´s the choice of the name “Erica” for Changez´s girlfriend and the initials of the valuation company “Underwood Samson” which make the reader suspect that these “characters” might be personifications. The evidence is provided by the term “nostalgia” which is used to characterise both Erica´s devotion to her boy friend Chris who had died of cancer and the patriotism with which America reacted to the 9/11 attacks. As Erica gradually withdraws from real human relationships into worship of Chris, America looks back on its founding myth as an exceptional country with the God-given mission to spread its ideals and values to the rest of the world and to punish who it considers as evil.

From Changez´s point of view Erica is the culmination of the American dream he has succeeded in living. After 9/11 his feeling of being betrayed by America is echoed by his experience of being rejected by Erica as she turns towards Chris, the white Christian American (WASP)

Although at first sight the personifications seem to exist independently from Changez´s mind, a coherent interpretation is only possible if they are seen as connected with his point of view. Whereas before 9/11 Underwood Samson represents the economic side of Changez´s American dream, his chance to rise in society independent of his origin (“land of opportunity”), it comes to stand for the American empire both economically and militarily after Changez´s awakening.

One of the great achievements of the novel is that the author managed to make the characters appear as personifications with their function on the allegorical level and create individuals at the same time whose painful experience the reader feels sympathy for. Even more intriguing there is no final evidence that Changez has not developed into a Muslim fundamentalist. Although he finally realizes that he can´t erase his experience in America completely, it remains unclear which aspects of America have become a part of himself as America has turned out to violate human rights and use military force on other countries. Likewise Changez´s resolution to give up “focusing on fundamentals” could be restricted to his attitude towards his former job where only maximum profit counted. On the other hand it might extend to his world view in general which would imply that he would abstain from any kind of fundamentalism. Keeping the readers in suspension makes them experience that conflict between the cultures is far from resolved and appeals to them to listen and sympathize with a different point of view as a first step to a better understanding between the cultures.

Gudrun Rogge-Wiest, 2010

i