There is a part in The Reluctant Fundamentalist when Changez mentions how all of the Pakistani scholars migrate to other countries like America in search of a better life, while they are needed in their native homes more than ever. To me what Changez does is the Pakistani dream. He goes to America, gets educated in the best school, and gets the best job one can get out of college. Despite this, Changez chooses to turn his back on America, and become a teacher in Pakistan. For Changez the Pakistani dream is taking what he learns from living the best life in America and bringing back to Pakistan. By going back to his homeland after living out the dream somewhere else he is enriching his country by bringing back the knowledge of succeeding in other parts of the globe. His thinking was that if every Pakistani scholar would bring back the skills they absorbed from other parts of the world, then Pakistan would be a much more conscious country.
Changez lives out the dream in America. American fundamentalism is represented by an Ivy League education and a high paying job. In Pakistan fundamentalism represents staying true to your roots, and has a much stronger religious connotation tied to it. This goes to show how different societies place importance on totally different things. This is the reason why the book is called The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Changez is caught between two worlds, two places where the fundamentals are very different. He is stuck because he is looking for the fundamentals that resonate with him the most, but being that he is in between two cultures the fundamentals from each side become conflicting.
David,
ReplyDeleteAwesome comment about being "between" places and feeling conflicted; I believe this is a wonderfuly, concise definition of diaspora. Also, I'm really taken by your interpretation of Changez's Pakistani dream: that of going abroad and then bringing outside ideas home. Is that other than North America calling itself a 'melting pot'? I believe it is...
Spring
I think your interpretation of Changez's Pakistani dream is excellent. I never thought about it in that light and I think you make a great point. Changez, in the film, attempts to teach his students that there is another way to succeed (the ways that he learns in America). I also agree about him being stuck between two worlds. Both sides seem to be tearing him in either direction, it must be truly difficult to have to ultimately choose which of the fundamentals will govern his life. But clearly, he chooses different fundamentals at different times in his life.
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