The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Fundamentalism is one of the themes of Hamid’s book, The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Throughout the novel and the film, we hear Changez being told to “focus on the fundamentals.”  Two key instances in the film are when Changez is working at Underwood Samson and Jim tells the new staff to get to work. The other is towards the end when members of a protest group try to persuade Changez into joining their fight in order to focus on the fundamentals of the Qur’an. In the film, Changez states that he was considering joining…up until they said ‘focus on the fundamentals.” Changez does not consider himself to be a fundamentalist, but throughout the film and novel, we see him returning to his roots and eventually going back to Lahore. He does not want to focus on the fundamentals but in the end, does so reluctantly. He begins to adopt fundamental Pakistani principles, like in the book when he tells Bobby that they will not split the bill because in Pakistan, one pays all or none.   

                One of the biggest differences from the novel and the film was the relationship between Changez and Erica. In the novel, he was in love with her, but she could not return the feeling because she was still mourning her boyfriend who died of lung cancer. In the film, Erica is still mourning her boyfriend but she begins to develop feelings for Changez. She also feels guilty, not just because she is developing feelings for another man, but because she still carries the guilt of being the driver who killed her boyfriend in a car accident. This difference is significant because in the book, Changez is left feeling empty because Erica does not return his love but in the film, Erica made a whole art presentation based on the foundation of their love. She claims her project was a testament of her love for him, but he views it as an attack against his Pakistani heritage.

            There is a clear example of Diaspora in both the film and book because Changez leaves Lahore and relocates to the United States in order to attend Princeton University. Although he speaks English, he must adapt to the American way of doing things. Likewise, when he decides to move back to Lahore, he must re-adopt those Pakistani principles that he left behind.

          As any American would likely agree, the terrorist attacks on September 11^th changed our perspectives on foreigners. After seeing the pictures of the terrorists who hijacked the planes, I subconsciously began to stereotype against any foreigners from the Middle East. After reading the book and watching the movie, I felt guilty for stereotyping people like Changez simply for the way they looked. He had nothing to do with the attacks and yet was subjected to discriminatory treatment on more than one occasion. The Reluctant Fundamentalist put things into a different perspective for me and I wholeheartedly agree with Changez when he states that “looks can be deceiving.”