We have seen many forms of systemic Injustice in our readings throughout the semester. We have seen a lot of unfair things and read about things people have went through, overall making them who they are. The reading this week also showed us a lot of things with Changez. Changez was from Pakistan. He then moved to New York City where we worked as a financial firm. He was very intelligent, and he worked very hard at his job. He also worked hard at being accepted in America, as he was finding his identity here. He really wanted to live the American Dream. While he was here, he fell in love with an American women named Erica. She had her own problems, but he really felt a connection with her. For example, “I met her eyes, and for the first time I perceived that there was something broken behind them, like a tiny crack in a diamond that becomes visible only when viewed through a magnifying lens; normally it is hidden by the brilliance of stone.” (Pg. 59) She then kind of just went out of the story as Changez spent most of his time working, and she was dealing with her own battles. Changez started to really feel out of place in America shortly after, he felt as racism was shown against him. This then led him to wanting to move back to Pakistan. He began to really dislike America. Many things happened before he felt this way. For example, when he had the incident at the airport. It was time and time again he felt like he was showed he wasn’t meant to be in America anymore. Most of the readings we have read have showed us the difficulties these individuals go through, sometimes they get better sometimes they get worse. But it’s important to remember the main themes of these stories. This can remind you of a few novels we have read. One, Marji found herself just like Changez did. They both felt lost but found themselves and found their identities. Another example would be when Twyla felt like she just didn’t fit in. Twyla felt like an outcast just like Changez did but in a little bit of different circumstances. Also, it shows the concept we covered of systemic injustice with his airport exchange. He was frowned upon just because he wasn’t from America. I mean they may have had their “reasoning” but in all I felt like that’s what truly did it.
Thank you for your thoughtful context presentation! I enjoyed how you compared the concept of “othering” with Marjane Satrapi and Toni Morrison’s work. As you mentioned, Changez faces racist extremities quite suddenly, originating because of the tragedies regarding 9/11. Unlike past readings, this work references a specific event that triggered massive amounts of hate crimes along the nation. I can’t even begin to imagine how many innocent individuals who looked like Changez must have felt in the jumpstart of this event. We can see how, even now, the racist aftermaths towards the stigmas surrounding Muslim populated countries are. Like Changez, many spend their lives chasing after the American Dream. However, I’ve always wondered how might the American Dream look to those once they’ve seen America change since they first arrived, whether it’s for the better or worse.
Thank you for your context presentation. It was very well written. I appreciate you connecting this novel with other stories that we have read so far. Making these connections better helped inform me of the emotions that Changez is feeling.
Your presentation was very well done, and you summarized the book very well. I can see from your presentation that Changez is a person who can’t find a sense of belonging in a foreign country. I appreciate that you matched this story with other stories from other books we have read before, which could give me a better understanding.
Your presentation was very well done, and you summarized the book very well. I can see from your presentation that Changez is a person who can’t find a sense of belonging in a foreign country. I appreciate that you matched this story with other stories from other books we have read before, which could give me a better understanding
Great Presentation! You made some great connections in your post to both the diary of systemic injustices, as well as many of the readings in the class. This helps the class have that full circle effect, which the professor talked about last week, where all of the material starts to build together and better our understanding.
Great job on your presentation. I like how you included similarities between this week’s novel and previous readings. Shows how every week’s readings relate to the others. It helps to highlight themes from other books. I think in The Reluctant Fundamentalist, there were a lot of metaphors and symbolism such as Chnagez relationship with Erica. AS much as they enjoyed each other they were not meant to be together, you can apply that to the US. As much as Changez wanted the American Dream maybe he wasn’t meant to achieve it.