Changez tells the American that after 9/11 he lived in denial about how America was changing around him and how these changes would affect “the new life [he] was attempting to construct.” Changez worries about his family in Lahore and naively believes the United States will not attack the Pakistani Taliban. Yet Changez can’t ignore the stories he hears in the deli he frequents about Pakistani cabdrivers being assaulted and the FBI raiding Pakistani homes, shops, and mosques. He tries to convince himself that rumors of Pakistani men being detained are exaggerations and, in any case, he is too American to be targeted for such treatment. He thinks such abuse is unlikely to affect him as a Princeton graduate “earning eighty thousand dollars a year.”
Changez throws himself into his work, trying wholeheartedly to identify himself with western market fundamentalism. Jim offers him an assignment valuating a cable company in New Jersey. Changez’s mandate is to “determine how much fat could be cut,” in other words to downsize the company primarily by firing employees. Some furious workers sabotage Changez’s work. Jim advises Changez not to let the hostility bother him because over time “things always change.”
In the coming weeks, Changez ponders Jim’s words, but he’s uncomfortable with “the idea that the place [he] came from was condemned to atrophy.” Instead, Changez focuses on his growing financial assets and his promising future at Underwood Samson, even if it means destroying the lives of older men who deserve respect. Wainwright sets him straight: “You’re working for the man, buddy … focus on the fundamentals.”
In mid-October 2001 the United States begins bombing Afghanistan. Changez cannot watch the news because the war is depicted as a lopsided sporting event, with America’s 21st-century weapons crushing “the ill-equipped and ill-fed Afghan tribesmen.” When he inadvertently watches a night raid on the Taliban, Changez feels a sudden kinship with the Afghans—fellow Muslims and Pakistan’s neighbors. The war makes Changez so furious he’s awakened from his former state of denial about how America is changing. His anger makes it difficult to concentrate on his work.
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Changez meets Erica in a bar and is shocked at how diminished she looks. She is trapped in her mind in a destructive cycle that “just feeds on itself.” Changez is horrified. Erica admits her condition is related to her dark, obsessive thoughts about Chris. Changez persuades Erica to come home with him. They go to bed together, but Erica is unresponsive. Changez initiates a turning point in his life when he tells Erica to pretend he’s Chris. He then becomes Chris for her. While making love as Chris, Changez feels “transported to a world where [he] was Chris and she was with Chris.” After sex, Changez feels “both satiatedand ashamed.” He wonders whether he has diminished himself by “taking on the persona of another” and feels humiliated for embodying his “dead rival.” The American in the Lahore restaurant looks at Changez with revulsion.
Themes in Reluctant Fundamentalist Chapter 7
Identity and Cultural Conflict
- Changez begins to feel increasingly alienated in the U.S. despite his professional success. This chapter deepens the internal conflict between his Pakistani identity and the American environment in which he’s immersed.
- He questions the cost of assimilation, especially when he visits Lahore and feels more connected to his roots.
Disillusionment with the American Dream
- Changez starts to see the emptiness behind his professional achievements. Though he is rising in his career, the satisfaction that was supposed to accompany success begins to elude him.
- He observes that he is playing a role that was designed for him, not one he chose himself.
Post-9/11 Tensions
- This chapter reveals subtle shifts in how Changez is perceived in the U.S. after 9/11. His ethnicity and appearance begin to attract suspicion.
- He also starts noticing the growing nationalism and discomfort directed at foreigners, particularly those from Muslim-majority countries.
Emotional Isolation and Longing
- Changez’s relationship with Erica remains distant and painful. Her emotional unavailability and obsession with her past highlight themes of loss and unattainable love.
Symbolism in Reluctant Fundamentalist Chapter 7
The Beard
- Changez grows a beard during his visit to Pakistan, which becomes a powerful symbol of his return to cultural and religious identity.
- It also becomes a visible marker of difference and causes unease among Americans upon his return, symbolizing the growing divide between him and the world he once embraced.
Erica’s Illness
- Erica’s mental health deterioration can be seen as symbolic of America’s psychological state post-9/11—grieving, paranoid, and clinging to a lost past.
- Her obsession with her dead boyfriend mirrors America’s nostalgia for its perceived innocence and strength before the attacks.
Home vs. Host Country
- Changez’s visit to Lahore brings warmth, family ties, and a sense of belonging, in contrast to his cold, impersonal life in New York. This contrast symbolizes the deeper theme of home as identity versus host as performance.
Glances and Gazes
- Changez frequently notes how others look at him—with suspicion, curiosity, or hostility. These glances represent societal judgment and reflect his growing sense of alienation.
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