Status Updates From The Reluctant Fundamentalist

I found it interesting that in the book the other threw in a bunch of different hints about America though names and other things. How Changez knows almost everything about Americans while also only being in America for 4 years amazes me. I’ve lived in America for my whole life and I do not know anything about American cultures. This just shows how easily he adapts to his surroundings.

I really like the start of the story because it resonates with my current condition. Like Changez, who must excel as an international student from Pakistan to stand out in the US and get into a top company, I also have to work much harder because of my nationality to reach my dream schools. I felt happy when he got into Underwood Samson, and I hope to follow a similar path by realizing my dreams, goals, and wishes.

Something is getting a little fishy. It seems like everything leads back to something to do with the United States. For example, the names Changez, Erica, and the company that has the abbreviation of US, all have something to do with the US. There are also a lot of stereotypical stuff, where it talks about how normal American people look. I wonder if something bad is going to happen to the Americans.

At the start of The Reluctant Fundamentalist, we were introduced to a character by the name of Changez. He was described as a smart and dedicated athlete from Pakistan. Changez leaves Pakistan to go to America so he can study at Princeton to have more opportunities of success and pursue his studies on a higher level. Changez is introduced as a hard worker and a smart person and I am excited to read more about him.

After reading the first 40 pages of the book I have become confused as to why the main character left America after saying he loves it so mush. Being from Pakistan, It could be from getting pushed out of the country due to the after math of 9/11. Or simply because of homesickness. I believe it is because of the former. His job at Underwood Sampson is right in the hart of NYC and this could make him an easy target.

I was impressed by the seamlessness with which the author controls what the reader thinks. For instance, the author directs the perception of the American. This control is constructed by a detailed analysis of how he acts and the strange actions that subtly hint at him being a foreign agent. Whether it be the Americans' apparent unease or his namelessness, the author constantly controls the reader's assumptions.

After reading 30 pages of this book, I have enjoyed it a lot. Although many things are going on in the first couple of chapters, this is what makes the book interesting. The main character that the book has been focusing on mainly at the start is named Changez. Changez was a student who went to Princeton and was a very good soccer player until her had a season-ending injury.

Throughout the first chapter of the book, two things stood out to me: the tea shop and Princeton. On the outside, Changez said it didn’t look super fancy but had some of the best tea he had ever had. Princeton, on the other hand, looked fancy from the outside, but he felt the students were average. This comparison shows appearances can be misleading and suggests Changez will look past first impressions.

For me this book is going kinda slow, and I don't really like it that much. He talks to a person from the USA, they are in Pakistan in a tea place that Changez the main character owns. Changez tells the story about when he went to the US to live where he studied at Princeton. Changez tells him about the interview he had for a job since he needed the money cause his family has slowly been losing all their money.

Firstly, I am impressed by how the author is capable of manipulating his readers. I love the way the story starts. I am curious about who the American truly is and what he is doing in Pakistan. I am mad about how Jim is asking off-topic personal questions on Changez is life. I am happy for Changez because he got the 8th acceptance spot in his dream job. I am curious to know what Erica looks like in real life.

Now when I have read the first twenty pages I have really liked it a lot. The main character Changez seems interesting. He is from pakistan but he has been in United States for school and he is a great student. Changez seems pretty weird, yes he is a great student and used to be a great soccer player but still. The job interview he went was also weird because Jim the interviewer asked personal questions from Changez.

This year I have suffered an injury setting me back a big portion of the season. I can relate to Changez getting a knee injury before his soccer season because he was talking about how it felt like he was missing one of the most important years for his growth and development as a soccer player. I felt the same and could relate because I didn’t treat my injury properly resulting in me missing a lot of my season.

Through my first chapter of the book, one thing that has really stuck out to me is how attentive Changez is. In a couple of different scenarios, it is really obvious, one being the things he notices about the American at the cafe, how he held himself and where he sat are just two examples. Also, he made a bunch of observations about the person who interviewed him that not all people would make.

Page 10 described the process of which the family of the main character lost their original prosperity. The inflation and division of Changez's great grandfather's wealth eventually made Changez's family lose most of their money. Although they were not as wealthy as they once was, their social status did not waver, for that reason they kept being invited to weddings of entrepreneurs and wealthy busniess men.

Changez’s love for Erica, his pride in his job, and his belief in American meritism all seemed solid, yet each was fragile that it can break easily. After 9/11, complex of his identity and the achievement bias of Underwood Samson showed that his acceptance was conditional. America felt like an opportunity, but slowly revealed America depended not on who he was, but on the quality of Changez's ability of doing work.

Changez’s confidence cracked before his career started. On the Greece trip, he tried to blend in with wealthy American classmates, but felt a emotional distance. Meeting Erica strengthen this divide, because she welcomed him, yet her heart missed Chris. These moments made Changez to realize that dreaming could not erase the cultural complexity and emotional barriers separating him from the world he wanted to join.

The start of The Reluctant Fundamentalist described how Changez’s identity was sharply shaped by success. He have earned a scholarship of Princeton, and got an offer from the Underwood Samson, yet each moment faced an radical fracture. He was an all A student and athlete who believed his success made him special, yet he eventually realized he is from different country and there are Americans that had similar ability.

Changez's annoyances towards Mike and Chuck during their trip in Greece were thought-provoking. Not only does he talk about the "ease with which they part ways with their money," but also how they treat their elders. I believe the author did this to show that Pakistani and American cultures differ. I can predict that culture will be a recurring theme, affecting Changez's future relationships and view of America.

After reading the first 20 pages of The Reluctant Fundamentalist, I noticed that we never hear what the American Tourist says. This makes me curious about why the author chose this approach, as it gives the impression that the main character, Changez, is narrating his story. So, what is the purpose of writing it as a conversation with the mysterious American man?

Over these first few pages of the book i have found very intriguing how the author has managed to have only one character speak while the other one which is part of a conversation we have to depict his sentences by the reaction of the main character. This book also made me feel knowledgeable of Islam as it subtly mentions practices and customs of it. I also felt a sense of understanding to pakistanis' environment.