Kevin Yang > Recent Status Updates

Changez’s love for Erica is a like a reflection for his American Dream. At first, both seem bright and full of hope. But as Erica falls back into her past and disappears, Changez realizes America is also not as perfect as he thought. He stops trying to take on the personality of Chris just to fit in. Losing Erica is like losing his hope in New York, both seemed great, but eventually became bad.

It is interesting how Changez feels like a stranger in his own home. When he returns to Lahore, he first sees shabby walls and paint that is falling off, but then realizes the house hadn't changed. He was looking through American eyes, judging his home by the standards of the New York building. It’s sad to see how much he gave up just to fit in, and how hard it is to get back to being his own self.

I believe Changez has a very contradictory life. He is doing very well at Underwood Samson, but he feels empty because his relationship with Erica is falling apart. He uses full effort at work to avoid thinking about his sad emotions. Even as the top employee, he still feels unnoticed by the girl he loves. He can calculate the value of companies, but cannot find his place in Erica’s heart or in her memories of Chris.

I was surprised when Changez asked Erica to pretend that he was her dead boyfriend, Chris, so they could be together. It made me feel sad when I was reading because it showed that Changez is willing to stop being himself just to be loved. Being in a relationship that includes someone who is dead makes Changez seem very lonely. This moment shows how much he struggles to fit into a world where he is an outsider.

It was interesting that Changez felt more like a laggard than a leader when he compared Manila to Lahore. Even though he lives a nice life in New York, when he saw the Philippines success, he felt small and insignificant. To deal with that, he starts play acting as an American to get respect. This shows how much he struggles with his identity when he is trying to fit into a different world.

I think it was interesting how Jim could relate to Changez at the summer party. Both Jim and Changez only observed when other people were speaking. This created a connection between them and pulled their relations closer. Jim could fully understand what Changez feels, because he has been through the same. In the future, I expect that Changez and Jim can have a bond and become important parts of each other's lives.

I really enjoyed the part where Changez thinks moving to New York felt like coming home. It is interesting how he felt like a New Yorker because he heard people speaking the language he spoke in Pakistan. He also found a deli that served samosas, which is food from his home. Even though he was far away, he still felt like he belonged there. I expect that this feeling of home will go away soon due to an accident.

I really liked the Greece trip because it shows how Changez is different. Even though they all went to Princeton. His friends are "wealthy" and don't care about spending money. Changez, on the other hand, is not rich, so he has to spend money carefully. He looks at them with "disdain" because they have no understanding of how hard it is to make money. Interestingly, he feels like an outsider with his own friends.

It did not surprise me that Frank killed himself since he cared about face so much, but I did not expect David's reaction at last. I thought he would be scared when he saw Frank dead, but he was actually happy and relieved. In the end, David felt a feeling close to love for Frank. We reach true enlightenment only when we love our enemies, and by feeling love, David has moved on from his hate, reaching enlightenment.

I was surprised that David's turning point came so early. David started to become a man when he started to help out in the case, and when he saw his father on the ground begging, he realized his father was not invincible. He cried and knew that he was not going to see his horse again. When he thinks that he is getting further away from his horse, he is also leaving his childish soul behind and moving on to be a man.

It did not surprise me that Julian got mad at Wes when he arrested Frank, but it was shocking that Gloria lied about what Frank did. As a normal wife, if you hear that your husband is molesting young girls, the first reaction should be to get really mad. However, Gloria did not have that reaction. I believe that Gloria already knew about this, but Frank has promised her something, making her accept the crime he did.

I was surprised that Wes was scared when he knew Frank had come into the house before Marie died, and Len caught him. This changed my view of his character in the book. Clearly, Frank was on his brother's side, who was the villain, making him an antagonist. On the other side, David is helping to solve the case by providing key information on Frank's arrival. This changes him from just a narrator to the protagonist.

Gloria was a great woman, but did Frank not want to have a relationship with her? Frank did not want ot be responsible. He said, "This is what it feels like to have a kid," meaning that he did not want to be responsible for a kid, so he did not want to get Gloria pregnant. He did not want to have a kid, but he wanted sex, so he molested Indian girls to fulfill his will while not having to take care of a kid.

I really like the part where the author contradicts Wes and Gail's points of view. The book mentioned that Gail hated the wind, and it reminded her of North Dakota, where as Wes used to say that he loved the wind in North Dakota. This represents that Wes and Gail have different views of the incident of Frank molesting indian girls. The wind represents the things Frank did, and I expect Wes and Gail to argue over it.

I was shocked by the reason why Marie did not want to see Dr. Hayden was that he molested indian girls. David's father, as a sheriff and a law student, knew his brother was guilty. I did not understand why he did not arrest his brother, because he could show off his power and also be the better son. I believe there is more to this situation that would benefit David's father, so he would not arrest his brother.

I was really interested in the part when Marie did not want to see Dr. Hayden. At first, I interpreted that Marie did not want to waste money to see a doctor. I thought about it later, and I feel like there is a deeper reason why she refuses to see Dr. Hayden. I guess that as a native american, she might have been hurt by a doctor before because of her race, but I am excited to learn why she refuses to see a doctor.

I really enjoyed reading the first few pages, where the author used a humorous tone to talk about his father's job as a sheriff. He made many jokes about how his father did not live like a Western sheriff you would expect. This also provides background information on how Mercer County did not have much chaos. In the rest of the book, I expect a chaotic incident in the city, changing the lives of the author's family.