Liam Choi > Recent Status Updates

Changez’s growing distance from America becomes unmistakable after he’s fired from Underwood Samson, revealing his acceptance was tied only to performance. He carried himself in a way reflection of his Pakistani identity, having harsher parts of himself to fit in. Erica’s disappearance and subtle discrimination deepen this divide, pushing him to revive the self, and had a question of the future he dreamed of in US.

Changez was fired from Underwood Samson, and this revealed that his acceptance in America was only about his performance. His beard was a symbol of returning to himself, no matter what neighbor says . Erica’s missing strengthened discrimination and reminded him that belonging could break easily. These moments strengthened his focus on reviving his Pakistani identity, and his imagined future in America faded away.

Changez felt a emotional pull toward his identity during this period, because moments that seemed described how fragile America was. His closeness with Erica showed him that her emotions were still to Chris, found a distance he could not cross. Later, when a waiter treated him with disrespect, he felt another reminder that he was marked different. These experiences made him realize that belonging could break easily.

Changez felt a emotional pull toward his origins and identity during the complex events, and this awareness strengthens his sense that America’s acceptance of him was just simply conditional. During this period, he grew his beard as a small return to himself. Also, Erica’s decline deepens this divide, showing him that emotional belonging can break easily.

At Underwood Samson, Changez tried to have the same confidence he had, yet he felt a small separation growing between him and the people he worked with. News from Pakistan strengthened this tension, reminding him that his identity was tied to a place facing uncertainty. Erica’s growing silence added another emotional barrier. These moments made Changez realize that the life he imagined in America was an illusion.

Changez’s sense of belonging changed after 9/11, when he found that the country he admired now viewed him with suspicion as the staring at the airport and public spaces and the sudden shift in how partners marked as an outsider. There was subtle discomfort and awareness that he was being watched, evaluated, and pushed to the pale. These moments accumulated that he changed his mind that America is unsecure to him.

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.

Page 164 showed how David is remembering every events a long time later, such as the silence in his house after everything happened and the way his parents avoided talking about it. This felt special to me, because it showed how deeply these events shaped his idea of right and wrong.

Page 132 showed that the town sees Hayden family is above in the rules, so this was meaningful for me, because it proved the difference between justice and the law in the book. The law protects the powerful, but justice is to find the truth, and David is slowly finding the difference for the first time.

Page 118 showed how David starts noticing the tension inside his own house, such as father and grandfather having family royalty. Therefore, this was interesting for me, because it made me to realize David is becoming more aware of the adults’ secrets, even though they try to hide everything from him.

I started feeling suspicious of David’s father. He is calm, controlled, and serious, makes it seem like he’s hiding something behind his job. He acts like he knows most of the informations in the town. His small gestures feel silence and maybe guilt. It’s interesting how David is slowly starting to see father’s strange behavior, even if he doesn’t know much. It is talking about some complexity of family and more on.

I noticed that David seems kind of weird, not in a bad way, but in how different he feels his people around him. He is quiet and spends more time watching people than actually talking to them. It is like he sees everything with detail, but adults act that life is normal. Larry Watson’s writing style really shows this—his short, simple sentences The isolation of the town almost makes David’s thoughts feel normal.

Wesley forgive and did not give any punishment for Uncle Frank's action. Uncle Frank sexually assaulted Native American girls, but Wesley chose not have an action about it. This described that Wesley does know about the situation, but he is getting away from it.

This section showed ambition not through speeches but through everyday settings like classrooms, workplaces, and conversations. People revealed themselves by tone and action, while Schwarzman’s retrospective voice showed institutions. The limited yet purposeful language makes to have moral clarity, weighing loyalty, risk, and integrity.

At this section, Watson continued to not have direct explanation. The characters revealed themselves through their action and tone, which make David’s perspective a bit of ambiguity. David’s childhood is mostly about the injustice. He sees the part of the story rather than whole, that his vision forces him to confront tension and corruption (ethical weight).

Now David's life in Montana 1948 might become mostly different then before. Watson’s choice to show and not tell might show how David notices the gestures, feelings, or mindset. By reading with David’s perspective, I understood how this child is piecing together adults' truths about hidden realities.

At page 30, Schwarzman’s had his problem solving, and it was especially impressive, because it revealed how he learned to think on his limits. His confidence was chances of ideas, even when others hesitated. Shows an early understanding of leadership and risk. It reflects his belief in momentum, while there’s a quiet tension between vision and execution that has rise in business.

Pages 19–21 of What It Takes, it really impressed me, because Schwarzman revealed how early and bold thinking shaped his path. On his college years, he constantly wanted to have opportunities that put him beyond his comfort zone. This impressed me most, because his was having initiative, even when he didn’t have the experience, because he believed experiences of acting before action it to make himself be comfortable.

At page 15, at Bentrock’s empty streets and open plains were especially impressive, because it describes isolation of the land and the emotional distance between people. Watson’s calm word choices shows early types of power, justice, and family loyalty, while there was a small complexity beneath the surface moral conflicts that can define David’s family and community.

Watson expanded to talk about Bentrock. Explained about isolation into a key element of emotional and cultural confinement. The plains and small towns's background showed the silence and loyalty of people. David’s thoughts about his family and community makes to shape human behavior and big choices, connecting to the stories that are growing uneasly.

Watson explained about David’s reflective. I started to understand about Bentrock, not just as a place, but as a important background of David’s emotional memory. These pages describes complexity and tension of the ordinary life, started to talk about deeper complexity of David to come.