Joell McFarling > Recent Status Updates

It seems Changez might've been better off staying in Pakistan. America gives him money and status, but after 9/11, he feels pressured to hide himself from people, and he feels watched. I think that him going back to Pakistan will bring back his honesty, identity, and peace. We learned that the American Dream can be too much. It's like a choice between success but ending up alone and losing culture back home.

As I'm reading, the story goes back to Changez in the cafe with the American. If I were Changez I would definitely be worried, and it's a tense part of the book. The American is nervous and looks around as if he is scared of something.Changez can't tell if he is scared or if it's something else.Its like there's still a lot of unanswered parts of this book and maybe that's what keeps the reader guessing, just like me.

Wow, it feels like Changez's life just changed in a snap. I remember in class I predicted that Erica would commit suicide, and with her disappearance in the book, I believe that my prediction was true. This makes me sad for Changez because he genuinely liked her, and she essentially ghosted him. To top it off, he loses his job, and it feels like he's falling off,but Im confident that Changez can get himself together.

I feel that the way Changez is treated is unfair, and he doesn't deserve it. Erica is now very sick, and it's almost as if Changez is losing motivation in America. I couldn't imagine how he's feeling after 9/11 and how he's getting treated because he is alone. There are only a couple of other Pakistani kids in his school, which doesn't help at all. I'm glad that in the story he said it's his last Winter in the U.S.

Up to page 105, I am going to be completely honest. I am feeling angry with Changez because he needs to open his eyes and use his brain. He is still interested in Erica even though she still mentions Chris. If I were him, I would have cut her off. Besides this, when Changez gets back to the U.S its almost like he's forcing himself to fit in with everyone else in America. Forcing yourself onto things is self-torture.

Up to page 85, it's pretty clear that Changez is starting to feel like he doesn't belong in America anymore. I say this because his whole dream of being successful in America is changing after the 9/11 attacks. I do think that, in the end, Changez will still find a way to be successful with whatever he does. Something that caught me off guard was how Erica still talked to Changez after 9/11, but I'm glad she did.

I am confused so far because Changez seems confident, and we all know he is smart, but I can see his attitude starting to change, as if America is affecting him negatively. It's almost like something is shifting inside of him, and I don't know what it is yet. Something else that stood out was that it seems like Erica is still stuck on her deceased boyfriend, Chris, but Changez is trying to get closer to her.

After reading to page 40, I noticed how well Erica and Changez complement each other, and I am happy for Changez. I also remember discussing the back of the book in class and how it states their relationship shifts after a while. I am now wondering how this affects his identity over time as well. I am curious to see how well Changez is able to adapt to these changes and still thrive both academically and in his job.

I was really interested in learning more about Changez's life at this time and just seeing how hard it must've been for Pakistani people to live with so many people in America disliking their culture. I respect Changez because of his remarkable success in education and his overall achievements in New York, while never forgetting where he came from. I wonder if Changez ever gets the respect that he deserves.

After finishing up the book, Im honestly not surprised that Uncle Frank killed himself. However I am surprised on how he actually did it with the glass breaking. I also feel happy for David because all these problems the family had going on was because of Uncle Frank but now he is gone. Now the Hayden family could finally live in peace but its fair to say that they definitely wont forget this time of their life ever.

I am very nervous for whats going to happen next. The men are breaking into Davids house with his mom in there by herself. I actually got chills while reading that David couldn't find his dad anywhere. This makes everything worse for Gail as she is trying to hold them men off for as long as she can. I also wonder why the grandfather would put his own son's family in such danger by sending the men to their house?

As I'm reading, I'm starting to feel bad for Wesley because he is in a lose-lose situation right now. He arrested Frank, and that was the right thing to do in my opinion, but because he did this, he is getting yelled at by David's Grandpa. If he didn't arrest Frank, then David and his Mom would feel some type of way towards Wesley. I think Wesley is very stressed because he is the one making the decisions as of now.

I read to page 93 and I am shocked to read about Marie's death after she finally seemed to be getting better. Frank had something to do with this especially because David seen Frank go check on Marie before her death so now its pretty obvious. Although I did do some research and it did say that person can be recovering from one sickness and then suddenly die from a new infection like pneumonia. This is Mind Blowing!

After reading to page 75, It seems like David is not happy with Uncle Frank and he is slowly losing his mind. What really gave this away was when David felt relief from all the stress when firing a gun and killing an animal. Also when he pointed the gun at Uncle Frank and wondered what would happen if he had killed Uncle Frank . In my opinion that is a pretty crazy thing to even think about when thats your own blood.

As Im reading to page 60,I can see that David isn't in a comfortable position as of right now. I say this because he knows about Marie but his parents don't know that so the conversations they are having seem pretty awkward. Another thing I noticed while reading is that David had the same questions that we were asking in class the other day. The question is was Wesley, Davids dad protecting his brother or his family?

In the prologue I was kind of confused what was going on and how it would be related to the rest of this book. From page 3-26 there was a lot of introductions of people and their backgrounds.I cant imagine living such of plain life back then where there is no advanced technology, a low population , and the disliking of different cultures and races. This was very interesting to me seeing how montana operated in 1948.

I am in complete shock after reading what Frank does to these indian girls. What is even more shocking is how calm Davids dad is about this situation and its almost like he already knew about his brothers acts.I feel so bad for Marie in this whole process of her being sick. One question I do have is why she didn't tell Davids mother about the frank situation as soon as she heard he might be coming over to check her.

As I finished up reading to page 27 I am very curious and My mind is filled with many questions that have not yet been answered in the book. First on why Marie does not want help when she is sick and has the doctor done something to her before that makes her not want to see him? Another thing that I noticed in the book was how well David was able to describe Marie so detailed while she was naked exiting the shower.