Miles Moschetti’s Reviews > The Reluctant Fundamentalist > Status Update

If Erica killed herself, I think that would truly send Changez into a downward spiral if he is not already in one. Also, if Erica died, I think that would symbolize Changez's American dream coming to an end and him realizing that there is no future for him in the U.S. or at Underwood Sampson. It seems like the names the author chooses could have double meanings.

On p. 148, Changez says, " I lacked a stable core." This refers to the bats from earlier and how they are mammals that can fly; they are stuck in between. Changez feels the same way; he feels lost between being an "American" and being proud of being Pakistani. Erica grounded him in his Pakistani roots, but now that their relationship is over, it has put him into a spiral, and he can't get out of it.

I feel bad for Changez because he keeps having to change who he is. First at Princeton, he felt he had to act rich to fit in. Then, after 9-11, everyone was telling him to shave his beard so no one would make assumptions about him. Finally, he is always trying to change who he is for Erica, so that she will like him more. I think this is why the author made his name Changez, because he always has to change.

The author chose the name Erica for a very specific reason, and I think that it is because if you add am- before it, it turns into America. Changez's relationship with the two are very similar because Changez has lived in the U.S. for 4 yrs, but still barley feel apart of it and Erica likes him but still can't move on from Chris. So, in both scenarios, Changez doesn't feel complertely apart of either.

When Changz first got back to America, his life was clearly very hard. A lot of people were being stereotypical and racist towards him and others just because of how they looked, which is totally unfair and very sad to think about. I think all those unnecessary actions are what eventually cause him to leave after just eight months and move back home.

On p. 70, yet again, Jim talks about how great Changez is at his job. He calls him a shark because of how relentless he is. But I think Changez is changing, I think he is becoming more fierce and is always trying to get what he wants and moving away from his old-charm, respectful self. I think later on, Erica might say that she doesn't like him anymore because he is changing, and she loved his old-charm ways.

Jim seems to see himself a lot in Changez. He goes out of his way to help Changez and let him know how he's doing. I think he sees himself in Changez because they have similar backgrounds, they both come from hardworking families. If I worked at a place where someone looked after me. I wouldn't want to leave, but he says he only lived in New York for 8 months. So I wonder why he left.

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.