The Reluctant Fundamentalist: Chapter 1 Summary & Analysis

SinceThe Reluctant Fundamentalistis written entirely in the first person from Changez’s point of view, it’s difficult to gauge the Stranger’s attitude when Changez approaches him in the street. The only clues come when Changez notes the Strangers behavior or facial expressions, but it’s unclear if Changez is interpreting the Stranger’s actions correctly. It’s equally difficult to gauge Changez’s tone. He tries to find common ground between the Stranger and himself, but he does so by judging the Stranger based on his appearance, much as minorities in the United States are treated. The fact that he thinks the Stranger is uncomfortable around him, but proceeds with his questioning anyway, makes Changez seem rather sinister – his deferential attitude may not be completely sincere. Changez’s choice of the word “mission” is another hint that Changez regards the Stranger as more of an adversary than he lets on, possibly that he thinks the Stranger may be some kind of agent.

The fact that Changez asks the Stranger a question and then answers it for him suggests that he is less interested in learning about his new friend and more interested in leading, or even bullying him, around the city. On the other hand, Changez could be eager to practice his English with an America and reminisce about his time at Princeton – no clear explanation for his behavior can be found, at least not yet. Similarly, the Stranger’s agreement to follow Changez to the café could mean that he is reluctant to make a scene and is still on his guard, or that he is genuinely interested in passing time with Changez. His decision to keep his jacket on and sit near a wall suggests the former (and that he has a military awareness about him that indicates he might really be an agent of some sort), while his question to Changez about Princeton suggests the latter.

Changez’s comparison of international and American students at Princeton is both a cocky statement of his talent and a frank account of international students’ experience at American colleges. On the Princeton soccer team, and at Princeton in general, his talents separate him from others instead of ingratiating him with his peers. Even at an elite university, surrounded by students of the same age with similar interests, Changez is conscious of being an outsider, though for the time being, his outsiderness is a point of pride.

Years after graduating from college, Changez has a broader and more cynical perspective than he does as an undergraduate. At Princeton, he’s conscious of his talent, and wants to put it to work for a prestigious company. As an adult, he thinks less about his own career and more generally about the ways that America maintains its power. One reason that Changez doesn’t think about these imperialist strategies as a student is that they act in his favor – he has excellent grades to show for his four years at Princeton, and even to be interviewed by Underwood Samson is a sign of respect and a promise of wealth to come.

Once again, it’s unclear what the characters really think and feel. The waiter could be dangerous and hostile to Americans, or polite; Changez could believe that the waiter is polite, or he could be concealing the waiter’s hostility from the Stranger. Finally, the Stranger could be intimidated, as Changez thinks and as his reaching under his jacket might imply (and the Stranger could have a gun under his jacket or something else entirely, like his wallet), or he could be calmer than Changez supposes.

The casual way Changez communicates his name to the Stranger establishes more trust and closeness between them, but it also underscores the strangeness of their relationship — Changez treats the Stranger like a friend, but he waits half an hour to introduce himself, and then doesn’t even bother to ask the Stranger for his name. In spite of his confidence in his abilities, the young Changez finds it difficult to “sell himself” to Jim, prompting Jim to ask him a series of uncomfortable leading questions – much as Changez asks leading questions of the Stranger. The difference between the two roles Changez plays – in Pakistan, he’s an interviewer; at Princeton, he’s being interviewed – suggest how greatly he has changed, and suggest that The Reluctant Fundamentalist is the story of how Changez moves from being a nervous, passive character to an active one. Jim asks Changez personal questions about his financial situation, but seems indifferent to other aspects of his personality – his home, his city, his culture. As a result, his interest in Changez as a fully-formed human being is questionable.

Jim believes that a close connection exists between himself and Changez because of their similar socioeconomic background. His attitude is almost fatherly, especially the way he laughs off Changez’s angry outburst. Jim’s insight into Changez’s character is also the first indication that Changez, at least as an undergraduate, cares deeply about his classmates’ opinion of him, and goes out of his way to control his public image.

Changez’s observation that the socioeconomic changes in Pakistan aren’t unique paints a sobering picture of the 21stcentury world, in which the middle classes are disappearing, the new rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer. In many ways, Western imperialism and American capitalism are responsible for the decline in Changez’s family’s fortunes: the local elite that once dominated Pakistan slowly lose their power and influence, first to the British colonists, then to businessmen, many of whom work for American companies. As an undergrad, Changez isn’t too concerned with these realities – instead of being honest about his family, he acts the way his friends expect him to act, hiding his financial situation from them (and, in a way, from himself), and pretending to be sophisticated and “exotic”—which in this pre-9/11 world is a beneficial status for him while still leaving him an outsider. In order to grow into the novel’s narrator, he’ll need to undergo a great change, but for now, it’s unclear what the change will be.

The Stranger’s thoughts and behaviors are difficult to read through the “lens” of Changez’s point of view. Changez could be said to switch the cups out of politeness, responding to the Stranger’s discomfort, or an accidental (or deliberate) misreading of the Stranger’s expression.

The details of the interview problem bear a resemblance to the details of Changez’s life thus far: like the hypothetical company’s clients, he’s been teleported halfway around the world and “reassembled” into an educated American employee. Though Jim scoffs at the problem’s “hyped up” product, it’s clear by now that many people would be, and in fact, are, interested in being “reassembled” in the United States. Changez’s overestimation of customer interest is one of the earliest indications that his cultural background influences how he conducts work at Underwood Samson.

It’s unclear if Jim hires Changez because his approach is correct, as he says, or at least partly because he admires Changez’s background and sees something of himself in him. Underwood Samson’s ability to train its employees to see through hyped up products like the teleporter foreshadows the way it encourages Changez to abandon his Pakistani roots and embrace America whole-heartedly. Young and idealistic, Changez believes that working for Underwood Samson – and, following through on the symbolism of Underwood Samson, living in the United States – will help him and his family because it will change him into a confident, perceptive man, just as it changed Jim. But when Changez yells, “Thank you, God!” in the middle of a secularized American college campus, Hamid implies that Changez is still different from his peers.

Princeton and Underwood Samson encourage Changez to embrace America, but in the present day, Changez makes it clear that he hasn’t forgotten Pakistan at all. Meanwhile, the Stranger seems to be becoming more comfortable around Changez.