ASSINGNMENT
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Name : Usama Baidar
Faculty : EEE
Registration number : 2017486
Class : HM 101
Section : F
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Summary :
Changez, a Princeton graduate finds his world turned around after the bombing of
the twin towers. He meets a complete stranger in his hometown Lahore, Pakistan. By the looks
of the stranger Changez judges him to be an American. Changez tells him that he has lived in
America and is harmless and offers the stranger his help. The stranger finds it difficult to trust
him but eventually sits down with him at a local cafe. Changez tells the stranger about how he
graduated from an IVY league college and how he got a job at one of the most efficient and
prestigious firm, Underwood Samson. He asks the stranger If he Is involved with somebody or
has a lover. The stranger does not respond to his question. In order to gain his trust Changez
tells him about the women he loves, Erica. Though Changez and Erica were classmates they never
had been introduced till their graduation. Changez met Erica while on his trip to Greece.
Changez and Erica bonded in Greece. Even after the trip they met each other and
became close. Erica tells him that she was involved with Chris since childhood and he died of
cancer. Changez tries to comfort her by telling her his anecdotes of Lahore. Erica tells him that
she has been writing and even got an agent. Changez congratulates her and offers his help of
any sort. Changez was assigned a task to evaluate a music business in Philippines. His first official
trip was a massive success. On his last day there he found about the aftermath of 9/11. Changez
finds the stranger is feeling unease around the waiter and assures the stranger that the waiter is
from the frontier region and people there face a lot of hardships. Nevertheless the waiter is
harmless and Changez asks the stranger to order.When he got back from Philippines his life
changed drastically, he was suspected of being a Afghan terrorist. His relation with Erica went
downhill as they got intimate. Erica went to depression and her mother advised him to take a
step back. On the one hand he was getting in to elite of New York while his family was getting
disowned from elite class of Lahore. The only thing which was in hands was his life at
Underwood Samson. He continued to be top a analyst of his firm.
Even though Pakistan had pledged allegiance to U.S after the attack, still the things were
unsettled for Muslims and Pakistanis living in America. Changez on his assignment in New Jersey
would get mistreated and discriminated. He felt a need to visit his family in Pakistan and
boarded a flight to Lahore. The food had arrived and changez suggested the stranger to eat with
his hands rather than a fork as a tradition. Changez realized that since he left, Lahore didn’t
change a bit but a lot had changed in his life. All he could think about of New York was Erica.
He couldn’t get in touch with her while he was in Lahore. It seemed that Pakistan and India
war was on the cards. Changez being a patriotic Pakistani wanted to stay and fight side by side
with his family but by the time his vacation was over his family forced him to return to New
York. As a protest he grew a beard to let people know about his Pakistani side. He felt like a
coward to leave his country in time of need.
When he got to New York first thing on his mind was to see Erica. He got in touch
with her and went to see her at the clinic. The nurse there told him that she had recovered a
lot and even though she liked him: he was the one who drove her to this position. He was
tempted to take Erica with her to New York but didn’t do anything of the sort. On his drive back
he thought of the possibilty that she might have came with him if he had asked her. He got
devalued in the eyes of his colleagues but that didn’t came in between his relation with Jim. Jim
offered him a project in Chile. Changez accepted it without being enthusiasted about the
project. Jim told him that the assignment would be tough as he would only be working with one
of the vice president of the firm. Changez on seeing that the stranger had finished his dinner
suggested to order dessert.
The assignment was to evaluate possible worth of a publishing company. Juan Bautista the
chief of the company didn’t wanted to sell the company, but it wasn’t his decision to sell. Juan
didn’t liked Changez at first but when Changez told him that his father’s uncle was a poet, Juan
changed his view of him. Changez found Valparaiso very similar to Lahore. This made him
homesick and he couldn’t stop thinking about the possible war between India and Pakistan. For
the first time Changez let his emotions beat his professional side . He didn’t focus on the project
and did no productive work. The Vice President told him to pull himself together and start doing
the job he is paid to do. He still thought of Erica and how he had been wrong to personify
Chris in order to get Erica. He emailed her if she can resume their relationship but got no
response. His brother told him that they couldn’t afford to fix pipes in their house, Changez
immediately wired his savings to his brother. One day unexpectedly Juan invited him on lunch.
On their lunch Juan asked Changez if he knew about the “ Janisarries ”. Janissaries was a
group of young Christian boys who had been trained by the Ottoman Empire to kill and finish
their own people. Changez thought about how he had been a modern day Janissary fighting for
the mighty America. He made his mind to quit his project on the spot and abandoned his post
in Chile. On his flight back he thought about how he had been a tool for American finance by
being a financial analyst. He knew by the time his flight landed his time at Underwood Samson
would be over. It didn’t bother him that he’d be leaving his entire life in New York: he was
rather relieved. He was fired on the spot by Underwood Samson and escorted out by the
guards. Wain-wright was the only one to bid him farewell.
Changez called his brother and told him that his visa is expiring and he got fired. His
brother assured him that they will take care of him no matter what happens. Changez realizes
that it’s been quite some time till they had their dinner and asks for the cheque. The only thing
Changez was leaving in New York was his love life. He decided to see Erica for the last time. He
rushed to the clinic where he was told by a nurse that Erica disappeared two weeks ago. She
left her belongings on the rock near Hudson. It was unsure whether she might have committed
suicide or ran off as there was no note nor anyone had found her body. He visited all the
places where he met Erica. Some of the places were altered or he didn’t recollected the exact
spot. He went to her apartment where her mother told him that Erica found his beard chaming
and gave him the manuscript she had been working on. At first he didn’t read the manuscript
rather he wandered through Manhattan looking for her. After a week he mustered up courage
to read the manuscript. The manuscript was about a girl who was stuck in an island and
optimistic of her escape. By reading her novel he came up with a conclusion that whether she
was breathing or not, she didn’t want to be a part of his life. After all the time he pursued her
and no matter how much he loved her: he realized he couldn’t be with her.
Only thing tying him to New York was torn. He had no purpose left in New York and finally
he gave up his pursuit of Erica. Though America had given him a lot of pain he still didn’t
turned his back on it. He started to pack his things up and marked his days left. Changez felt his
last days relaxing and for the first time in many months he was at peace. On his final day he
rode to the airport while thinking of Erica. He thought of how she could have swam across
Hudson and how cold she would have been. He took off his jacket and left it in on the curb
to offer her warmth from his part. This gesture rose suspicion to the airport police and they
detained for quite some time.
As it was almost midnight the market where they were sitting is all closed. Changez offers
the stranger to walk him to his hotel. Changez goes on talk about what he did when he got
back to Lahore. His Princeton degree was adequate enough to get him a job at a local university
as a lecturer. He talks about how he is grooming his students outside the university curriculum.
One of his students tried to kill an American representative in Lahore when he was questioned
on national tv: he gave aggressive answer just in hope that Erica might see him and may
contact him. He had no intentions to harm America. The greater part of his time was consumed
in thoughts of Erica. He told the stranger that he still buys Princeton alumni weekly just to see
if Erica is featured in it. While on their walk they happen to notice the waiter and his fellow
are behind them. Changez assures stranger that Lahore is a big city and they could have been
walking to get home. On the gate of the stranger’s hotel waiter waves at Changez to detain the
stranger. The stranger reaches where either he has kept his business card or a weapon.
THE END