How I strangely can relate to Changez in the TRF
As soon as I read the Reluctant Fundamentalist I knew that I wanted to do my research essay on this novel. The character of Changez is what made me so fascinated. I was quickly drawn to Changez’s life in America where he had attended an Ivy league school and was working at one of the top businesses in New York. I think that the reason why I was so drawn to this was because this was the type of dream that I had wished for myself when I was younger. Like Changez I think that many young adults believe that if they attend a highly sought after university and receive a well-paying job, then they have lived their lives correctly. I initially thought that the novel would play out to Changez living a much more conservative “workaholic” life, but the ending was much more surprising and this is what gave me hope for my own life path.
As the novel proceeded I was shocked at how abruptly Changez’s life goals and aspirations changed so quickly due to the events of 9/11. This is what I will be researching in my essay throughout the rest of the term. I find it very fascinating how quickly someone’s life path and career orientation can change so quickly because I am a person who struggles with trying to find a certain path and sticking to it. Changez’s life ended up much differently than what I expected it to end up like when I started reading the novel. As I finished the novel and discovered that his life diverted onto a completely different direction than one would have expected this gave me a feeling of comfort with my own life. I did not find comfort in the fact that Changez was seen as a potential terrorist, but I found it refreshing that someone who had followed classic rules of “success” (good education and good career) could end up being more content with his life after he had left the hectic chaos of living this type of “successful” life that many of us are striving to obtain.
Although TRF is centered around the theme of terrorism and Islamophobia I would like to highlight that it also entails the theme of self-discovery.
Cheers,
Christina