Recently, my ASTU has been discussing The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid. This book follows protagonist Changez through his life in America as a reputable businessman in New York. Changez is unlike the other people working at Underwood Samson (the reputable business). Changez is Pakistani. He has brown skin and starts growing a beard.
Through Changez’s narration of his story, he reveals the shift in Americans’ attitudes towards him after 9/11. Ultimately, he reveals the shift of his attitudes towards himself after 9/11.
In this blog, I want to explore how other people’s views or comments about us influence the way we think of ourselves and the way we act.
In The Reluctant Fundamentalist, there is a particular scene right after 9/11 where Changez shows us just how potent other people’s stares and thoughts are. In this scene, Changez is the last person to board a flight after being stripped and checked for security reasons.
“I flew to New York uncomfortable in my own face; I was aware of being under suspicion; I felt guilty; I tried therefore to be as nonchalant as possible; this naturally led to my becoming stiff and self-conscious.” (Hamid 74)
Being subjected to judgement, stares, and uncomfortable facial expressions, Changez’s behaviour changes. He no longer is able to ignore what other people are thinking of him. It actually changes the way he thinks of himself. Why should he feel guilty? It’s ridiculous, he has not personally contributed to the events of 9/11. He feels guilty because of other people’s reactions to him. The other people think he is “guilty” therefore Changez feels “guilty”.
Throughout the book, we see Changez become the person Americans view him as. He starts by growing a beard. Then, as he faces more discrimination and judgement, he actually changes his perspective on America. He becomes “anti-American”- essentially the “terrorist” Americans were viewing him as.
We are so dependent on others to form our own sense of self. This reminds me of when I was in high school. After being at school with the same people for many years, you start to play a role. You play the role that others are expecting you to play. I sometimes felt restricted by my “role”. I find it interesting how other people’s expectations of how I should act made me actually act that way. Once you become this person that others are expecting you to be, it’s hard to distinguish between what is your “true self” and what is the “self” you are playing for others. I think the reason it’s so hard to figure out who you actually are is that both of these versions of yourself are you. They both form your identity.
This is also similar to the phenomenon of “stereotype threat”. “Stereotype threat” is a term coined and researched by Psychologists Claude Steele and Joshua Aronson. In this video , it describes that when there is a certain stereotype about someone, they are likely to “prove” the stereotype if it is put to this test. For example, if white people are taking an exam and they are told right before the exam that Asians are better at math, the white people will do poorer on that exam than the Asian people. This is because these students wanted to prove the stereotype wrong, so they were more preoccupied. They became more frustrated and worried while writing the exam which led them to receive poorer results.
Changez is not an example of “stereotype threat”. Changez is aware of the stereotypes surrounding him but is not preoccupied about proving these stereotypes. However, both “stereotype threat” and Changez’s character shift show us how stereotypes can impact how we act.
To conclude, I want to remind you that our actions, thoughts, and judgements of others influence they act and see themselves. Stereotypes can have harmful effects. I encourage you to pay more attention to your judgement of others. I also encourage you to notice when other people’s thoughts about you impact the way you act or feel. Likely, you’ll notice it more than you think!
