The Reluctant Fundamentalist, written by Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid, presents to us how the 9/11 terrorist attack influenced the impression of the United States towards Pakistanis. In the novel, Changez experienced different forms of racism in the US and had to use a variety of practices to present an acceptable image of himself to others, in this case, he tries to emphasize his sense of belonging to America.
During ASTU class, we have discussed whether the novel is a dramatic monologue, a thriller or a romance. However, is it possible for us to view this book from a sociological perspective from Goffman’s concept of “the self”?
In this blog, I will attempt to examine how concepts including impression management, audience segregation, and dramaturgy could be applied to this novel, and specifically, investigate how Changez used these methods to construct his ideas of “the self.”
The first concept is impression management. Goffman explains this concept as our attempt to present a favorable image of ourselves towards others through verbal or non-verbal practices, and the behavior of Changez showed this in the book. In the scene where the stranger discovered the scar on Changez’s arm, the stranger felt worried as he thought that Changez might have lied about his passion and respect for the US and have possibly been on terrorists’ side. Fortunately, Changez tried to explain the origin of his scar and resolve such misunderstanding about himself. He told the stranger that the scar came from his childhood accident, where he spilled molten wax on his arm when he grabbed a candle. Through such verbal practices, it is clear that Changez’s act corresponded to the concept of impression management as he wanted to clarify himself as a lover of America and avoid the stranger thinking of him as having a probable violent opposition to the US.
By continuing on explanations regarding Goffman’s interpretation of “the self,” the sociologist found that individuals would demonstrate audience segregation. This idea is based on how we present different versions of ourselves to others regarding how we define or understand a situation. It is also claimed to be another form of impression management. In the Reluctant Fundamentalist, Changez was offered a job at Underwood Samson although he was a Pakistan. He was told that the company was a meritocracy. Thus, he interpreted this situation and found that the only way to stay as an employee was to work extremely hard. He made use of his training skills learned from participating in competitive sports, worked hard by getting only a few hours of sleep every night and eventually impressed his supervisors and colleagues. Therefore, this shows how Changez presented himself as hardworking to others while compressing other’s view on that he was only a Pakistan in the situation, thus indicating a distinct version of himself to other people.
This example also supported my explanation of the concept dramaturgy within Goffman’s research. Waite’s paper on the documemoir Stories We Tell by Sarah Polley argued that the self is performative, dynamic and constructed by others. Similarly, the meaning behind dramaturgy was that “the self” is a performer and that we present an acceptable image of ourselves in the “FRONT STAGE” while relaxing and step out of character in the “BACKSTAGE.” As mentioned above, the hardworking Changez may be one of his performances in the “FRONT STAGE,” as this would be the best way for allowing others to form a better impression towards him. However, when Changez was talking with Jim, who was an executive president at Underwood Samson, Changez was found to be more of a watchful person who does not engage in an active role during parties. In my opinion, this might be one of the times when Changez is not competitive and performing but resting in the “BACKSTAGE” instead.
To conclude, Changez has unconsciously performed himself to others in a sense which corresponds to Goffman’s ideas of “the self.” Although the Reluctant Fundamentalist seems to be a novel about the post-9/11 United States, some hidden themes relating to sociology were still found in the book. Thus this shows that there are always different perspectives to look at a piece of literature or art.
P.S. You may also check out Meghan’s blog post which also discusses the concept of the self in the Reluctant Fundamentalist!
Works Cited
Goffman, Erving. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Anchor Books, 2008.
Hamid, Mohsin. The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Penguin Books, 2014.
“The Reluctant Fundamentalist Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis.” LitCharts, www.litcharts.com/lit/the-reluctant-fundamentalist/chapter-3.
Waites, Kate J. “Sarah Polley’s Documemoir Stories We Tell: The Refracted Subject.” Biography, vol. 38, no. 4, 2016, pp. 543–555., doi:10.1353/bio.2016.0004.