The Reluctant Fundamentalist was  written by Mohsin Hamid in 2007. The novel is arranged into 12 chapters and each one has its function.

The chapter begins and ends with a story in the present while in the middle there is a past  one. This is the structure that all the chapters have in common, so it makes the reader understands how the novel is going to be like.

The present's story introduces the protagonist , Changez, who is a Pakistani. Indeed, the novel is firstly set in Lahore,Pakistan, where Changez meets a Stranger whose name is not mentioned.

The past story which is set in mainly in New York, introduces the Underwood & Samson, which  has a essential importance throughout the novel. It introduces also the figures of Jim.

Changez appears in both stories, to point out who is the main characters, whereas the Narrator alludes to the Stranger only in the story sets in Pakistan.

Moreover the chapter tells the reader the narrative technique decided by the writer: The novel is told by a first-person narrator (Changez) and it uses the monologue.

In conclusion, the first chapter is an introductory one, which immerses the reader into the rest of the novel