Discuss structure in The Reluctant Fundamentalist to explain the function of the novel component parts. Conclude your short essay expressing your personal opinion on the novelist's choice of narrative strategy, underlining its pros and cons.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid is a novel inspired by the effects and aftermath of the World Trade Centre bombing (9/11/2001). It relates a dramatic monologue between Changez and an American stranger. After rejecting a stellar career as an economic fundamentalist in the United States, Changez returns to Pakistan as university lecturer. The World Trade Centre's twin towers episode changes everything. The ironic smile of Changez (“my initial reaction was to be remarkably pleased”) draws attention to his different values. So this novel focuses the reader's attention on the different values of people owning to different cultures. The speaking voice highlights the borders between cultures (in particoular America's and Pakistan's) through the use of specific narrative technique like the dramatic monologue, the behaviour of Changez and American people, the specific function of parts, the use of language and the description of characters.

First of all Hamid uses an unusual dramatic monologue structure to express the barriers that are often erected between people owning to his/her belonging to a State with cultural, racial and social differences. This narrative technique strongly implicates the reader in the story as Changez speaks directly to us and we find ourselves in the position of the American he is talking to: we see history exclusively through his eyes. So Changez is an unreliable narrator: the reader has access to information just and only from a Pakistani point of view

The dramatic monologue creates tension between two strangers and Hamid shows they are uneasy about each other's motives and both, especially the American, jump to conclusions based on the appaerance of their ethnic differences. Indeed the stereotype is a relevant topic. By the first part the narrator introduces the topic and explains how it can influence the point of view of people. The topic is also highlighted by the frequent use of verbs as “look”, “seem”, “see”, “observe”, “notice”. Indeed they are verbs that involve the use of the sense of sight.

Hamid organized the novel into 12 parts and each one has a specific function. By the title, and intelligent reader, can immediatly, know something about the character. He is a “fundamentalist”, but “reluctant”, so it means he doesn't feel like doing something. The first part has the function to introduce the main character Changez and the dramatic monologue. The speaker uses formal language (“excuse me, sir, but may I be of assistance?”) so probably he is not English (he is from Pakistan). In addition narrator introduces the setting (Cafè in Lahore) and the use of language (ambigous language). In the second part the speaking voice introduces Erica's character. She is an American girl and she falls in love with Changez. It's interesting to consider characters' name which are used by Hamid (Erica, Chris and Changez) because they are metaphors for the key points of the novel (America, Christianity and to change). Parts 3 and 4 are about Changez's life in New York. While part 5 is the climatic because it determines the change of the setting (World Trade Centre bombing) and the beginning of Muslim persecution (part 7-8-9-10). The last two parts have the function to conclude the story with the protagonist's return to Pakistan. The American judgement probably forced Changez to entrace a new ideology

Moreover it's interestinf to investigate the reason why the narrator uses the English language. Indeed he wants an American-English pubblic and English is also the language of international mediation

To conclude, in my opinion, this structure wants the reader to reflect on a different point of view about America: the Pakistani point of view.