Class test quotation: analysis of original version

The original quotation expresses the protagonist’s reaction to the World Trade Centre attack and in the use of language, his sense of bewilderment and perplexing come to surface.

Possibly, it seemed to me and I had always taught are some examples of Changez’s inner confusion and his difficulty to come to terms with the new reality of America.

To give oneself over expresses the ironic idea of the protagonist towards the American attitude after the attack. It literally mean to spend all ones doing or feelings to create a defensive barrier against the fear of terrorism. At the same time, the protagonist judges the American attitude as dangerous nostalgia.

The semantic choice implies a step backward of the common American trend towards progress. The idea is highlighted and reinforced by the adjective retro preceded by the adverb undeniably, one that does not admit contradictions.

Flags and uniforms are more than simple lexical choices: they become a vehicle of criticism of the patriotic rituals Americans rhetorically still hang to. Even the values of duty and honour sound rhetorical in they graphitic writing and use. In addition, they are set in key positions.

What’s more Changez’s use of the past perfect expresses the protagonist’s disillusionment and lack of hope in change in front of his initial dream about America.

The contrast between look foreword and look back, symbolically at the end of the sentence, are divided by the word determination. It refers to Americans strict division to find an escape in front of the tragedy. To Changez’s eyes living in New York reminds life in the Second World War or better his idea of it.

The simile unveils the perception of the new atmosphere and makes New York an almost unreal city.

It sound as if the protagonist could not believe his eyes in front of the new scenery. It seems to be starring out a set.

The speaking voice communicates the feeling of something unusual in the world surrounding him. Such image is conveyed by the phrase not in Technicolor but in grainy black and white. Grainy is technical language: it is generally used by the new generation since it refers to Photoshop users and, last but not least, it conveys the perception of confusion introduced at the beginning of the quotation.

Changez finds no rational understanding in American reaction.

The following question in syntax reports the protagonist’s puzzlement.

The reader is strongly involved in narration thanks to the language used that creates an intimate relationship of closeness. Everything seems unclear to me.

However the questions imply a negative judgement of the reactional attitude and behaviour.

Dominance, safety and uncertainty anticipated by the adjective moral provided the new scenery. Again the choice of I did not know brings to surface Changez’s feeling of being in front of something he cannot make sense of, the feeling of the parade where Americans were dressing in a shape of an old era. And, even worse, he feels treacherous.

All the questions rest on the expression of Changez’s moods, feelings and emotions. The intelligent reader therefore is involved in the sharing of the speaking voice’s situation where reality and fiction look and sound the double face of one single reality.

The idea of reaction as a scenery concludes the quotation and conveys the totally new feeling of the protagonist, whose detachment becomes therefore perceptible.