I have chosen essay option 1, and will discuss the
function of history in Mohsin Hamid’s The
Reluctant Fundamentalist (the abbreviation TRF will be used to refer to the novel throughout the essay).
The novel is written in a first-person narrative, the
narration as such related by the main focalizing character, Changez, who is recounting
his experiences as a young student and professional in America to an American
visitor at a restaurant in Lahore, Pakistan. The novel thus alternates between two
quite distinctly different settings, the story-telling spell at the restaurant,
functioning as a frame-story; and the story that is being told, i.e. the gradual
unraveling of Changez’ encounters with American culture and society. By the end
of the final chapter, the two narrative strands meet.
