At the table of an unassuming café in Lahore's Old Anarkali market, Changez tells the story of his American citizenship and traces the nature of his sojourn. In The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Mohsin Hamid is able to successfully utilize a rare dramatic monologue style that allows Changez to create the entire narrative, without any permeation or interruption from the "American" who remains deliberately hidden to heighten the mystique of the plot. Hamid uses both structural and linguistic techniques to explore the theme of conflicted identity. Indeed, in both Hamid's novel and another novel of displacement, John Updike's Terrorist, there are several characters who seem to express opacity in terms of their true identity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Changez's friend and failed lover, Erica, seems to have no genuine conviction to rebuild her identity after the loss of Chris, her late boyfriend. Changez says she became dangerously introspective, saying “her eyes were turned inward… she was fighting a current that was pulling her inward.” The repetition of “she” creates a centralized image of self-entrapment. Culture is an important indicator as to where an individual has a certain identity, for example Changez feels a sense of belonging to the world of commerce, with Underwood Samson. However, when culture changes, as in the case of the catalytic movement of 9/11, some individuals are displaced from previously solid foundations. Hamid uses dramatic monologue for two main reasons, with the intention of further investigating many of Changez's moral issues within his own views and beliefs. It also supposedly distorts the legitimacy of the truth, after all, Changez's charisma and pride would certainly be reason enough for the slight embellishment, which is acknowledged by Changez himself, stating that "it may be that I am inclined to exaggerate these irritating things in retrospect,” which is an interesting self-recognition. Changez's identity is clearly seen throughout the novel, of course, he is a hybrid, he did not fit into any of the racial appropriations in America. However, in the first months of Changez's residency, he takes up an affiliation in New York, claiming that "[he] was immediately a New Yorker". The word immediately italicized highlights the fact that Changez quickly found an identity in the metropolis. The comical and 'cosmopolitan' description of the hustle and bustle of New York follows a series of unanswered questions in the novel, quintessential to the elusive Changez. For example, Changez makes several references to homosexuality which could infer that perhaps Changez's identity is different from his facade of righteousness. His reluctant friendship with Jim seems to emphasize this point, yet Changez evades this question from the American. Unanswered questions are commonplace in the novel, leading to assumptions and prejudices about how Changez acts. This element of subtextual activity is also prevalent in Updike's novel Terrorist. Ahmad, the radical Muslim schoolboy, demonstrates that there is an unexpected underlying level of emotion in multiple characters. He explicitly advocates a way of life that is "clean and pure" when it comes to sexual activity and interaction with "godless" American Christians. However, it is clear that a permeation of natural emotions involves the radical in a state of moral turpitude. The narrated lust exemplifies this dichotomy between religion and humanity, Ahmad is interestedto Joryleen's "breasts" and "lips" which are both cultural symbols of sexuality. A clever analogy of this disparity between the fullness of an identity and the permeation of an attenuated and interfering identity concerns Ahmad's eye. It reads: “As Ahmad opens his eyes wide, staring at so much injustice, Jack notices that his irises are not simply black but with a greenish tinge to their brown, a hint of Mulloy in him. This description indicates an identity-based imperfection, perhaps demonstrating that there is a range of characters within an identity; it is up to the individual to decide which prevails. Identity in the form of belonging with Erica is a strange case. Erica appears to accept her elusive nature and is unchallenged by Changez in reemerging from the darkness of her misguided acquiescence after Chris's death. His identity certainly changes after the events of 9/11, claiming that he had "stirred up old thoughts." Changez notices a bruise on "the top of his rib cage" which could be read allegorically as a bruise resulting from the healing events of the terrorist attack. Erica becomes interested in the isolated nature of the islands, Changez observes that the furnishings and artwork in her "penthouse" resemble the islands. She states: “As we were leaving his room, I noticed a sketch on the wall. It depicted a tropical island with an airstrip and a steep volcano under a stormy sky; nestled in the caldera of a volcano was a lake with another smaller island within it - an island within an island - wonderfully sheltered and calm. The phrases “sheltered and calm” indicate unhealthy comfort. There are clear struggles in Erica's mind, whether to move forward and develop new relationships, or whether to "take a step inside herself". Changez does not intervene which is a criticism of her actions in the novel, after all, she only ignites and accelerates her own downfall as she lacks challenge or control in terms of friendship. This situation is reminiscent of Ahmad in Terrorist. When thoughts remain in a state of incubation, they tend to become overly complex, stressful, and dangerous. The mind has the ability to embellish or exaggerate certain problems, which could lead to more harmful circumstances than if these thoughts were mitigated. Contextually, Ahmad has never met his father, his thoughts on his father are decidedly positive and of semi-divine praise. The father left the family when Ahmad was young and, above all, he was irreligious and secular, the opposite of the sacred Ahmad. Ahmad, after years of reflection and worry, comes to the false conclusion that his father is a man with morals and strength, which in reality is not correct. Ahmad's mother, Teresa, comically states: "[Ahmad] has no illusions about his father. I made it clear to him what a loser his father was. In fact, Ahmad obviously has these admitted illusions and so it's an interesting concept of such reckless delusion. Changez, at the novel's climax, is caught up in a complex moral dichotomy regarding his true identity in a way that is reminiscent of Camus's inclusion of the culturally external 'Juan Bautista'." a notable impetus to [his] reflective journey, a journey that continues to this day." Bautista's questions "plunged him into a deep period of introspection" which led Changez to evaluate his situation in America, dissolving his operations" janissarie". When faced with the question, there is often a need for another individual to catalyze thoughts and provoke introspection to discover an identity. The self-comforting nature of the mind perhaps allows substandard values ​​to deteriorate and normalize, which requires another person to deconstruct them. Although the novel respects the constraints of.