In the novel, Hamid also explores Changez's relationship with Erica as a metaphor for the challenges faced by South Asian Americans in their efforts to assimilate and "become" American through one, the morning after Changez he came down to breakfast, it was just him and Erica and so they talked. In their conversation, Erica asked him about his family life in Pakistan, to which Changez responded: When I was a child, there were eight of us, eight cousins, all in the same compound---a single compound wall surrounded the land plot that my grandfather left his children…” She laughed, and then said, “So being alone was a luxury, huh? (Hamid 19). What this tells us, or rather the challenges faced by South Asian Americans through the lens of Americans, is that they are barbaric, living in confined spaces, with a higher than “normal” number of individuals in a room or even a building . Another interaction with Erica occurred when they were both in the ocean and Erica comments “I don't think,” she finally said, “I've ever met anyone our age as polite as you” (Hamid 25). What this tells us, or rather the challenges faced by South Asian Americans, is that they have to be extremely kind and polite to compensate for their view of “barbarity and backwardness” that Americans tend to associate with this group of people. And this value increased following September 11th. Another interaction with Erica was when she invited Changez to her parents' apartment for the first time and during a conversation with Erica's father, he asked Changez how things were at home, to which he replied " pretty good, thanks" (Hamid 54). Erica's father's response to this question: But the economy is falling apart, isn't it? Corruption, d... middle of paper... another post about 9/11. Furthermore, both through Amaney Jamal's piece Civil Liberties and the Otherization of Arab and Muslim Americans (chapter four) and through Nadine Naber's piece Arab Americans and US Racial Formations (Introduction), we see how this clash occurred before and after on September 11th. . That while the aftermath of 9/11 saw the increase in racialization of Muslims and Arab Americans, we must not forget that these groups of people were not so invisible due to the fact that America (i.e. the “dominant mainstream” ( Jamal 119) ) has always considered those he considers "others" (i.e. minorities) inferior. Because of this framework, they have racialized any group of people who are not considered American as “other.” However (as stated) following an event like 9/11, the racialization of Muslims and Arab Americans was perpetuated even further; and to an even more dangerous level.