Overture: To America–Chapter 1 Summary and Analysis
Overture: To America
Ayad, the narrator of this fictionalized memoir, credits a professor from his college days named Mary Moroni for sparking his desire to become a more careful critic of American culture. Mary believed that America often prioritized the “enrichment” of American culture without giving much forethought to civil order. Not everyone appreciated her critical lens, and she sometimes found herself on the receiving end of protests against her statements. Undeterred, Mary maintained that America was undeserving of the “self-congratulation” it often embraced as a national culture; in retrospect, Ayad realizes that he never fully grasped the implications of these sentiments while he was her student.
Ayad grew up with a firm sense of American pride, which he learned from his own father, Sikander. His father loved American history and often took Ayad to sites of Americana culture as a child. Ayad enjoyed childhood journeys to the Tetons, Death Valley, and various sites of historical significance. While his father embraced a deep love of America, Ayad’s mother, Fatima, felt ambivalent at best about this culture which was not that of her homeland. To her, Americans were profoundly materialistic, a quality which seemed to be the focal point of Christmas celebrations. She was also troubled that Americans separated themselves from ideas involving aging and death, and she worried that she would spend her final days in a “home.”
After the September 11 attacks, Mary reached out to Ayad again. She encouraged him to persevere through the challenging days ahead as a Muslim, drawing on her own experiences as a gay woman in America as a means of connecting to Ayad’s sense of otherness. She conveyed that her journey to authenticity had been challenging and advised him to “use the difficulty” and to “make it [his] own.” Years later, Ayad would more fully realize the truth of Mary’s wisdom. He would witness as many colleagues struggled with debt, exhausting themselves with jobs that failed to provide enough money. Family and friends would find themselves homeless, unable to pay their mortgages, and numerous close acquaintances would be diagnosed with varying mental and physical disorders. Eventually, the suffering of others would awaken Ayad to the reality of American culture.
Chapter 1: On the Anniversary of Trump’s First Year in Office
Ayad’s father, Sikander, an immigrant from Pakistan, became a practicing cardiologist in America after spending years as an academic physician. In the early 1980s, he was successful enough that he began purchasing a diverse array of real estate; his portfolio of holdings was an eclectic combination of gas stations, strip malls, and a trout farm. Sikander had enjoyed being a big spender, often tipping the entire sum of a bill. He scorned his son’s lack of happiness, telling him that he was fortunate to grow up in America. By the early 1990s, Sikander had lost his entire net worth after the market crash of 1987. He quickly regained his former status as a renowned cardiology researcher and found a niche studying the little-known disorder known as Brugada Syndrome. His expertise in this field led him to meet Donald Trump in 1993.
Trump’s cardiological difficulties were no surprise to those around him; he had recently faced his own financial troubles, his ex-wife was swaying public opinion against him, and his mistress had recently become pregnant. After a particularly concerning episode in which Trump fell facedown, his eyes rolling back in his head, doctors convinced him to pursue answers to determine the source of his health struggles. One cardiologist spotted the “shark fin” marker on an EKG that is indicative of Brugada Syndrome, so Trump...
(This entire section contains 1236 words.)
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was referred to Sikander, the leading specialist in the United States. Sikander was flown to Mount Sinai, where medical instruments had been arranged to his specifications, but Trump himself never showed up. The following morning, Trump called Sikander, who thanked him for the nice accommodations but warned that a heart condition such as Brugada could prove fatal. Trump apologized for wasting the doctor’s time and promised to meet with him for an evaluation. He brought with him a “Love Life!” lapel pin as a means of atonement.
Sikander investigated Trump’s cardiology difficulties for years; while he thought Brugada was a possible diagnosis, the tests were inconclusive. During this time, Trump treated Sikander to occasional dinners and once took him gambling in Atlantic City. Eventually, genetic testing made it possible to say with certainty that Trump did not have Brugada, and their visits came to an abrupt end.
Years later, Sikander’s trips to New York returned, and Ayad learned that his father spent fifteen years visiting a prostitute named Caroline. His father also visited restaurants where he and Trump once dined together and visited Trump’s tailor, who still referred to him as “Mr. Trump’s doctor.”
Ayad was also shocked and dismayed by his father’s support of Trump’s presidential bid. When confronted with outlandish remarks that Trump had made, Ayad’s father would reply that Trump was simply being a “showman.” He also learned of his father’s own bigoted views, which he had never before known existed. Ayad began to push his father to recognize the ways Trump’s leadership was dividing the country, and he realized that he was intentionally trying to hurt his father, blaming his own anger-filled speech on Trump’s voice.
On Election Day, Ayad noticed that his father was tense and unusually upset. He felt that his father was torn, believing that he had voted for Trump “despite knowing better.” Ayad began to consider his father’s belief in the opportunities of America; these opportunities allowed some to inflate their own sense of self-worth, sacrificing everything else. Ayad realized that his father wanted to know where his own limits were.
Analysis
These early chapters provide varying perspectives on American culture from the points of view of those who often find themselves outside the boundaries of mainstream convention or acceptance. Mary Moroni used her experiences as a lesbian in America as a source of strength, telling Ayad that moments of difficulty had been the “flint stone” against which she had sharpened her own intellectual talents.
Sikander serves as an embodiment of the belief in the quintessential American dream, immigrating to America in search of its promises and becoming successful through his hard work. Even after bankrupting his family through poor financial decisions, he again rose to the top of his field, becoming a respected cardiologist to the nation’s most elite social classes. He enjoyed this sense of importance, as evidenced by his return to the locations where he had spent time with Donald Trump, trying to reclaim an identity that he enjoyed when he had served as Trump’s doctor. Unable to fully realize this connection after Trump was discharged from his care, Sikander still supported everything that Trump represented, from the way Trump insulted the other presidential candidates to Trump’s lifestyle of “largesse.” In contrast, Ayad’s mother clings to the homeland she has left behind, feeling that America has never been able to fill the void of that loss. Instead of seeing America as a land of incredible opportunity, Ayad’s mother sees the “orgy of acquisition” that Americans embrace. Her inability to feel at home is juxtaposed with her husband’s enthusiasm for the culture, establishing a continuing point of conflict between them.
