My Son the Fanatic

by Hanif Kureishi

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What settings appear in the short story "My Son the Fanatic"?

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The short story "My Son the Fanatic" is set in London, England, likely during the late twentieth century. Key settings include Parvez's home, particularly Ali's room, which becomes unusually neat. Other settings are the taxi office, where Parvez and colleagues socialize, and Parvez's cab, where he confides in Bettina, a local prostitute. The Pakistani community in England, along with a city restaurant, also features in the narrative, highlighting cultural and generational tensions.

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Hanif Kureishi's short story "My Son the Fanatic" is set in London, England. The author doesn't directly say which decade, but it's probably set in the late twentieth century; Parvez's son, Ali, uses computer discs, and, at one point, Parvez is "with his two closest friends watching a Sylvester Stallone film."

Parvez is the main character, and the reader sees him at work (both in the taxi office and in his taxi) and at home. At one point, he goes out with his son to a restaurant, where he tells him that

for years he had worked more than ten hours a day, that he had few enjoyments or hobbies and never went on holiday.

Instead, he spends most of his time in pursuits his son sees as evil and against their Pakistani and Islamic heritage, such as drinking and womanizing. The only clean and ordered space...

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in the story is his son's bedroom:

Surreptitiously, the father began going into his son's bedroom. He would sit there for hours . . . What bewildered him was that Ali was getting tidier. Instead of the usual tangle of clothes, books, cricket bats, video games, the room was becoming neat and ordered . . .

Conversely, in his own space at the office, Parvez sits with his friends "on busted chairs."

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The setting is the environment or venue the story takes place in. Settings can include the time (or era), weather, surroundings, and geographical location.

In My Son The Fanatic, the settings are :

1) Ali's room/ Parvez's home.

This is where Parvez finds himself when his son is not at home. His desperation for seeking answers to his son's newly developed eccentricity leads him to look for possible clues among Ali's belongings (or what's left of them).

2) The Pakistani community in England/ an urban city in England.

England's Pakistani community constitutes the second largest overseas Pakistani community outside of Pakistan. Saudi Arabia hosts the largest. The most diverse Pakistani population in England is in London, where there are Punjabis ( Parvez and his family are Punjabis), Mirpuris, Pathans, and Sindhis. More than 90% of Pakistanis in England are Muslims; they are mostly Sunni.

3) Cabbie's office/ Parvez's cab/ coffee shop in the city.

The cabbie's office is where Parvez and his cab-driver colleagues relax and socialize when they are not working or are waiting for customers. In this setting, the men lead 'almost a boy's life in the cabbie's office, playing cards and practical jokes, exchanging lewd stories, eating together and discussing politics and their problems.

Parvez confides in Bettina, a prostitute, about his problems with Ali; they talk in his cab and also at a local coffee shop. The two are fast friends and see each other most nights. This is because the last customers of the night are usually local prostitutes; the taxi drivers often ferry the women home or sometimes even engage in their own sexual affairs with each other.

The cab is also where Parvez, Ali, and Bettina engage in a conflict-ridden conversation regarding Islam, religion, and life philosophies.

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