Discussion Topic
The representation of America through the characters of Erica and Chris in The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Summary:
In The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Erica represents an idealized, nostalgic view of America, clinging to past relationships and memories. Chris, her deceased boyfriend, symbolizes the American spirit that Erica cannot let go of, reflecting America's inability to move beyond its past. Together, they highlight the complexities and contradictions of American identity and its impact on individuals.
What aspect of America does Chris represent in The Reluctant Fundamentalist?
Chris represents that "fixed" notion of identity. Chris represents the nostalgic view of the past that comforts Erica, and creates a gulf that Changez can never really overcome. Erica comes to see Chris as a part of the past in which she was happy with herself. Chris is the portal into a past that makes Erica feel good about herself, as she feels more in control and more secure with her identity because it is not subject to the ever changing and mutable conditions of the present.
In terms of the historical representation of Chris, he becomes a part of that American identity where there is a sense of absolute understanding of its own power. Chris is representative of the America that existed in the World War II and Cold War paradigms. Chris' representation of nostalgia is the vision of America in its past. There is a confidence, and self...
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assured swagger to how America operated in these settings. In contrast to the crippled and uncertain condition in the wake of the September 11 attacks, Hamid makes the claim that America, like Erica, reverted back to a vision of its own notion of "Chris" in dealing with the ever changing and mutable conditions of the present.
Changez would never be Chris. Even though he believes that he can overcome this gulf with Erica and with America, it becomes clear that the nostalgic cling to the past is too strong for him to endure. The romance with Chris is a wedge for him. It divides him. It creates him to be separate and marginalized from what he loves. Erica and America need their own "Chris" in times of crisis and this is where Changez finds himself on the outside looking in.
What aspect of America does Erica represent in The Reluctant Fundamentalist?
I think that Erica is meant to represent that aspect of America that Changez is never meant to obtain. In so many ways, Erica represents the essence of that American Dream which drives Changez. Erica is one that Changez sess as the embodiment of "class," akin to a Gwyneth Paltrow. She comes to represent an ideal, external to Changez's own being, that motivates Changez in his pursuit of the American Dream.
Yet, over time, this pursuit is futile for Changez. Changez's ability to fully immerse himself in Erica's world is impossible for him. There is always a barrier that prevents him from being fully accepted. Erica comes to represent America for Changez. He continually strives for acceptance into something that does not accept him back. Changez tries desperately to be accepted by Erica. Even when he tells her to imagine himself as Chris, her former boyfriend, he is willing to subjugate his own identity. Yet, it is to avail as Changez is not able to find acceptance in Erica, similar to as he feels he is unable to find acceptance in America. When her manuscript contains no mention of Changez, his futility becomes evident. It is here in which Erica and America come to represent the same element for Changez.