The Reluctant Fundamentalist: A Quest for Identity

Abstract

During the colonial days, colonized people would
mimic their colonialist masters, to gain acceptance. But they would
soon realize, that in spite of their mimicry, they were still regarded
as the lesser and inferior Other. In reaction, the colonized people
would return towards their own roots, culture and indigenous
identity. Mohsin Hamid in The Reluctant Fundamentalist has
tackled the issues of mimicry and the quest for identity on the part
of people from the so called developing cultures in the present day
context. Hamid has shown that America has assumed the status of
neo-colonial power, and behaves like a colonialist country and
culture. The people from developing cultures mimic and adopt the
American culture in order to gain acceptance, but are treated as
lesser and inferior Other. In frustration, they espouse extremist
ideas and assume extreme shades of indigenous identity. This
article explores the issues of mimicry and identity in the context of
American and Pakistani interaction, through the analysis of the
novel in the light of Postcolonial critical approaches.