Structure
What narrative technique allows readers to only hear Changez’s voice, not the American’s?
What narrative technique allows readers to only hear Changez’s voice, not the American’s?
What does Jim represent in Changez’s life?
Capitalist ambition and mentorship.
What does Changez’s smile after 9/11 reveal about his identity conflict?
It exposes resentment toward American dominance despite his own success there.
What power dynamic exists between Changez and his American colleagues?
He is valued for his skills but never fully accepted as equal.
What is the effect of Hamid’s second-person address to the “American”?
It directly engages readers --> creating intimacy
How does the Lahore setting mirror the tension in Changez’s story at this point?
The evening darkens, symbolizing growing unease and suspicion.
How does Erica symbolize nostalgia?
She clings to the past and Chris, unable to move forward.
How does the Manila episode emphasize Changez’s identity struggle?
He acts American to gain respect but feels alienated and ashamed of denying his roots.
How is inequality shown in the Manila limousine scene?
Changez realizes the Filipino driver resents him for embodying Western privilege
How does Hamid use symbolism in the bats and jasmine flowers?
They symbolize survival and decay
What effect does Hamid’s non-linear structure have on our perception of Changez’s reliability?
Blurs time and perspective, deepening the unreliable narration
Why is Changez’s beard significant in these chapters?
It becomes a marker of identity and suspicion post-9/11.
How does Hamid show that belonging is unstable?
Through Changez’s shifting sense of home between Lahore and New York.
What does Underwood Samson represent in the novel?
Corporate power and capitalist control over human emotion and ethic
What does dramatic irony contribute to the reader’s experience?
It builds tension by letting us sense danger or hidden motives that Changez overlooks, deepening suspense and mistrust in the narrator’s control.
Why does Hamid end many chapters with a subtle act of suspense from the stranger?
To maintain ambiguity and tension
How does Changez’s view of America shift through his relationships with Jim and Erica?
Admiration turns to alienation
Through Changez’s shifting sense of home between Lahore and New York.
Both are trapped between past and present selves, unable to fully move forward.
How does Hamid connect global inequality to losing one’s identity?
Changez tries to act like Westerners to succeed, which makes him lose his true self.
How does Hamid use contrasts in imagery between Lahore and New York?
contrast: warmth and authenticity in Lahore vs. cold artificiality in New York
How does juxtaposing New York and Lahore help structure the novel’s cultural commentary?
It frames the global divide and Changez’s identity conflict.
How does Changez’s view of American power change by the end of Chapter 7?
He realizes America’s anger is empty and starts to rejects its values.