The Reluctant Fundamentalist Chapter 10 Analysis

What opinion can be drawn from the following quote?

"All America would have to do would be to inform India that an attack on Pakistan would be treated as an attack on any American ally."

• America has enough power on a global level to preempt conflict.

• Due to conflict between India and Pakistan, Changez feels a responsibility to help his family.

• American culture is a mix of many foreign cultures, brought by immigrants.

Which quote best shows Juan Bautista's connection with John the Baptist?

• "Juan-Batista wore a hat and carried a walking stick, and he ambled at a place so slow that it would likely have been illegal for him to cross at an intersection in New York" (150).

• "'Have you ever heard of the Janissaries?' 'No,' I said. 'they were Christian boys,' he explained" (151).

• “Juan-Bautista added considerable momentum to my inflective journey, a journey that continues to this day…” (146)

What argument could the author be making through the use of this quote?

“‘They were Christian boys,’” he explained, “captured by the Ottomans trained to be soldiers in a Muslim army, at the time the greatest army in the world... they had fought to erase their own civilizations’” (151).

• Juan-Bautista shows the extent that the America assimilates foreigners, seeing that the janissaries were completely indoctrinated.

• The Ottomans are similar to the Americans in that they both wanted to expand their empire.

Which quotes demonstrate Changez's view on how foreigners are able able to fit into American society? (more than one answer)

• “I failed to penetrate the membrane with which she guarded her psyche; my more direct approaches had been rejected, but with sufficient insight I might yet be welcomed through a process of osmosis.”

• “I was a modern day janissary, a servant of the American empire at a time when it was invading a country with a kinship to mine” (152)

• “... I saw that in this constant striving to realize a financial future, no thought was given to the critical personal and political issues that affect one’s emotional present” (145).

What trait does Juan Bautista share with John the Baptist according to this quote?

“Juan-Bautista added considerable momentum to my inflective journey, a journey that continues to this day…” (146)

• Baptism traditionally means to cleanse the mind and soul. Similar to how John the Baptist baptized Jesus, Juan Bautista also cleansed Changez's mind from his American Imperialist goals.

• John the Baptist already had followers prior to the baptism of Jesus. This gave Jesus a platform for him to spread his teachings on earlier, allowing him to reach his goals faster. Juan Bautista's speech had the same effect on Changez.