Food Imagery in The Reluctant Fundamentalist Anonymous 10th Grade

Mohsin Hamid’s Reluctant Fundamentalist explores the life of Changez in the United States as a young Pakistani man. Throughout the novel, the author switches between two distinctive cultural settings: the United States and a tea shop in Lahore, Pakistan. Additionally, the author also explores the value of food and beverages in certain cultural backgrounds. Hamid uses food imagery to convey cultural values throughout the novel. Throughout the novel, Hamid shows the different views cultures have on alcohol and during which occasions it is used.

Even though Changez may seem like a character with strong religious morals, he is not. While talking to Erica, he mentioned that “alcohol was illegal for Muslims to buy and so [he] had a Christian bootlegger” (27) deliver alcohol to his house. Changez’s relationship with alcohol does not stop there, since he “[polished] off a third of a bottle of whiskey before [he] was able to fall asleep” (100) after watching television and feeling down. Additionally, this was not a usual nor regular occurrence for Changez as he has received the news that Americans were invading Afghanistan, which infuriated him. The use of alcohol in the Pakistani culture is used in a secretive way, yet in Changez’s...