Beards (Symbol)
Changez's beard symbolizes his connection to his homeland and his Pakistani cultural background. During his youth in America, he was clean-shaven and did his very best to look the part of the young corporate American, abandoning this aspect of himself. After 9/11, beards were to many a symbol of radical Islam, and thus undesirable. Changez's reclamation of his beard is also a reclamation of his cultural identity.
Changez's Relationship With Erica/America (Allegory)
Changez’s difficult relationship with Erica is in itself an allegory for his and much of the Muslim world’s relationship with the United States. It is passionate, and he finds himself almost inexorably drawn to her, but she cannot get past the wounds inflicted on her, and her inability to let go ultimately drives them apart. The inability of much of America to separate terrorists from the entirety of the Muslim world led to an increase in hostility between nations, and ultimately soured their relationships.
Underwood and Samson (Symbol)
Underwood Samson appears at first to be the perfect place to work. It encapsulates the American Dream, the idea that if one works hard, one will be rewarded. The glitz and glamour of it further emphasizes just how, like Erica, it symbolizes aspects of the United States. As Changez’s time there goes on he comes to realize that there is a dark undercurrent of prejudice in the workplace, which becomes glaringly obvious when he grows out his beard, causing many of his coworkers to become uncomfortable.
Bats (Symbol)
"But bats have survived here. They are successful urban dwellers, like you and I, swift enough to escape detection and canny enough to hunt among a crowd." (63)
Changez tells his American interlocutor an allegory of different animals and how they have or have not adapted to the man-made environment of the city. For someone like Changez who did not come from a Western metropolis, living in New York was a difficult experience of finding his way practically and morally in a world that isolated him while providing him with many more opportunities.
Fall of the Twin Towers (Symbol)
For Changez, the images of 9/11 make him feel that America has received a comeuppance that it has long deserved after bombing so many other countries. Though he recognizes that many innocent lives were lost, he is also highly aware of how the World Trade Center stands as a symbol for American domination.
