The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Changez uses his return flight from Santiago to New York to reflect on his circumstances. His blinders are now off, and he fully understands why he despises the way America carries itself in the world: “I reflected that I had always resented the manner in which America conducted itself in the world; your country’s constant interference in the affairs of others was insufferable” (p. 156). He’s pleased with the choice he made in leaving Chile and, effectively, Underwood Samson. “It was right for me to refuse to participate any longer in facilitating this project of dominance” (p. 156). The next day, however, Changez feels both doubt and regret for his actions.

He arrives at Underwood Samson for the last time, gathering his personal belongings. He’s escorted by two security guards at all times, and after completing his exit interview, he meets with Jim. Though Changez apologizes, Jim tells him that he let the team and the firm down. Though he fired Changez without thinking twice, he still cares for him, and Jim offers to be there whenever Changez might need someone to talk to.

Changez lets his brother know he’s been fired and that he’ll be returning to Lahore. He tries contacting Erica before he leaves but to no avail. At the clinic, Erica’s nurse tells him that she has gone missing and that her clothes were found folded neatly by the Hudson River. Although she is classified as a missing person, rather than a suicide, she had been saying her goodbyes to everyone for some time, and in the last few days, spent more and more time alone.

Changez goes to her apartment and is let in by her mother who gives him a copy of Erica’s manuscript to read. Reading the novel, Changez is surprised to find that it is filled with hope, and it reminds him of all the great times he shared with Erica. Realizing that he can no longer be a part of Erica’s story, he finally begins preparations to leave: “I had begun to understand that she had chosen not to be part of my story … I saw I had no option but to pursue my own preparations to leave” (p.167). As the chapter comes to a close, the stranger asks Changez what he did to “slight” America. Changez promises to reveal what he did, but tells the stranger that they should begin walking back to the stranger’s hotel as it is late. 

As Changez and the American stranger walk to the hotel, the stranger continues to look behind them, certain they are being followed. Changez remarks that “From your backward glance, sir, I gather you have noticed that we are not alone in our desire to depart” (p.171). He comments on how eerie the plazas can be at night, as if one is waiting for some evil, such as the Headless Horseman. He then finishes his story about his return to Lahore.

After returning to Lahore, he pinned after Erica for quite some time and continued to imagine the life they would have lived together in Lahore had she come with him. He continued to receive the alumni paper from Princeton in order to check for any news about her. He was unable to email her and his letters to her were always returned.

The novel then returns to the frame narrative, and, close to his hotel, a loud sound startles the stranger. Changez says it is only a rickshaw backfiring, not a pistol, as the stranger seems to think. The stranger makes note of a group of men who are following them. He asks if Changez has signaled to the group, which Changez denies, even becoming slightly offended. The stranger searches for his cellphone and, realizing that they haven’t much time left, Changez proceeds to tell the stranger what he did to ‘stop’ America.

He talks about how the situation between India and Pakistan finally cooled off. During this time he began forming political ideas. He was also able to procure a job as a university lecturer. Many of his students were politically minded as well. He encouraged their political activities as they weren’t thugs, but bright students, as he had once been. Their protests garnered attention and at one of the protests he was injured. Though he’d been warned many times by the university, he was popular enough to escape punishment. He later learned that one of his students had been involved in an assassination plot and disappeared. This event brought him to the media’s attention, and when international news teams came to his campus, he publicly denounced America’s War on Terror and its willingness to inflict death upon innocent people. His political stance caused his friends and colleagues to warn him that someone might be sent to intimidate him, or worse. But Changez decided that he would go on with his life without living in fear.

Finishing his story as the two men arrive at the gates of the stranger’s hotel, Changez mentions that the stranger isn’t listening to him any longer; he is distracted by the fact that the group of men have caught up to them and one of the men is the waiter from the café. Changez tries to assure him that not all Pakistanis are terrorists, just like not all Americans are undercover assassins. The waiter from the café is signaling to Changez to detain the American, but Changez remarks that he’d like to shake his hand instead. The American reaches into his jacket and Changez notes a glint of metal. He assumes it is a business card holder, and the novel ends.