TRF – Chapter 11

1. TRF – Chapter 11 • Vocab: ominous: menacing, threatening serf: a worker bound to property, a slave indentured: bound, unfree hirsute: hairy posturing: behaving in a way that is intended to impress or mislead others • Chapter Overview: - Atmosphere in the marketplace changes as it gets later - Changez's final days in America as he finalises his resignation from Underwood Samson - Erica's disappearance from the clinic - Is given her manuscript from her mother

2. Perception of Place • The marketplace: Changez notes it has “taken on an ominous edge” (p176) “It is odd how the character of a public place changes when it is empty” (p176) “Perhaps it has to do with the cloudy sky above...[or] the darkening shadows...but I would suggest that it is instead our solitude that most disturbs us” (p176) - alone, “the prey” is more vulnerable to “the predator”, which creates the threatening feeling - This could mirror how he feels in America – feels different and alone and therefore uncomfortable and vulnerable and similarly, how the American might feel in Pakistan • Changez returns from Chile perceiving NY through new, more critical eyes: With the “analytical eyes” of an “ex-janissary”, able to consider “the whole of your society” (p177-8) • Places he once visited with Erica look different, suggesting he has changed: “they had vanished...others...seemed to have altered” (p187)

3. Feelings towards America Changez is explicit in what he dislikes about America: “I had always resented the manner in which America conducted itself in the world; [its] constant interference in the affairs of others was insufferable” (p177) “finance was a primary means by which the American empire exercised its power” (p177) a “traditional”“empire” with a “serf class” and “indentured servants” (p178) “unwilling to reflect upon the shared pain that united you with those who attacked you” (p190) (“empire” connection to Star Wars allusion – the empire=bad guys “beware the dark side” etc) “The Galactic Empire is described in various Star Wars media as a brutal dictatorship, one based on tyranny... brutal and lethal force, and, above all else, constant fear” - thanks Wikipedia!

4. BUT! Inner Conflict - p179 • Money:“I was hit by the enormity of what I was giving up...where else could I...at so young an age – hope to attain such an impressive income?” • Duty to Erica:“What about my duty to Erica?” • Duty to the self that desires Erica:“[What about] the duty to myself that was born of my desire for [Erica]?” • Loyalty to Jim:“how would I face Jim?”--------------------------------------------------------------------------“my doubt and regret came rather quickly...I was in a state of shock...unconvinced that I had not made a mistake...confused” - (p179-80) – confused and unsure “I allowed myself to rub my eyes with the back of my hand, for they had been watering” - (p182) - saddened

5. Am-Erica • Seems they didn't know each other as well as Changez thought: - he is surprised and disbelieving when he reads Erica's manuscript – not “tortured” or “autobiographical”, but simple and hopeful (p188) “I could not locate Erica in the rhythms or the sounds of what she had written” (p189) • Might suggest that his understanding of America has been similarly limited. “she had chosen not to be part of my own story [because] her own had proven too compelling...passing through places I could not reach” (p189)

6. Actions towards America Despite inner conflict: “it was right for me to refuse to participate any longer in facilitating this project of domination” (p177)- takes action – passive protest “the only surprise was that I had required so much time to arrive at my decision” (p177) - seems obvious to him nowLater: “America had to be stopped...I resolved to do so” (p190)- has he taken further action? A more active protest?

7. Angry Changez Last days in NY:“I was an incoherent and emotional madman, flying off into rages and sinking into depressions” “I would [flaunt] my beard as a provocation, craving conflict” “rhetoric emerging from your country...provided a ready and constant fuel for my anger” (p190)

8. Cultural Difference & Values • Splitting the bill: “you have reminded me of how alien I found...splitting the bill when I arrived in your country” (p183) “I had been raised to favor mutual generosity over mathematical precision” (p183) - contradictory to his times at Underwood Samson – but what he now values again

9. Evidence that Changez is going to harm the American: • See “Actions towards America” • See “Angry Changez” Also: Offers to walk American to his hotel.

10. Chapter 11 Activities 1. Write a paragraph about what Hamid suggests in the novel about people's perception of place.TEEL and quotes! 2. Is Changez justified in his feelings towards America? Does Hamid position the reader to sympathise with him? Discussion Questions: • Why do you think Hamid leaves Erica's death unclear? • What is the significance of the firefly?