Thursday, March 5, 2009

Setting

Hamid really does a fantastic job of integrating the two settings of New York City and Lahore. We see who Changez is from Lahore, and who he becomes from New York. Lahore is where Changez grew up, so his outlooks on different situations really show the reader that he is a Pakistani man. When he starts living in New York, he by no means looses any of his Pakistani-ness, but he seems to Americanize some of his views. New York is so fast moving and crazy, whereas Lahore seems more serene and thoughtful. When Changez is thrown into the hustle and bustle, he defiantly changes a little bit. We see this when he goes back to Lahore to visit his family, and he describes everything as looking worn. He used to describe his house in a very elegant, historic manner, but now he describes it as looking sort of old and run down. Changez got used to the upscale and high standards the United States has. I really find it interesting how Hamid incorporated New York into who Changez is. 

8 comments:

  1. Julie, I definitely agree with you when you say that Hamid does a fantastic job of integrating the two settings. I haven't gotten to the part that you're describing yet, but I can totally see how New York is affecting Changez as a person and his opinions of the world. I think it's interesting how on the surface he seems so unchanged by New York and it seems as though he is out of place but at the same time he blends into New York society so well and lets himself take in New York without losing his identity.

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  2. This is just what I was commenting on in Maya's post! Changez does retain some of his individuality, but I think the move to New York changes him more than he would realize and he eventually has a bit of an identity crisis. People don't like to think that they can be so easily molded, but the truth is that we're all putty until we're 30, and after that we're still pretty squishy putty. The only statues are dead people.

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  3. Laura, I really like your comparison of people to putty and how our personalites can be so easily changed by our surroundings. I think Changez does learn to blend with his surroundings in New York, but I feel like his true identity really appears when he is in Lahore. Because Changez grew up there, he is so deeply connected to the places their and the people, that I think its hard for him to let go and truely become a New Yorker. Of course New York does have an effect on Changez, but I think that that effect is not deep enough to separate him from his hometown.

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  4. I can completely see where all of you guys are coming from. Changez's heart lies in Lahore and there's no doubt about that. It's interesting to know that where you are has so much to do about the way you perceive life as we know it.

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  5. I had never really thought about the fact that Changez's thoughts about Lahore changed after he lived in New York, but now I can't believe how silly I was to not see this! It is very obvious that he is disappointed with Lahore when he visits, and possibly this is part of the reason he resents New York when he comes back?

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  6. Michaela I really like what you said about Changez resenting New York! He obviously loved his home town, but when he went out and saw the world he realized there was so much more to compare it to, and he found Lahore lacking.

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  7. I agree with you Laura when you say Changez found Lahore lacking after he visited New York. But I think that New York also made him love/miss Lahore even more. Changez likes what New York has to offer (love and wealth), but he obviously is at peace in Lahore and truely loves it there.

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  8. I think what you guys have brought up about Changez resenting New York because it was fancier than Lahore is a really good point. Maybe, in a way he's jealous? Up until now, he thought of Lahore as the most beautiful place on earth, and thought it was so great, but after going to New York, he saw something else. When he went back to Lahore, he didn't like him as much so maybe he's mad at New York for lessening his opinion of Lahore? I don't know if that really makes sense but it does in my head. Basically, he's just going through a sort of identity crisis while he tries to figure out what home means to him, and which city he values better?

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