Abstract
The Global Imaginary and Contemporary Pakistani Fiction: A Study of Global Capitalist Fundamentalism and Terrorist Ontology in Mohsin Hamid’s “The Reluctant Fundamentalist”
Highlights
The shifting and transient nature of fiction produced by the second generation writers of Pakistani origin like Mohsin Hamid essentializes a critical evaluation of the global imaginary in the context of contemporary Pakistani fiction
Hamid’s “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” (2007) can be termed a global narrative as it depicts the protagonist going through a process of interpellation(s) to identify, first, with the global capitalist fundamentalist imaginary and later on with the global Islamic/religious neofundamentalist imaginary
Changez’s disillusionment with regard to his relationship with Erica and the Islamophobic abuse he had to sustain in the aftermath of 9/11 attacks hasten and expedite this process of re-identification. In his narrative, has taken into account the external circumstances that contribute to this shift in Changez’s character: the Islamophobic discourse and behaviors prevalent in the West, the way America lashed out in the aftermath of 9/11 attacks, the forms of alienation Changez faced at the airport and in New York, the way US threatened his homeland Pakistan, the invasion of a Muslim neighboring country Afghanistan, stories of racial discrimination, and Islamophobic instances. All this makes him venture into the doubtful fields of introspection to get emancipated from and dis-identify with the global capitalist hegemony
Summary
Pakistani fiction in English, in recent times, has been resignified and re-contextualized by the forces of the global imaginary, in particular by the authors residing in various parts of the globe, and the national imaginary seems to have been eclipsed or over-shadowed by the global capitalist/imperial forces as well as by the global Islamic discourses. Mohsin Hamid, in “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” (2007), draws parallels between the forces of global capitalist fundamentalism. Corresponding Author: munazzahrabbani @gmail.com to bring to the fore the fundamentalism inherent in both global discourses. This paper, using Lacanian notion of identification along with Valante’s “The Imaginary Symbolic” (2003) and Roy’s “Neofundamentalism” (2004),probes the process of protagonist’s identification(s) within the framework of global imaginary. Through the study of identificatory relationships, this paper foregrounds the shift in contemporary Pakistani fiction from postcolonial epistemology to terrorist ontology
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