The purpose of this study is to investigate Mohsin Hamid’s novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist by utilizing the theory of the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. The study, a theoretical construct founded on two key concepts from Bourdieu’s theory, namely habitus and field, aims at offering a new perspective to understand the dilemma of the protagonist Changez from a sociological cultural perspective. It shows how Changez cultivates his habitus to pursue a specific taste in America through multiple forms of cultural capital and manifests how these forms shape his attitudes and relations. It also offers a metaphorical portrayal of Changez as a footballer who struggles within various positions to retain power and eventually fulfill his American dream through both the macrocosmic and microcosmic social fields that he finds himself in. The assumption that this paper is seeking to validate is that there is a common ground between the novel and Bourdieu’s theory of practice in some key concepts and that understanding the habitus and the doxa of Changez’ social fields can help understand his practices, dispositions, and most importantly the reasons behind him leaving America.
What does it mean to be a Muslim carrying an Arabic name, such as Osama or Hussein along with existing as a part of a Western society today? This is one of the core questions that are explored by the Egyptian-Sudanese-Scottish novelist Leila Aboulela in her 2015 novel The Kindness of Enemies. In light of the cultural theorist Stuart Hall’s definition of identity as a “‘moveable feast’: formed and transformed continuously in relation to the ways we are represented or addressed in the cultural systems which surround us” (Hall, 1996, p. 598), this paper investigates how the discovery of one’s identity is indeed an intricate procedure, one that is unavoidably complicated. When an individual straddles the boundaries of two cultures, the mission becomes even more complex and problematic. Furthermore, this paper throws light on the significance of names for those of Muslim heritage trying to assimilate into the British social system after 7/7/2005 London bombings. As the novel highlights the effect of the “war on terror” on Arab British Muslims, the paper discusses why Aboulela’s main protagonists have been anguished by taking off their first identify markers. Why Natasha legally changes her name? Why Osama prefers being named Oz or Ossie? Additionally, the paper aims at examining how the characters’ identities are formed and reformed to produce themselves anew within their host cultures.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.