American Imperialism in The Reluctant Fundamentalist

American Imperialism final text

Introduction 

American imperialism describes policies aimed at extending the political, economic, and cultural control of the United States over areas beyond its boundaries. It may include military conquest, gunboat diplomacy, unequal treaties, or preferred factions, economic penetration through private companies followed by intervention when those interests are threatened, or regime change.

The government of the US has never referred to itself as an empire, but some refer to it as such. The name of the topic itself suggests the theme of the criticism of this American model. Indeed the designation “american” is also indicative: normally an adjective of a continent, the usual reversed synecdoche (designated the whole thing for a part), is the most used term to name USA in the book :as the world today calls a country after the name of a continent, In the reluctant fundamentamist, the character’s embodiment of different aspects of America permits Hamid to shell its power and present it to the world. MH reverses the forces by giving a voice to an assumed toothless east. 

Jim

In the book Jim is the voice of Underwood Samsom. Underwood Samsom that could represent with the acronym the United State and its superiority. We can see this superiority by the fact that Changez says that undewood samsom is “being the best” and he uses the same sentence for the USA that is “being the best” on the world stage. That shows their pride and the hegemonic power of the USA.

The first words of Changez when he discovers Underwood Samsom building are: “Their offices were perched on the forty-first and forty-second floors of a building in midtown [...] and while I had previously flown in airplanes and visited the Himalayas, nothing had prepared me for the drama, the power of the view from their lobby “. The word “perched” is a direct reference to the fact that the United States has no equal in the world, this idea is reinforce just after on the same page when Changez says that the United States belongs to “another world”. By this comparison with the Himalaya, reader can perceive the feeling of having  reached the top of the world, representing the omnipotence of the US over the world, it is a privilege, a consecration for any stranger to study or work. Moreover, it highlights the indoctrination and the search of power by technology. when the Himalayas represent physically the top of the world, Hamid shows the ability of the American system to become metaphorically the top of the world by making itself indispensable. Testifying US power keeps growing as the best student, engineer, etc of the world choose the USA and not their country. Moreover the world “drama” as a double signification, it testifies to the great excitement changez feels, but it also refers to the theatre, as underwood samsom, and therefore the USA, staged their power through its highly symbolic decors.

Phonetically Underwood Samsom can be linked to uncle Sam and so as an image of an old uncle that help other countries. Exactly like the USA has this image and so they can impose a model on the world, because they believe in possessing the unique best model. And so, Hamid recall during all the book ironically  the novelty of the country with their attitude of advanced old democracy facing the undeveloped East that needs help.

Then, a form of neo-colonialism is applied by the USA ,it uses its economy, politic, culture or any other pressures to control and influence the other countries. And the way Underwood Samsom is sending his employees to decide the future of a company in other countries represent the modern dominance in which the economy is use. But it is also a reminder of the activity of their army. Like a warning for the rest of the world the other country see how the USA are strong economically and their firm invade the world and so they have to not forget that they can do it with their army too if they want.

“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.[...] But I must have been in a peculiar emotional state, in a sort of semi hypnotic daze, for when I woke in the morning my feelings were entirely different.” Here changez denounces this dominance for the very first, he realizes there was a problem, the word “mesmerize'' reinforces this idea that the USA indoctrinates the entire population of the world. But if Changez denounces it he does not do it as a moralist, insisting on his personal different views considering his state of mind, in this way Hamid brings the reader to a reflection and does not give a lesson. In the same way he brings this reflection about American imperialism by different human characters, but humanizing american aspect, he creates a duality in each aspect of America. Indeed Jim represents the political fundamentalism, but he also embodies the best side of the American modal, the meritocracy, and the American dream. Because Jim is a self-made man,. 

When Changez undergoes a internal conflict about his work in Chile,  Juan Baptista convinced Changez to go back to Pakistan, but in the meantime Jim tried to convince him to stay saying “But if you walk out on this now you undermine our firm. You hurt your team. In wartime soldiers don’t really fight for their flags, Changez. They fight for their friends, their buddies. Their team.” This assertion come as a counter-argument to the demonstration of Juan baptista about the American indoctrination. In this way Hamid invites the reader to reflect on this subject and to empathize as much with Jim as wih Juan rather than basically demonstrate an anti-imperialist thesis without nuance. The motif of the war is constantly present in the book, and as Jim represent the self made man, he is also presented as an exception in the modal. Most of the american describes are flat characters such as Chuck and Mike, of which their one-syllable name could represent their simple way of thinking. Changez analysed it in Greece when he saw his friends talk in a bad way to the Greek he says, “by what quirk of human history my companions [...] were in a position to conduct themselves as though they were ruling class”. Changez is chocked by the behaviour of his mates but he uses the unpersonnal expression “quirk of human history”  pointing that he blames not them personally but attacks on something bigger, a system. It occurs fine to his mate to act like this because USA is considered by most of the world as the most powerful and ideal country and so a feeling of power and superiority is create in the mind of the American. And so in their mind everybody must do what they do because it is the only right thing. 

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