The Reluctant Fundamentalist explored a very controversial theme and raised very important questions that are quite reasonable, despite their extreme sounding nature. Changez owes a lot to America as it is where he received his education and was able to attain a high paying job. But how is he reasonably expected to react when America attacks all that is sacred to him, even if it is after a tragic event like 9/11. How can his sickening smile at the news be explained? Is he a fundamentalist? It seems he might be, but there are too many negative connotations that go with the word. For that, I think the title is extremely fitting. I decided to make a collage to explore the major themes and also to question basic beliefs that are accepted as truth and the beliefs that, as Americans, we are expected to hold while reading such a book. What is so revolutionary about it is that it shows us that you don’t have to be extremist or anti-American to understand Changez’s point of view or to understand that it’s reasonable to have certain reactions that are not the norm. Changez is forced to be honest with himself about his feelings on 9/11. He has to decide where his home lies and where his heart lies, what being American means to him and if he believes he owes anything to the country. Only a self-exploration this drastic can result in him giving up everything he has worked for in a country to return to another. Changez does not necessarily want to be a fundamentalist because of the connotations, but he realizes that he is seen that way by others and that he has reason to be, and that his feelings of frustration are acceptable and real.