Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Changez

It's not very often that a character can characterize himself, but I think Changez describes himself from an outsiders view very well. Most people have a hard time trying to figure out what others think of them, but he seems to know exactly who he is both inside and out, and that's what I like about him. He knows he is wise, and has come far in life, but he explains that he has worked hard for everything, and the reader doesn't doubt one bit that he deserves his job and status. Changez is the definition of humble, and through his narrations he doesn't make you feel inferior, since he is such a likable person. As he tells his story, Changez makes it clear that he is comfortable with who he is, and that he tries not to judge people without looking a little deeper. I found that Changez's relationships with Jim and Wainwright said a lot about him as well. Through his conversations with Jim we can see he's a really deep person, and that there is a lot to him. I love the way that other people's views of Changez are conveyed so clearly, even though the book is in first person. His friendship with Wainwright also shows that he is an easy person to get along with, and an all around good guy which makes the reader like him even more. I think that Changez is a unique but very real character all around, and the author does an impeccable job of characterizing him while keeping to the first person point of view.

9 comments:

  1. I know that Changez has been through a lot and very deserving of the life he has now, but I wonder what part of his life really helped him get in touch with his innerself. Was it that he grew up in Pakistan, went to Princeton, met Erica? It takes years for most people to ever figure out who they truly are and yet Changez seems to be secure and content with where he's at. I really liked your comment about how he still stays in first person, but you can still see how people take to him. I feel like he is such a likeable character because he's accomplishments are inspiring and his attitude unique.

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  2. I hadn't really thought about what part of his life made him realize who he is. I think that maybe his entire childhood and his time at Princeton, and basically everything in his life might have added up to his self-awarenes. It's interesting to think about, since a lot of people look at life as something you are supposed to utilize to discover who you are and who you want to be. What do you do if you're twenty-something and you've already figured out everything there is to know about yourself?

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  3. That's a really good question. Wouldn't it just be trypical if you were like this is who I am...nothing is left to figure out. I feel like his personality comes from his subtle manners from Pakistani life as well as the hoarding culture in New York. What a culture shock huh!?

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  4. A culture shock is right...in another blog I think Julie had mentioned how odd/interesting it was that Changez found so many similarities between NYC and Lahore, since to us, these two countries seem so different. I think that maybe Changez's experiences in the two seemingly polar opposite cities make him find similarities between the two, and it's the fact that he's lived in such diverse areas of the world that he's able to understand it better.

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  5. Diversity. So if we all were more culturally rounded we could be more understanding and learn something from it? I'd believe that. I think that Changez's best quality is being able to embrace. He embraces the little things, body positions, cultures, and more especially the way he sees the world. I wonder if he's aware of how different he truly is from many Americans today.

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  6. I agree that Hamid does an excellent job with characterization in the book. He really has a knack for indirect characterization. I feel like we know what all the other characters think about him even though nothing too direct has been said. I definitely agree with what Margaret said: "if we were all more culturally rounded we could be more understanding and learn something from it." I don't know if Changez really views himself as much different from other Americans because if he did it might seem like he is putting himself above others, which he wouldn't do. Maybe Changez doesn't realize that he is much more insightful than the next Average Joe.

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  7. That's a good point. I really don't think he realizes how insightful he is, or maybe if he does he's just so modest he doesn't let that get in the way of who he is. Not to take steps backward, but going back to the point about how Changez is so mature, and it seems like he's already fully discovered himself at such a young age, I was reading In the Time of the Butterflies, and there was a part that definitely made me think of Changez. At the beginning of Chapter 4, Patria talks about how when she was born her mom said "I was afraid...that you wouldn't live long, that you were already the way we were here to become." That seems to be the same idea that we were discussing regarding Changez. I think that throughout the book, we will see that you can always learn more about yourself.

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  8. Maya, I think your comparision to Patria and Changez is very interesting! But, I think both Changez and Patria have much more to learn about themselves before they can truely figure out who they are. As we see later on in Chapter 4 of In the Time of the Butterflies, Patria discovers that life in the church is not for her even though throughout her youth she always thought that would be her future. I do agree that at a very young age Changez does learn a lot about his actions and emotions and is able to use his insightfulness to help him achieve many goals in his life. But like you said I think he will learn much more about himself as the story moves forward.

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  9. Woah, I love how English was connected to more English here! But I have to agree with Kyra here, when people think they have things all worked out right away, they are more likely to be confused later when they realize that things never go the way you plan. As opposed to people who are confused all the way through life, so then they're used to it by the time they hit the real world.

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