Brief biography of mohsin hamid was born in Pakistan, but he spent much of his
Download 0.56 Mb. View original pdf
|
| Page Number 94 Explanation and Analysis In this section, Hamid outlines one of the primary differences between Nadia and Saeed. Namely, he accentuates the vastly dissimilar ways in which they approach travel and change. Whereas Saeed harbors a strong impulse of nostalgia Nadia is excited by the prospect of change, which, even at its most basic level” seemingly invigorates her, making her feverishly keen to leave behind the life she’s always known in favor of that which is unfamiliar. Of course, this doesn’t necessarily have to mean that Saeed and Nadia are ill-suited to one another, but it does hint at the fact that they have opposing worldviews. And because they’re forced to travel so extensively with each other, this fundamental difference regarding how to approach change ultimately brings itself to bear on their relationship. Indeed, Saeed quickly finds himself depleted by their constantly shifting circumstances and thus indulges his “impulse of nostalgia by committing himself to prayer in an attempt to reconnect with his idyllic childhood. Nadia, on the other hand, embraces the variety of life as a refugee, and when the couple finally parts ways at the end of the novel, she suddenly feels alive a sentiment that aligns with the notion that change is at its most basic level exciting to her As such, this passage provides readers with a crucial lens through which to view and understand the forces that eventually pull Nadia and Saeed apart. Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com ©2018 LitCharts LLC v.006 www.LitCharts.com Page 14 It was an easy promise to make because she had at that time no thoughts of leaving Saeed, but it was also a difficult one because in making it she felt she was abandoning the old man, and even if he did have his siblings and his cousins, and might now go live with them or have them come live with him, they could not protect him as Saeed and Nadia could, and so by making the promise he demanded she make she was in a sense killing him, but that is the way of things, for when we migrate, we murder from our lives those we leave behind. Download 0.56 Mb. Share with your friends:
|