Brief biography of mohsin hamid was born in Pakistan, but he spent much of his
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| It appears that the close emotional contact Saeed and Nadia seemingly regained in the aftermath of the first riot dissipates quite quickly, as they soon delight in spending time apart. However, their decision to instill a sense of independence within the relationship is perhaps away of counteracting the fact that they otherwise are forced to spend almost all of their time together, a truly overwhelming way of existing in a relationship. By going their separate ways during the day, they make it more likely that they’ll be able to muster excitement about spending time together, though this is an optimistic interpretation. Indeed, Hamid himself presents a more pessimistic evaluation of Saeed and Nadia’s relationship, plainly equating it to a diminished fire Once again, readers seethe iichallenging impact migration has had on this couple’s love life. One night, the fox in the courtyard finds a dirty diaper and drags it around, whipping it left and right and making a mess of feces. On that same night, the electricity is cutoff by the authorities, plunging the mansions filled with refugees into utter darkness. If the fox in the courtyard represents Nadia and Saeed’s love, then this grotesque display is certainly a bad omen for their relationship. Indeed, the fox’s mysterious appearance may have once seemed beautiful and meaningful, but now the animal presents itself as wild, undesirable, and hard to control—qualities Saeed and Nadia certainly don’t want to associate with their failing romantic connection. CHAPTER With the lights out in Saeed and Nadia’s portion of the city, “murders and rapes and assaults take place. Although some blame the “nativist provocateurs others blame the migrants. In this shifting climate, a group of elder Nigerians in Saeed and Nadia’s mansion form a council that meets in the courtyard. Nadia is the only person in attendance who is visibly non- Nigerian. Some are surprised to see her and don’t know whether or not to accept her into the group, but then an older woman—whom Nadia often helps climb the stairs—invites her to stand with her, thereby putting everybody at ease and welcoming Nadia into the council. Once again, Nadia demonstrates her eagerness to embrace multicultural unity, finding a meaningful connection in this assembly. As London slowly descends into murders and rapes and assaults” and people from all sides try to blame other groups for such violence, the idea of plurality and cross-cultural unity is especially important, something Nadia seems to grasp when she installs herself in the group of Nigerians. Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com ©2018 LitCharts LLC www.LitCharts.com Page 42 At first, Nadia has trouble following what takes place during the council meetings, but eventually she’s able to track the conversations because most people speak some form of English. She learns that not everybody in the courtyard is actually Nigerian, but rather from places that border Nigeria,” meaning that each person speaks a slightly different kind of English. Together in this group they conversed in a language that was builtin large part from English Hamid notes, but not solely from English, and some of them were in any case more familiar with English than were others. Also, they spoke different variations of English, different Englishes, and so when Nadia gave voice to an idea or opinion among them, she did not need to fear that her views could not be comprehended, for her English was like theirs, one among many.” Hamid quickly establishes that the council does indeed signify multicultural unity and connection, as even its linguistic backbone Download 0.56 Mb. Share with your friends:
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