Brief biography of mohsin hamid was born in Pakistan, but he spent much of his
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| In this moment, Saeed and Nadia connect profoundly with one another—this is unsurprising, considering that Saeed is in the middle of thinking about unity and love. Turning his eyes upon Nadia, suddenly everything he’s been considering about connection and peace and unity is brought to bear on the way he feels for her, showing once again just how much the beginning stages of their relationship are shaped by the reactions they have to the violence in their city. While Saeed and Nadia are high on mushrooms, Saeed’s phone dies, meaning that his parents are unable to reach him. Panicked, they call and text him with terror worrying something has happened to him after the tumultuous hostage situation the previous day. When Saeed finally returns home, his father goes to bed and in his bedside mirror glimpses a suddenly much older man His mother, for her part, is so relieved to see her son that she thinks, fora moment, she should slap him.” Although Saeed and Nadia have just spent an important and meaningful night together, there’s no denying that their connection in this scenario has affected Saeed’s parents, plunging them into worry and fear. As such, Hamid suggests that in such fraught circumstances people like Saeed are forced to consider the extent to which they can devote themselves to a person outside their family. The more personal connections Saeed cultivates, it seems, the more he has to maintain—a task made difficult by the fact that moving through the dangerous city from one person to another inevitably causes loved ones to worry. Get hundreds more LitCharts at www.litcharts.com ©2018 LitCharts LLC www.LitCharts.com Page 27 Later that same day, an old man stands with a Naval officer on the perimeter of his own property, staring at his house in La Jolla, California, which is surrounded by other soldiers. The old man himself used to be in the Navy, but the officer standing next to him pays little attention to him, brushing off his questions when he asks whether Mexicans or Muslims are the ones coming through The officer tells him that he can’t answer such queries, and the old man asks what he can do to help. Ill let you know the officer says, offering to take the old man to stay with relatives or friends. Ashe goes to answer the question, the old man realizes he has nowhere to go. The third vignette in Exit West, this scene demonstrates the cultural ignorance displayed by people who seek to fortify their borders and keep people out. When the old man asks the officer if the people coming through are Mexicans or Muslims he reveals a culturally insensitive—or culturally lazy—perspective, one that prioritizes keeping people out overtaking the time to learn who they are in the first place. Such an attitude, Hamid implies, leaves a person alone in life, for the old man has nobody to turn to now that his house has been taken over by both the Navy and whomever it is that is coming to America through his house. Not long after the stock exchange siege, the militant radicals start taking over and holding territory throughout the city.” Nobody knows how these fighters are arriving in such vast numbers and so quickly. The city finally institutes a curfew and installs checkpoints with razor wire and infantry fighting vehicles On the first Friday of curfew, Saeed goes with his father to a communal prayer while his mother stays and prays at home, newly particular about not missing a single one of her devotions.” Saeed’s mother’s new spiritual habits exemplify the ways in which people turn to religion in times of uncertainty. For his mother, “not missing a single devotion is away of controlling her life in an Download 0.56 Mb. Share with your friends:
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