The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Decorative lights are turned on in the streets of Lahore as Changez and the stranger continue their conversation. The stranger notices a mark on Changez’s forearm that resembles a rope burn, and it’s implied that the stranger thinks the wound is from a training camp. Changez tries to put the stranger’s mind at ease and returns to the story of his courtship with Erica.

He’s invited to have dinner with Erica’s parents one night. On his way to Erica’s apartment, he comments on the fact that his appearance is commonplace on the streets and subways of Manhattan. Even with the traditional shirt he’s chosen to wear for dinner, he blends right in as a New Yorker. As Erica shows him around, she confesses that she has finished her novel, that she had finished it even before the trip to Greece. She’s simply afraid of letting it out into the world. Changez gets a glimpse into Erica’s world by looking around her room and family’s apartment.

During dinner, Erica’s father asks Changez about the economic situation in Pakistan, saying that the rich in Pakistan seem to care nothing for the lower classes and that the country suffers from fundamentalism.