The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Write What Happens”

In this shared writing activity, students contend with the novel’s ambiguity, imagining what happens next in the alley.

Part A

The novel ends with Changez, the narrator, saying, “But why are you reaching into your jacket, sir? I detect a glint of metal. Given that you and I are now bound by a certain shared intimacy, I trust it is from the holder of your business cards.” (Chapter 12)

Break into small groups and think about what’s going to happen next. Using a shared sheet of paper, one person should write a sentence continuing Changez’s narration, passing it to the next person in the group when they’re done. That person should then write a second sentence, building off of the first.

Continue taking turns writing sentences for fifteen minutes, or a period of time designated by your teacher. Regardless of what happens in your narrative, you must continue the story, whether it shifts perspectives or stays with Changez.

Part B

Now, imagine it is one year later and you are the American stranger telling someone the story of your encounter with Changez. Using another sheet of paper, follow the same procedure, writing from the perspective of the stranger and addressing your new conversation partner as “you,” just as Changez did.

Once again, continue writing sentences one by one for fifteen minutes.

Part C

Come together as a whole group and share both writings with the class. Next, discuss the ending of the novel more in depth, considering the following questions:

1. What might Changez have wanted the American stranger to take away from their conversation?
2. How confident are you about what you think would happen at the end of the novel? How does that affect your experience of being the “you” to whom the novel is addressed?

Teaching Suggestion: Students should reflect on what they’ve learned from this novel and the ways that Hamid forces them—as the “you”—to respond in some way to what Changez is saying. Encourage them to think about how the ending requires that they wonder because it is so ambiguous.