The Setting of RF Imagine Casablanca set in Vietnam.

Objectives

Introduction

Lahore

Old Anarkali

Changez’s Childhood Home in Gulberg

Mall Road

New York City

The Pak-Punjab Deli

Athens, Greece

Manila, Philippines

Valparaiso, Chile

Conclusion

By comparing and contrasting Lahore and New York, Hamid highlights Lahore’s greatness as well

as the inevitability of America’s decline.

Hamid’s childhood home is a microcosm of Lahore as a whole. It serves as a backdrop for

Changez’s changing identity.

The setting of Old Anarkali shifts from bright and bustling to deserted and ominous—mirroring

the progression of Changez and the American’s relationship as well as U.S.-Pakistan relations.

Like Old Anarkali, New York changes throughout the course of the novel. It begins as a cutting

edge place, greater than any human invention or natural wonder. It becomes a place of grief, then retro-style patriotic rage, and then danger of ancient imperial proportions.

Like Changez’s childhood home, the Pak-Punjab Deli reflects Changez’s changing identity. At

first, he fits in there—but he begins to separate himself from his fellow Pakistanis. He eventually considers himself above them and immune to the prejudices to which they are subject.

Athens is an appropriate setting for the start of Changez and Erica’s relationship because it is the

seat of a fallen empire. The island of Rhodes, with its wall, implies symbolically that Changez and Erica can never be together.

Manila makes Changez feel ashamed of Lahore’s relative lack of progress, so he tries to act

“American.” Then his encounter with the Filipino driver makes him realize how fake he is acting. Because of this interaction, Changez begins to see himself as separate from his colleagues and from America. His reaction to the 9/11 attacks, which he sees on television in Manila, cements his status as a non-American.

Valparaiso is dually symbolic. Firstly, it is a former great port city, one poised for greatness until

the American-built Panama Canal made it obsolete. It is an example of America’s interference in and negative effect on other countries and helps Changez see the malevolent side of America. Secondly, it is the site of Pablo Neruda’s home. In light of Neruda’s dissidence and his exile, it is fitting for Changez to become a revolutionary in Valparaiso.

Now that you have read this section, consider the following questions:

We have discussed some of the major settings in as well as some

minor ones Consider some of the other minor settings in the novel, such as Princeton and the clinic

by the Hudson. How are they significant? What, if anything, do they represent?

How would the novel be different if the last scene took place in the marketplace of Old Anarkali

instead of on Mall Road?

Why does Hamid have Erica and Changez meet somewhere other than Princeton?

Why do you think Hamid has Changez travel around the world so much? Why is travelling

significant to the changes that happen in Changez?