"The Personal is the Political and the Political is Personal:" Engendering Understanding Through Global Allegory in Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Exit West

Author

Nicole Ordonez, CUNY Hunter CollegeFollow

Date of Award

Summer 7-24-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

English

First Advisor

Tanya Agathocleous

Second Advisor

Janet Neary

Academic Program Adviser

Janet Neary

Abstract

This thesis examines The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Exit West by British-Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid. In both novels, Hamid uses the representational literary device of allegory to present what I will frame as works of “global allegory,” or novels of global literature that present the world as one interconnected space rather than as one divided by borders and nations. In doing so, I will be situating my argument as a rebuttal of Frederic Jameson’s “Third World Literature in the Age of Multinational Capitalism.” Jameson draws a distinction between works of third world and first world literature along the lines of allegory. The famous essay delineates the scholars' conception that national allegory is an inherent feature of third world literature yet absent in works by first world authors. This thesis will posit that, given its representational nature, allegory is not exclusive to third world literature but rather that it is most conducive to global literature, which endeavors to begin conversations that engender global understanding and reckon with the growing pains of an increasingly globalized world.

Recommended Citation

Ordonez, Nicole, ""The Personal is the Political and the Political is Personal:" Engendering Understanding Through Global Allegory in Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Exit West" (2022). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_sas_etds/928