...Summary of ’my son the fanatic’ "My son the fanatic" is a story about a Pakistani father Parvez and his son Ali. Parvez starts to notice a weird behavior from his son, he stopped bringing friends home, he stopped seeing his English girlfriend and he was throwing out all of his possessions. After a while, Parvez went to his friends, the cabbies (because Parvez is a cab driver) and told them what he was experiencing. The cabbies told Parvez that his son was definitely taking and/or selling drugs, and he was selling his possessions to pay for the drugs. Parvez started to watch Ali's behavior more closely, and he told his good friend, the prostitute Bettina, about his problem. She guided Parvez about what to look for and what to do, if his son was actually taking and/or selling drugs. It turned out that Ali did not do drugs - he was just extremely religious. Parvez tried to talk to his son about this behavior he had suddenly put up, and Ali turned out to be very hostile towards his father. The two of them, who had had a brother like relationship, now had a completely different look at life. a. What has Parvez done to secure his son a good life in England? Parvez has worked very hard as a taxi driver, and he has bought every imaginable thing that Ali could need as a college student. b. How has the son reacted to this in the past? The texts does not inform us about Ali’s reactions in the past, but it is explained that Parvez and Ali had a brother like relationship, which...
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...My Son The Fanatic Introduction: My son the fanatic (by Hanif Kureishi) first published in The New Yorker in 1994. Is about a son and a father’s difficult relationship, and about how the son Ali becomes a religious fanatic and how they deal with the different ways they live their lives. Setting and characters: Parvez is an immigrant from Pakistan. He is a cab driver, and I believe him to be around 40 years of age, because his son is in his adolescence. Parvez enjoys his job because he gets to work late shifts where the roads are more clear and he does not have to spend so much time with his wife, because he sleeps at day. They live in England and Parvez has fullyinto western culture and the English way of life, instead of holding onto Pakistani beliefs and culture. Parvez likes English culture and wants the rest of the family to adopt a Western lifestyle also. It seems like Parvez totally opposes his background and the Muslim faith the muslim way of life does not seem to interest him or impact his life in any shape or fashion. Ali was a straight A student and excelled in sports.efore his interest shifted completely to religion. Because of his disgust for the Western way of living, Ali has completely ended all of his relationships with his English friends, his English girlfriend, and he’s even given up playing all sports. He has also got rid of Western possessions. Ali is quick to judge his father when he does anything not true to the Muslim faith. For example...
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...My Son the Fanatic My Son the Fanatic is a short story written by Hanif Kureishi. It was originally published in The New Yorker in 1994. The story is about a Pakistani father-son relationship. It deals with Islamic fundamentalism in second-generation immigrants. Parvez, the father, is a Pakistani immigrant living in England. He is working as a taxi driver and has embraced the western way of living. He drinks with his colleagues, he eats pork for breakfast and as part of his regular clientele he drives around prostitutes. Throughout the short story you get the impression that Parvez no longer can identify himself with his Islamic upbringing. His son, Ali, seems to also embrace the lifestyle of his British peers. Parvez refers to Ali as a gifted cricket and soccer player. He also has a talent for swimming and a bright future in accounting. However all is not as it seems; Parvez is growing more and more concerned with his sons obvious change in behavior. The taxi driver speaks with his colleagues and to Bettina, a prostitute that has become his friend, about his sons changing behavior. As the story progresses it becomes clear that all of Parvez’s “dreams of doing well in England” dissipate when Ali confess that he is disgusted with his father’s neglect of the Muslim culture and religion. Increasingly disturbed by his sons religious fundamentalism and contempt for the western world he seeks to confront him. The story concludes with this confrontation. My Son the Fanatic is set...
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...My son the fanatic - Hanif Kureishi Parvez & his enviroment Parvez is born and has grown up in Lahore which is the biggest city in Pakistan. Now he lives in England together with his wife and son Ali. Parvez likes to live in England and he makes a great effort to adapt to the English culture. Parvez has always been aware of the pitfall which other men’s sons had fallen into. Consequently he works really hard so his son can have a good education as an accountant. Earlier, Parvez often boasted to his friends about how clever his son was; Ali was very special and talented compared to many other boys. Parvez works as a taxi driver and has driven taxi for many years. Two of his closest friends he knows from work. Many of the other taxi drivers are Punjabis like himself. It a very simple job and the drivers are often having a nice time together in the taxi office away from their wives. They play cards, exchange lewd stories and discuss their problems in a superficial way. When Parvez asks his two best friends for a piece of advice, he gets a triumphant reply. - His son is presumably a drug addict killer! Parvez’s other friend Bettina, the prostitute, is a much better help. She tells him what to watch for and does not have a prejudiced attitude. Bettina and Parvez have known each other for three years. He once rescued her from a violent costumer. The taxi drivers often drive the prostitutes home at the end of the night. Some of them even go with the girls – “a ride in exchange...
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...A summary of ”My son the fanatic” Parvez lives with his wife and son in London, his is really integrated into the British society, and loves to live in England. He care about his son and want the best for him. The sons name is Ali, and one day Ali starts to behave odd. He begins to sell out his stuff, and things that he once loved, that now did not interested him anymore. Parvez becomes very concerned, but he do not know who he can talk to with out feeling ashamed. One day Parvez tell his colleagues out of desperation, about how his son drastic has changed. His colleagues are convinced that Ali, was become a drug addict, and he was selling his stuff, to afford more drugs. As a taxi driver Parvez often, pick up prostitutes late at night. Parvez met the prostitute Betina 3 years ago, and she had been driving with him since. One night Parvez decides to share his troubles with Betina, to heare if she also really thinks that his son is as drug addict. Betina calms Parvez down, and wrights down some symptoms he should be aware of. The next day Parvez observe his son very carefully, to see if there would be any signs of drugs passing through Ali veins, luckily it turns out that Ali is not a drug addict, but a pretty healthy boy. But Parvez does not stop observing his boy, he begins to spy and listen by the door, and soon he found out that his son become a muslim. Parvez decides to take a day of, and go out with Ali to talk things through. But unfortunately it did not went...
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...“My Son the Fanatic” er en novelle, som er skrev af Hanif Kureishi Brite af pakistansk herkomst MERE! Parvez er en immigrant fra Pakistant. Arbejde om natten, bedre løn, ”renere” veje. The narrative deals with the problems of Parvez, who has immigrated to England with his son Ali. Parvez worries because Ali’s behavior has changed significantly. Early in the story, Parvez is afraid of discussing his worries with his friends because his son has always been a kind of showpiece son. Eventually, Parvez breaks his silence and tells them how his son has changed, hoping to receive some advice. After having a short conversation, they come to the conclusion that his son might be addicted to drugs and that he sells his things to earn money to buy drugs. After this meeting, Parvez goes to his taxi to drive home. But in his car he finds Bettina, a prostitute, who drives with Parvez very often and has become a confidante. Since Parvez has defended Bettina from a client who had attacked her, they take care of each other. Parvez tells Bettina what he has observed and that he and his friends assume that his son does all these strange things because he is drug addicted. Bettina instructs Parvez on how he has to observe his son to find out if there is anything physically wrong with him. However, after a few days of observations Parvez decides that his son appears totally healthy. The only physical change Parvez observes is that Ali is growing a beard. And it turns out that his son does not...
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...My son the Fanatic The story takes place in England and it is about a boy and his father. The father is born in Pakistan and his son is born in England. The boy is going through some changes, which confuses the father. In the beginning his father can’t seem to figure out what the son is going through and the father is embarrassed to ask his fellow colleges for advice. The boy is very integrated in the English society he has an English girlfriend and he is into sports and acts and behaves like any other English teenager. Slowly but steady he begins to be more and more introverted he doesn’t participate in sports anymore he isolates himself from his friends and he starts selling all of his things from his room to the point were it is almost stripped naked. His father is getting worried about his behaviour and is afraid that he might be on drugs. His father seeks guidance from a prostitute which he frequently has as a customer in his taxi he tells her about his worries about his son she tells him to look for dilated pupils red eyes and so that way he might be able to determine whether he is on drugs or not. Over the next couple of nights the father observes his son looking in his eyes and checking if he is warm he also looks through all of his things when his son isn’t home, he sweeps the apartment for drugs without finding any. So he comes to the conclusion that it isn’t drugs it has to be something else because he is not showing any of the symptoms or behavioural acts associated...
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...My Son the Fanatic My Son the Fanatic is written by Hanif Kureishi and was published for the first time in 1994. It is a short story based on philosophical viewpoints of life and how valuable it is to tolerate and compromise with each other. The short story is also being contemporary because it’s concerning conflicts and difficulties with religious aspects, which are the main – and most complicated – conflicts existing on this planet. Basically it’s related to the issues of religion and intolerance, that we are to judge and face every day. My Son the Fanatic is about the relationship between a father and his son, which is slowly being shattered due to the son’s change of behavior. The father Parvez grew up in Pakistan but now loves England and is adapted to the Western culture – and that’s what he wants his son Ali to be as well. Ali, however, turns radically from being a smart and clever student, who he formerly has been. During the short story Parvez gently tries to figure out “what is wrong” with Ali. The story is set in London – the family lives here and the father works as a taxi-driver in London as well. The main characters in the story are Ali, Parvez and Bettina. We don’t get to hear about his wife; it seems that Bettina has replaced her and is a sort of escape gate away from his wife. During the story Ali is changing behavior and personality – suddenly he has lost all respect for his father. Since both of them are having a lack of acceptance and Parvez isn’t even...
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...with Parvez gets upset with Ali’s behavior toward Bettina and therefore hits him. Characterise Parvez: He is afraid of change, because his son is starting to throw his things away. He is not religious, because he experienced the extreme aspect of Islam in his youth. When he came to England he wanted a better life, without traditions and religion. He is a dad with many worries. He wants to belong to the English culture and fit in. He sees the world more open and not confined by religion. Characerise Ali: He develops through religion. He has changed his whole lifestyle and become a new and different person. He wants something to believe in. The son reflects his father youth. He becomes very narrow-minded limited to what the Koran says is right and wrong. He assaulting the dad a lot and criticizing him a lot. Ali and Parvez is two huge contracts to each other, because they belief in two aspects of how to life their life. The father-son relationship: On page 194 line 14 Parvez says: “We were not father and son – we were brothers!” The quote describes how close they were and how they could tell each other everything. He was very proud of what his son had archived, and often bragged about it to his co-workers (page 194). In the end of the story Parvez tries to change and make his son proud, by growing a beard. When the son doesn’t acknowledge, Parvez gets angry and try to show dominance by hitting Ali. That makes the relationship quite unhealthy. The father is anxious...
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...they do have different beliefs and ways of controlling things. But the main question is, how much of your belief can you take with you into the new country? Should you keep your religion, values and norms or should you integrate into the new country, and try to be like them? In the short story “My Son the Fanatic” we meet a Muslim Pakistani family from England. They have been living in England for many years and they have chosen to live the English lifestyle. The family father, Parvez, is a taxi driver. He has been driving taxi for more than twenty-years. Parvez is not much of a devout Muslim; his interests have more been on living the free life. “But I love England” Parvez said. “They let you do almost everything here.” He is also an alcoholic, this I can tell, because he instantly has an urge to drink whiskey. "He went more to the whisky bottle, even when he was at work.” Further more, Parvez also has a girl friend, Bettina. They have known each other for 3 years, and they’re great friends. Bettina is a prostitute and she is often his last costumer. “He could talk to her about things he’d be never able to discuss with his own wife.” In the other hand, we have Ali. Ali is the son of Parvez. He is a highly religious Muslim and he does not like how things are in the western. From being a totally messy teenage boy, he suddenly turned into a neat and ordered boy. Ali is no more interested in the western life. He wants the eastern culture . Ali and Parvez have always had a great...
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...My Son the Fanatic 1. Translation “Parvez has lived in London now for almost two decades, where he provides as a living as a taxi-driver. He no longer feels a great connection to the native country, Pakistan, and is gradually developing English habits. He therefore gladly drinks one or two glasses with the colleagues, while they discuss circumstances, which normally would not be brought up in a Muslim context. Parvez has great expectations of his son, Ali, and has sacrificed a lot to give him a good education.” 2. Using the last scene between Ali and Parvez as a starting point, give a 1st person account of Ali’s thoughts, feelings and beliefs. I’m sitting here in my room, after my father just beat me up. I’m deeply shocked by my father’s reaction. Who’s the fanatic now, I keep saying to myself. I guess his answer was violence. He seems narrow-minded in the negative way he thinks of my new way of seeing life. He seems frustrated and I could see the insanity and frustration in his eyes, in every punch. I don’t know what to feel. I’m full of mixed feelings. The feeling which weights the most is though anger. I’m angry because of the physical punishment. I’m angry because of his missing belief. I’m angry because of his admiring of the Western civilization. I can’t believe the way he abandons his religion, and his view on the West disgusts me. The West is a sink of hypocrites, adulterers, homosexuals, drug takers and prostitutes, nothing else. By eating pig and drinking alcohol...
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...My son the fanatic It is difficult to live in another country than the one you come from. Because the religion and culture in the new country, probably is dissimilar to the one you are used to. Especially religion can give some big problems. It creates conflicts, hate and division between people and families. This is exactly what happens in the short story ‘My Son the Fanatic’ by Hanif Kureishi. The relationship between the father (Parvez) and son (Ali) is put to a very difficult test. Parvez is born in Pakistan and has immigrated to England. He grew up in Lahore, where he was taught the Koran, however, his relationship to the Koran is very bad, which is clear all text through. “To stop him falling asleep when he studied, the Moulvi had attached a piece of string to the ceiling and tied it to Parvez’s hair, so that if he fell forward, he would instantly awake.” (p. 196, ll. 11-14) this quote shows, how indifferent Parvez always has been to the Koran, he has avoided all religions since this treatment. Parvez has driven taxi for twenty years. Most of the taxi drivers were, like him, Pakistani. He is a big admirer of the Western culture, where he is free to do almost everything he wants to. He does not understand why Ali starts to act strange. Parvez is having a hard time figuring out what he is doing wrong. He works hard, so that Ali can have a good education, and become an accountant and raise a family. At first, without any evidence, Parvez is terrified that Ali is doing...
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...My Son the Fanatic Hanif Kureishi, born 1954, is known for his many movies, plays, novels and short stories. In 2008 he was selected, by The Times, as one of the 50 best British writers since 1945. In this essay I will discuss the relationship between father and son in the story “My Son the Fanatic”. We are in London, present time, where Parvez, a Pakistani immigrant, works as a taxi driver to earn money for his family consisting of his wife and son Ali. A lot of hard work and a lot of money has been used to finance Parvezs son’s education, but not only the education but also for clothes, books and much more. Parvez is not a Muslim because he does not pray and goes against the rule about eating pork. Ali, on the other hand, prays five times a day and he shows his father that he does not appreciate his father’s gifts. In a kind a way the son gives away his father love with donating away his gifts and his own things for charity. This is very hard for Parvez especially when he finds his son’s room nearly empty and gets suspicious and worried. The son’s secret gets revealed and shows that the son has never been in touch with drugs but with the Koran. The son is highly religious and follows his religious belief from head to toe. He makes himself prepared to die and even kill for it. The conflict or problem between Parvez and Ali is that Parvez loves the Western civilisation while Ali hates it because he has been informed from the Koran that the Western civilisation hates...
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...My son the fanatic" takes place in the united kingdom, the young boy ali faces thesee religious problems. His father, parvaz, has worked in Britian for many years as a taaxi driver, and he has spent a lot of money on his sons education, books and a computer for that purpose. Parvaz, who has never beleived in religion, but in democracy and welfare, has always been proud of ali. For that reason, Parvaz has often told his colleagues about his sons potentials and his experctations of the boys future. Ali, however, turns radically from the clever student, who he formerly has been. Mainlu because of the fact that ali throws out all of his computer games, video discs and expensive clothes. Parvaz worries about ali and everything parvaz has tried to touch him and give him through his childhood and teenage years. Ali's girlfriend never visits ali anymore, which neither is a good sign. Parvaz has the feeling that something is wrong with ali, but it is clear, that ali had changed, and he is not entire the same person as he has been. He sells all of his possessions, which parvaz has a suspicion about and has a completly different attitude towards Parvaz, it is very natural to assume that he could have turned into a drug addict. And that is what Parvaz fears has happened to Ali. However, not a good decision not to confront ali with the problems. What later will be seen in the short story, is that by postponing the discussion about alis new lifestyle, Parvaz does not avoid the clash with...
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...My Son the Fanatic Short story by Hanif Kureishi * The narrative deals with the problems of Parvez, who has migrated to England with his son Ali. Parvez worries because Ali’s behavior has changed significantly. Early in the story, Parvez is afraid of discussing his worries with his friends because his son has always been a kind of showpiece son. Eventually, Parvez breaks his silence and tells them how his son has changed, hoping to receive some advice. After having a short conversation, they come to the conclusion that his son might be addicted to drugs and that he sells his things to earn money to buy drugs. After this meeting, Parvez goes to his taxi to drive home. But in his car he finds Bettina, a prostitute, who drives with Parvez very often and has become a confidante. Since Parvez has defended Bettina from a client who had attacked her, they take care of each other. Parvez tells Bettina what he has observed and that he and his friends assume that his son does all these strange things because he is drug addicted. Bettina instructs Parvez on how he has to observe his son to find out if there is anything physically wrong with him. However, after a few days of observations Parvez decides that his son appears totally healthy. The only physical change Parvez observes is that Ali is growing a beard. And it turns out that his son does not sell his things. He just gives them away. * Parvez notices that Ali prays five times a day, although he had not been brought up to be...
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