My Son the Fanatic: Summary & Analysis

The short story «My Son the Fanatic» was written by Written by Hanif Kureishi and first published in The New Yorker newspaper in 1994. Then, in 1997, the story was published in a book called Love in a Blue Time with several short stories. The short story is about a father who no longer recognizes his son because he is slowly developing into a devout Muslim.

«My Son the Fanatic» characters

  • Ali’s father
  • Pakistani migrant living in England with his wife and Ali.
  • works as a taxi driver in order to be able to pay for his son’s training as an accountant.
  • has a drinking problem.
  • He can talk about anything with his best friend Bettina, even things he wouldn’t even talk about with his wife.
  • is very averse to Islam because he did not have good experiences with it as a child.
  • son of Parvez
  • breaks off his apprenticeship as an accountant.
  • is a devout Muslim and strictly adheres to the Koran.
  • For his values, he breaks up with his girlfriend and friends and throws away his western clothes.
  • holds an arrogant attitude towards the western way of life and judges those around him.

Bettina

  • good friend and confidant of Parvez
  • works as a prostitute.
  • tries to mediate between Ali and Parvez.
  • is patient and kind.

«My Son the Fanatic» synopsis

  • The short story takes place in a small town in England.
  • Parvez no longer recognizes his son Ali.
  • Ali stops old hobbies and throws his things away.
  • It turns out that Ali converted to Islam.
  • Parvez is averse to Islam.
  • At a dinner party, Ali strongly condemned Parvez for his meat and alcohol consumption.
  • Ali insults Bettina on a taxi ride.
  • Parvez then beat up his son Ali.

Change in the relationship between Parvez and Ali

Parvez has always been proud of his son Ali. Ali had good grades and is studying to be an accountant. However, has Ali’s behavior strong changes:

  • He ended his relationship with his girlfriend.
  • He has given up his hobbies.
  • His friends don’t get in touch anymore.
  • He throws away his computer and television.
  • In a garbage bag, Parvez finds clothes, video games, and books that Ali had just bought.

Parvez’ colleagues at the taxi dispatcher are certain: Ali is addicted to drugs and sells his things to finance his addiction. Later, when Bettina, a prostitute and close confidant of Parvez, rides in his cab, she tells him what to look out for: red eyes, dilated pupils, injections or pills.

But Parvez finds nothing of the sort in Ali. Also, Ali didn’t sell his stuff, he donated it. When Parvez comes home one night, he hears an alarm clock and sees Ali going to the bathroom and washing himself. Then he disappears back into his room. When Parvez puts his ear to the door, he hears that Ali prays.

Parvez has a strong aversion to Islam and other religions because he grew up in a strictly religious Muslim community is and had to study the Koran. His teachers used painful learning methods that traumatized him and still does to this day.

The dinner

Parvez invites Ali to dinner. He doesn’t accept the invitation at first, but later agrees. During the meal criticized Ali that Parvez drinks alcohol and eats pork. He thinks his father is too much a part of western civilization and culture. The evening ends in a fight.

Ali tells his father that he will stop studying to be an accountant. The western educational system would lead to an anti-religious attitude. Later, Parvez tells his confidante Bettina that he feels to have lost his son. Bettina insists that he shouldn’t give up on his son.

Taxi ride with Bettina and Ali

When Bettina and Parvez are in a taxi one evening, they see Ali on the street. Bettina wants them to take him to talk to him. The moment Ali gets in, Parvez becomes aware of Bettina’s short skirt, her jewelry, her blue eye shadow and her strong perfume. He opens the window.

Bettina puts her hand on Parvez’s shoulder and assures Ali that his father loves him and only wants the best for him. But Ali replies: If his father loves him, why does he allow a woman like her to touch him? Outraged, Bettina leaves the taxi.

The culmination

Back home, Ali disappears into his room and Parvez drinks alcohol. While Ali is praying, Parvez goes upstairs drunk and throws open the door. He kicks Ali and punches him multiple times. Ali doesn’t fight back and doesn’t show any fear. He asks his father who the fanatic is now.

A fanatic is someone who is so convinced of an idea or belief that they become obsessed with it. Often this person acts very inconsiderately and one cannot objectively discuss with them.

«My Son the Fanatic» narrator perspective

The short story is written by a personal narrator accompanies that the happenings from the Perspective of Parvez reproduces. So the narrator only knows what Parvez knows. As a reader, you don’t know what’s going on with Ali any more than Parvez does. As a reader, you will learn more about the situation bit by bit.

It is interesting that Ali has the last word in the short story. The story ends with his question:

So who’s the fanatic now?

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes are from Hanif Kureishi’s My Son the Fanatic (1994, New Yorker).

«My Son the Fanatic» analysis of the central themes

Here are some key themes in My Son the Fanatic.

religion

On the one hand, religion is something that gives people stability, but on the other hand, religion is often a reason for hatred, exclusion and even wars. Ali also notices this hatred that comes from religion, as you see in lines 222-223:

The Western materialists hate us. How can you love something which hates you?

Ali is even willing to go to war for his religion. He feels so marginalized and persecuted by the western world that he would even give up his life to put an end to this situation. In line 234-236 he says:

My people have taken enough. If the persecution doesn’t stop there will be jihad. I, and millions of others, will gladly give our lives for the cause.

identity

Another theme in «My Son the Fanatic» is identity. Ali, a teenager, is in the process of creating his own identity. This does not fit into the father’s world view and it also differs greatly from the father’s identity.

Ali distances himself from the behaviors and views held by his father. So he strongly condemns that Parvez drinks and eats pork. Also, Ali splits off from his old identity. He donates his old clothes, no longer talks to his old friends, no longer plays the guitar and hangs up old posters and pictures (lines 26-28):

The TV, video and sound system followed the guitar. Soon the room was practically bare. Even the unhappy walls bore marks where Ali’s pictures had been removed.

A common problem of second generation of immigrants is your own identity. They are born into a western society, but they constantly realize that they are different. They often can’t really feel like they belong to the country their parents come from – after all, they don’t grow up there. Faith, however, is something through which Ali creates an identity. He sees a purpose in life and finally feels a sense of belonging.

rebellion

In a way, Ali rebels against his father. Not by taking drugs, as Parvez initially suspected. However, through his affiliation with Islam, Ali rebels in his own way against Parvez, who feels a strong dislike for religions, as can be seen in lines 135-140:

Parvez had grown up in Lahore where all the boys had been taught the Koran. To stop him falling asleep when he studied, the Maulvi had attached a piece of string to the ceiling and tied it to Parvez’s hair, so that if his head fell forward, he would be instantly awake. After this indignity Parvez had avoided all religions.

Parvez had paid for his school, a computer, and even expensive suits. Parvez was very supportive and it was his dream that one day his son would have a good job with a good salary. Nevertheless, Ali breaks off his training as an accountant. Ali’s rebellion is fueled by his new way of life and the strong contrast to that of his father clearly. Parvez is a drunk taxi driver and Ali doesn’t want to end up like his father.

integration

Parvez doesn’t have it easy as an immigrant in England. He works hard and wishes for a better future for his son. One reason for Parvez’s difficulties in England is the problem of integration.

Parvez is keen to see himself and his family integrated into English western society. He renounces traditions from his homeland in order to fit better into society. For example, he wants his wife to make pork sausages because they live in England instead of Pakistan (lines 213-215):

You’re not in the village now, this is England. We have to fit in.

Hanif Kureishi grew up in England as the son of a Pakistani immigrant. His father is from Pakistan and his mother is British. Kureishi uses his own background and experiences in many of his works.

«My Son the Fanatic» Analysis of Language and Symbolism

The short story is in prose written and is by a personal narrator accompanied. through the use of literal speech readers get more impressions of the main characters. The readers initially get the impression that Parvez is a good father who only cares about his child. This carries over to the readers as they read, and we sympathize with Parvez, for example in lines 281-282:

I feel as if I’ve lost my son, I can’t bear to be looked at as if I’m a criminal.

We feel sorry for Parvez, although it is also described as having a serious drinking problem and eavesdropping on his son, such as on lines 29-30 and lines 126-128:

Parvez couldn’t sleep; he went more to the whiskey bottle, even when he was at work.

From this post, he observed his son through the crack in the door.

It is only from line 387 that we as readers lose our sympathy for Parvez when he beats up Ali. This is where the questioning of who the real fanatic actually is begins.

«My Son the Fanatic» interpretation of key passages

To help you understand «My Son the Fanatic» even better, you can look at two important passages in the short story here.

The real fanatic

So who’s the real fanatic now?

Exactly this question makes you, as a reader, realize that maybe it’s not Ali, but Parvez who is the fanatic. Parvez is like obsessed of his son’s religion. Parvez cannot cope with the change in his son and cannot understand his religion. He…