KUREISHI’S “MY SON THE FANATIC”
An undergraduate thesis
Presented as the Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
ALDITA INTAN RAHMANIA Student Number: 034214070
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
Nama : ALDITA INTAN RAHMANIA Nomor Mahasiswa : 034214070
Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul :
ANALYSIS ON THE COLLISION OF ISLAM FUNDAMENTALISM CULTURE AND WESTERN CULTURE AS PERCEIVED BY THE CHARACTERS IN HANIF KUREISHI’S “MY SON THE FANATIC” beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupaun memberikan royalty kepada saya selamA tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.
Demikian pernyatan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal : 15 April 2008 Yang menyatakan
experie nces that have been given to me. I dedicated this thesis to my family, friends, and all who support me. For my Mother who has given me the chance to see the world thank you for your care, support, and struggle that make me realize to finish this thesis soon. For my little sister Ega I promise you to buy Naruto accessories for you. For my relatives also thank you.
My deepest gratitude goes to my thesis advisor Paulus Sarwoto, S.S, M.A who has guided me and given me his precious time to correct my thesis. My gratitude also goes to Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S, M. Hum who has given me her precious time to read and give correction on my thesis before the final exam.
I want to say thank you also to my friends in English Letters 2003 and in Arms and the Man who always give support to me. Special thanks to my best
friend Lia who always gives me support and motivation I do really appreciate that. For my friends in Kos Sekartaji: Mbak Cory, Early, Okta, and Mbak Ika thank you for your support. My special gratitude goes to person who understands me most, Bayu, thank you for the support and motivation you have given me to finish this thesis soon and also for all the time we have shared together. Thank you for everything.
APPROVAL ……….. ii
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW ………. 7
A. Review of Related Studies ……….. 7
B. Review of Related Theories ……….. 9
1. Theories on Characters ……….. 9
2. Theories on Clash of Civilization ……….. 11
3. The Relation between Literature and Society …….. 12
C. Review on Socio Historical Background ………... 13
1. Islam Fundamentalism ………... 13
2. Islamic Culture ………... 15
3. Western Culture ………... 17
D. Theoretical Framework ………... 20
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY ……… 22
A. Object of the Study ……… 22
B. Approach of the Study ……… 23
C. Method of the Study ……… 24
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS ……… 26
A. Western Culture and Islam Fundamentalism Culture perceived by the main characters ……… 26
1. Parvez ……… 26
a. Parvez’s view on Materialism ………… 27
b. Parvez’s view on Individual Freedom … 29 c. Parvez’s view on Secular Life ………… 31
2. Ali ……… 33
a. Ali’s view on Western Education ………… 33
b. Ali’s view on Jihad ……… 35
b. Ideal of Life ……… 41
2. Monopoly of Truth ……… 44
3. Attitude toward woman ……… 50
4. Misconception ……… 54
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION ……… 57
Kureishi’s “My son the Fanatic”: Yogyakarta Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2008.
“My Son the Fanatic” is a short story written by Hanif Kureishi who is a Pakistani writer; this short story is included in a collection of short stories book titled Love in Blue Time. This short story is chosen to be analyzed because the story is good and also this story talks about one of the most serious and confusing conflicts between cultures today, Islam Fundamentalism Culture and Western Culture.
In writing this thesis, the writer uses a library research method to answer the questions that are presented in the problem formulation. There are two problems that are solved in this study. The first problem is how the Western Culture and Islam Fundamentalism Culture are perceived by the characters in the story, and the second proble m is what factors causing the collision between Islam Fundamentalism Culture and Western Culture.
The approach used to analyze the short story is the Socio cultural-Historical approach; it is used to analyze the factors that cause the collision between Islam Fundamentalism Culture and Western Culture through the way of the main characters perceive them. Moreover, this approach is also used to understand the real conflict between Islam Fundamentalism Culture and Western Culture in the real time which is reflected in the story.
The result of the study shows that firstly the main characters, Parvez and Ali, adopt Western Culture and Islam Fundamentalism Culture based on their own perception. Parvez adopts Western Culture such as Materialism, Individual Freedom, and Secular life; those concepts are done based on his perception. While Ali adopts Islam Fundamentalism Culture based on his point of view as an Islam Fundamentalist which influences the way he views Western education, Jihad, and Prostitute. Secondly the writer finds some factors causing the collision between Islam Fundamentalism culture and Western Culture; they are Different concept of Individual Freedom, Monopoly of Truth, Misconception, and Attitude toward woman.
Kureishi’s “My son the Fanatic”. Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2008.
“My Son the Fanatic” adalah sebuah cerita pendek yang ditulis oleh Hanif Kureishi seorang penulis dari Pakistan, cerita pendek ini termasuk dalam sebuah buku kumpulan cerita pendek berjudul Love in Blue Time. Cerita pendek ini dipilih untuk dianalisis karena isi cerita yang bagus dan juga cerita ini membicarakan tentang salah satu konflik antar budaya yang sangat serius dan membingungkan saat ini, Budaya Islam Fundamentalisme dan Budaya Barat.
Dalam penulisan tesis ini penulis menggunakan metode pustaka untuk menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang disampaikan dalam perumusan masalah. Terdapat dua permasalahan yang dipecahkan di dalam tesis ini. Permasalahan pertama adalah bagaimana budaya barat dan Budaya Islam Fundamentalisme dipandang oleh karakter-karakter utama di dalam cerita, dan permasalahan kedua adalah faktor-faktor apa yang menyebabkan konflik antara Budaya Islam Fundamentalisme dan budaya barat.
Pendekatan yang digunakan dalam menganalisa novel ini adalah pendekatan Sosiokultural-Historical, pendekatan ini digunakan untuk menganalisa faktor- faktor yang menyebabkan konflik antara budaya Islam Fundamentalisme dan budaya barat melalui cara karakter utama melihatnya. Selain itu pendekatan ini juga digunakan untuk memahami konflik sesungguhnya antara budaya barat dan budaya Islam Fundamentalisme pada kehidupan nyata yang dicerminkan dalam cerita ini.
Hasil dari analisis ini pertama menunjukan bahwa karakter-karakter utama, Parvez dan Ali, mengadopsi budaya barat dan budaya Islam Fundamentalisme sesuai dengan persepsi mereka sendiri. Parvez mengadopsi budaya barat seperti materialisme, kebebasan individu, dan kehidupan sekule r; konsep-konsep itu dilakukan berdasar persepsinya. Sedangkan Ali mengadopsi budaya Islam Fundamentalisme berdasar pada sudut pandangnya sebagai seorang Islam Fundamentalis yang mempengaruhi cara dia memandang pendidikan barat, Jihad, dan prostitusi. Kedua, penulis menemukan beberapa faktor yang menyebabkan konflik antara budaya barat dan budaya Islam Fundamentalisme yaitu perbedaan konsep dalam kebebasan individu, monopoli kebenaran, salah paham, dan perlakuan pada wanita.
A. Background of the Study
Literary work is a media for an author to express his idea by taking the realities which are found in his society and then mixing it with his own idea. This real condition can be the inspiration for an author to produce a literary work, through this way he can communicate his feeling, problem, or experience. In other words, we can say that literature can be understood as a presentation of real life. The reality in the author’s society is presented in purpose to convince the reader about what really happens in history or today. The object here refers to the interesting events that happen in society such as the social, cultural, political, and economical issues or historical movements that impress most.
In the same language, Guerin states that a literary work cannot be separated from its society because first, in any event, while someone places the priority that literature is primarily art, it must be underlined that art does not exist in vacuum but it exists in certain human civilization that has produced it. Second, it is a creation by someone at sometime in history and intended to communicate some ideas or issues that have relevance to other human being (1979:21).
social collision, or even cultural collision. The last one is the greatest collision between two different cultures which are always in clash. In this thesis, it will be analyzed the collision of Islam Fundamentalism culture and Western culture which are perceived by the characters of the story. The collision is presented by two major characters in a short story titled “My son the Fanatic”.
This thesis is going to analyze the short story by Hanif Kureishi, “My son the Fanatic”. This is a story that talks about one of the most serious and confusing conflicts between cultures today, Islam Fundamentalism culture and Western culture. “My son the Fanatic ” is interesting to be analyzed because the story gives different object to discuss. This story, as if, portrays the collision between the cultures of Islam and the culture of the West which is represented by each characters of a Pakistani- family. Though this short story is not very famous, like many other famous short stories from famous authors too, but it is very qualified because the conflict that happens in the story is the representation of the conflict that happens in the real life so that the reader will easily understand and imagine by comparing it with reality, therefore many critics are addressed to this story.
prostitute can be a good person and that a religious fanatic is always youngster; it offers much to think about while questioning common prejudice.
In the story of “My son the Fanatic” there are a lot of reflections of the collision of Islam Fundamentalism culture and Western culture especially which are presented by the main characters of this short story. Parvez, one of the main characters, is a Pakistan-born man who is very fond of Western way of life. The cultural assimilation happens in Parvez’s life from traditional Islamic value to open- minded cosmopolitanism. He feels that the West is the proper place for him since he can find liberation and there is no strict rule that forbids him to do anything. West is a tolerant country for him. This assumption makes Parvez neglects his root and religion because he can get enjoyment from his lifestyle. Parvez adopts Western Culture based on his perception. While Ali, Parvez’s son, before getting associated with Islam Fundamentalist in London he is an ordinary immigrant boy. He studies accounting, wears fashionable clothes, plays video games, and likes to go with his English girlfriend. Ali’s behavior changes after he experiences Muslim’s struggle againsts oppression in England and other countries. He throws out all of his possessions such as guitar, video games, cricket, and stops going with his English girlfriend who is, of course, a non-Muslim. He even stops studying accounting. For Ali, praying and worshipping Allah is the most important things to be done. Ali adopts Islamic value based on his perception.
characters in the story. The clash between Western culture and Islam Fundamentalism culture is described very brilliantly. This thesis will analyze both social values as one element of the culture, and the characters that represent them based on their perception. At last, the writer wants to say that a culture cannot be blamed by other culture because of its difference since it can lead to a great cultural problem. The difference should not be debated but let the difference enriches our beautiful world to make a world peace.
B. Problem Formulation
In order to understand the collision of Islam Fundamentalism culture and Western culture which is represented by the characters in Kureishi’s “My son the Fanatic ” there are two questions to be answered:
1. How are the Western Culture and Islam fundamentalism culture perceived by the Characters in the story?
2. What factors cause the collision between Islam fundamentalism culture and Western culture?
C. Objective of the Study
D. Definition of Terms a. Collision
According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s dictionary of Current English by A.S. Hornby, collision is strong disagreement, conflict, or clash of opposing aims, ideas, opinions, etc.
In English Dictionary for Advanced Learners, it is stated that a collision of cultures or ideas occurs when two very different cultures or people meet and conflict.
b. Western Culture
Western Culture is a term which is used to point the cultures of the people of European origin and their descendants (Stearns, 2003).
c. Islam Fundamentalism
In the book titled Islam Today: A short Introduction to the Muslim world it is
stated that Islam Fundamentalism is a term which attempts to convey
contemporary Islamic revivalism and resurgence (Ahmed, 2001:226).
d. Culture
E.B Tylor, in his book titled Primitive Culture stated that culture is complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society (quoted by Kroeber and Kluckhohn, 1952:81).
e. Fundamentalism
According to Longman Dictionary of English language and Culture, the word Fundamentalism means the practice of following the rules of a religion, such as Christianity or Islam, very strictly and exactly (Summers, 1992:527).
In Encarta Webster’s college dictionary stated that Fundamentalism
means the belief that religious or political doctrine should be implemented literally, not interpreted or adapted (Soukhanov, 2005:580).
f. Character
According to Abrams in his book A Glossary of Literary Terms, character is defined as the person presented in dramatic or narrative work, who is interpreted by the readers as being endowed with a moral and disposition qualities that are expressed in what they say, the dialogue and by what they do the action.
A. Review on Related Studies
Only a few studies have been done by critics in this short story. But, many critics have been done toward the movie that is adapted from the short story itself. Most of the critics in the short story are much talking about clash culture and religion. This chapter reviews some criticisms directed to “My son the Fanatic ” which are necessary to support the analysis of this study.
Work done by Tatang Iskarna in an article in Phenomenon vol. 9 No 1-June 2005, is analyzing about tracing the root of the clash between Islamic tradition and Western values.
My son the fanatic portrays the most intense conflict between two cultures, Islamic tradition and Western values. This story tries to establish a dichotomy between the values of Islam and the West. (Iskarna, 2005:71)
In the article he wrote, he stated that two values which are represented by the characters in the story, Parvez and Ali, are the basic reasons of conflict that happens in this story, he stated:
Their inability to reconcile their ideas and attitudes with each other and the outside world establishes that there is a basic substance of difference between Islamic and Western values which results in continuing conflicts. (Iskarna, 2005:72)
by the values which exist in the place where he lives although sometimes still influenced by his old tradition. In this case he describes Parvez:
Living in England as an immigrant, Parvez experience these values, and he is able to adapt himself to these although he sometimes behaves in the way what his old tradition says. (Iskarna, 2005:69)
Another study about this short story is taken from an article in website which is talking about self-discovery of the main character that is signified by his little knowledge of Islam which had been his root that he left, it is stated that:
…this is really about Parvez discovering himself, not about Islamic Fundamentalism or racism in England or love, although all of those fa ctors into his journey. (Clanton, 2000)
The critic wanted to say that, actually, the story is about a man who is in process in finding self-discovery; he undergoes some experiences which are included in discovering himself such as racism, love, or the conflict with his son who joins in Islamic Fundamentalism. Moreover, the critic also stated that the story is interesting because it is the reflection of what really happens in the real life, it awakens us to bigger issues and cultural problem.
Those are some of the works done by the experts to this work. The analysis in this thesis is different to the article which is taken from the internet because the article tells about self-discovery of the main character. While this thesis talks about the conflict between Islam Fundamentalism Culture and Western Culture which are perceived by the characters. So it can be said that the writer of this thesis can discover something new from this story.
main characters in the story who represent Islamic tradition and Western values while this analysis talks about the collision of Islam Fundamentalism culture and Western culture itself which happens in the story and also the description about the factors caused the collision. Nevertheless, this thesis does not take aside the discussion about the characters in the story.
In short, Iskarna’s main attention is on the conflict of the characters while this thesis is not only about the characters of the story but broader to the factors cause the collision between Islam Fundamentalism culture and Western culture. So it can be said that the analysis in this thesis develops Iskarna’s article though perhaps the result would be a little bit similar.
This thesis is spotlighting the cultural clash between Islam Fundamentalism culture and Western culture; it shows how two cultures are colliding. As we know that Islam and Western are always in colliding situation and there are many causes which create that collision. Hopefully, this thesis will give something new in understanding the story.
B. Review on Related Theories
1. Theory on character and characterization
Character or Doer participates on a story by acting that is based on the script of the story itself. Characters are differentiated in some types; they are Flat and Round character. Flat character is performed less of individualizing detail, it could be only in a single phrase. In other hand, Round character is complex in temperament, motivation, and performed with subtitle particularly. It also can be said that round character is performed in a more complicated way.
Another type of characters is major and minor character. Major character is the character who gets the fullest attention of the reader, they also as the figure to create the atmosphere of the story. Minor character or secondary character is the character who has a limited role in a story. The role of minor character in a story is as the partner of the major character, whether as a friend or as enemy.
It can be seen also to the other opinion about character in Understanding
Unseen by M. J Murphy. He states that there are many ways to the author to
describe the character and suppose the reader will understand about it, such as: a. Personal Description
The author can describe the character through his/her appearance. b. Character as seen by another
The author describes the character through the other’s opinion and his clothes in the story.
c. Speech
d. Past life
The character is described through his/her past life (direct comment by author, the thought of the person, conversation or from other person)
e. Conversation with the other
The author describes the character through conversation of others and their sayings about him.
f. Reaction
Author can describe the character through another person’s reaction toward various situations and events or the character’s reaction.
g. Direct comment
The author gives the description on the person’s characteristics directly h. Thought
The author describes the character through his knowledge or his thinking and in here the author is able to do what the reader cannot do in real life.
i. Mannerism
The author can describe a person’s mannerism or habits which may also tell us something about his character.
2. Theory on Clash of Civilization
Moreover, theory Clash of Civilization got a great attention after the terrorist attacks in September 11, 2001.
Still in the book by Samuel P. Huntington titled The Clash of Civilizations and the remaking of World order, he says that the trends of global conflict after
the end of the Cold War are increasingly emerging at the divisions of civilization. In fact, we can see the global conflict like the break up of Yugoslavia, in Chechnya, and between India and Pakistan, those are the evidences of inter-civilization conflict.
It is believed that the present global war on terror between the West and Islam is not a new result of a few existing radicals, but as a reflection of millennium plus history conflict between those two civilizations. Moreover, Western – Islamic clash would represent the bloodiest conflicts of the early 21st century. So that, the tragedy of terrorist attacks in September 11 2001 including the Afghanistan and Iraq wars have been widely seen as support for this Clash theory.
3. The Relation between Literature and Society
Most of the time, it is assumed that literature, at any given time, mirrors the current social situation ‘correctly’ or meaning to say that an author should express the life of his own time fully that he should be ‘representative’ of his age and society. But, literature is really not a reflection of the social process, but the essence, the abridgement and summary of all history or it can be said that a writer certainly expresses his experience and total conception of life (1956:95). Literary work can play its role as a document that records socia l realities which are artistically portrayed by the author (1956:102).
Langland writes that literature is an imitation of outside world (1984:4). Since society in a literary work is not ‘a faithful mirror’ that reflects what is real, the word ‘imitation’ shows the important point of the non absolute fidelity of what is pictured in a work of art with what is or was really there in the real world. As she writes: “In art alone the illusion of an outside world be created and maintained” (1984: 4, 5, 9). From the point above, it is clear that the world is the object of literature, and society is a part of a world. Langland further explains that literary research is always about the social world, sine the social matters like traditions, conventions, politics, socio- historical, or attitudes of the society are the materials which are raised in the analysis.
C. Review on Sociocultural-Historical Background 1. Islam Fundamentalism
being on the lookout for a substitute rival to ensure the continuity of its political and military unity and hegemony, and Islamic Fundamentalism seemed to have the right qualification.
Until present time, Islamic Fundamentalists are known that they do indeed attack the West. They have some movements to revolt against the West and burn off all of Western’s concept in the world.
In the book of The challenge of Fundamentalism written by Bassam Tibi, it is stated that the concept of Fundamentalism can be traced back to Sayyid Qutb, the Egyptian political preacher who is seen as the intellectual father of Islamic Fundamentalism. He is furious anti- American and anti- Western Muslim, he proposed to reject the Western civilization and its replacement is Islam. Islam Fundamentalists are struggling to maintain a new order which is based on the political doctrine of Islam, certainly that it is as interpreted by them.
Islam Fundamentalist’s view about the West can be seen through Qutb’s, he argued forcefully that the West is morally bankrupt and about to crumble. In his view, only Islam is prepared to assume the world leadership that the West is about to give up.
Qutb’s basic missionary massage was that world peace can be achieved only under the banner of Islam, within the framework of Jihad as an expression of “world revolution”.
characterized as a mix of jahiliyya (pre-Islamic age of heedlessness) and kufr. True Muslims retreat from these societies, and in doing follow the Prophet, who retreated from Mecca and set out for Medina in 622.
Still in the book by Bassam Tibi it is also said that Fundamentalism is much more than extremism or terrorism; it is rather a powerful challenge to the existing order of the international system of secular nation-states. In this case, this institution is Western in origin so the revolt against it is also a revolt against the West.
Islam Fundamentalist’s point of view and concepts can be seen through Qutb’s way of viewing religion and especially the way viewing Western that they considered as an enemy that must be destroyed.
2. Islamic Culture
Today there are approximately one billion Muslims faithful worldwide. Muslim is the name for an adherent of Islam or one who submits to the will of Allah. The religious message mystically delivered to Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, is viewed from the Muslim’s perspective as the continuation, the clarification, and the conclusion of God’s reve lation to humanity (Naylor, 2000:163).
Muslim societies have moved away from the Islamic ideal which is based on the Qur’an and the life of the prophet.
The history of Islam is the history of ideas and their power to influence people’s actions. The id eas came when Islam first appeared; it was about that you could believe in God directly and yet live in here and now.
Throughout the world, Muslims accept that Islam is rooted in the Qur’an and the Sunnah, the life of the Prophet Muhammad. Muslims remembered and applied what he said and did both during his lifetime and throughout the following centuries. Muhammad has served as the ideal model for Muslim life, providing the pattern that all believers are to imitate. Muslims look to Muhammad’s example for guidance in all aspects of life: how to treat friends as well as enemies, what to eat and drink, and how to make love and war.
The practices of the Prophet became a material source of Islamic law alongside the Quran (Esposito, 1998:13). By Quran and the Sunnah they point to
the Shariah, the Islamic path. However, culture, history, and ecology have
affected how Muslims live their lives.
For Muslims, Islam is not merely a system of belief and worship, a separate part of life, so to speak, different from other part of life which becomes the concern of non-religious authority. But, it is the whole of life and its rules include civil, criminal, and even constitutional law in Islam-based nation (Lewis, 1993:4). The difference is the emphasis each culture places on universal aspects of life, Islam emphasizes that life must be one of balance, that a person must pray but also have time for the family, eat as much as necessary, take regular physical exercise, that personal hygiene and cleanliness are important, that sexual activity is natural as long as it is done in the legal bound of marriage, and so on.
3. Western Culture
Western Culture or Western Civilization is a term which is used to point the cultures of the people of European origin and their descendants. Western culture composes the great heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs (such as religious belief), and certain artifacts and technologies as shared within the Western sphere of influence. The term “Western” itself is often used in contrast to Asian, African, and Arab nations.
It is said that Elements of Western culture have influenced greatly on other cultures worldwide. People of many cultures, both Western and non-Western consider that “modernization” is equal to “Westernization”. Some people of the non-Western world have suggested that the link between technological progress and certain harmful Western values provides a reason why much of “modernity” should be rejected as being unsuited with their vision and the values of their societies.
In that way, various uses of Western culture’s concept have included, rightly or wrongly, such as critiques of American culture, materialism industrialism, capitalism, commercialism, hedonism, imperialism, modernism, or the teaching of Western Civilization (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Western_ culture).
In the West, the spiritual power has not been functioned in a sacred social order like the Confucian state in China and the Indian caste system. The West has obtained social freedom and autonomy; consequently its activity has not been confined to the religious sphere, otherwise it has had far-reaching effects on every aspect of social and intellectual life (Dawson, 1991:16).
separate system. Consequently, religion becomes private religiously; it may express its belief but it may not force them on others (1998:203).
The secularism that appeared in Western Europe in the seventeenth century was not to establish and enforce irreligion as a new state doctrine but rather to prevent the state from any involvement in doctrine and to prevent the upholders of any doctrine from using the coercive powers of the state (Lewis, 1993:181).
The activity of the Western mind was the result of a long process of education which changed the concentration of human thought and widened the possibilities of social action. In this changing the primary factor was not the power of conquerors and capitalists, just like what most of the non-Westerners think about the West which later became the trade mark of the West, but it is because the widening of the quality of human intelligence and the development of the new types of creative genius and ability (Dawson, 1991:17). Moreover, this changing was motivated by the desire to succeed, power, and wealth which are so obvious in European country.
power in the West was one of the main factors that produced the freedom and the dyna mic activity of Western culture (1991:17).
In all western country, it is only in Western Europe that the whole pattern of the culture is to be found in a continuous series of free spiritual movements, so that every century of Western history shows a change in the balance of cultural elements, and the appearance of some new spiritual forces which creates new ideas to produce a further movement of social change.
In Western culture it is often difficult to trace the connection between the spirit of faith and the new movements of change, moreover when we study these movements closely we shall usually find that such a connection does really exist in fact (1991:21).
D. Theoretical Framework
In this section the writer wants to explain about the theories that are used and also the reason why those theories are needed in this analysis. All the theories such as theory on character and characterization, theory on Clash of Civilization, and some socio-cultural Historical background in the short story as the extrinsic data that have mentioned in the previous will be taken to analyze the study.
characters’ attitude in viewing Western culture and Islam Fundamentalism culture in their life.
In answering the second problem formulation of the study to discover the factors that cause the collision between Islam Fundamentalism culture and Western culture, theory on Clash of Civilization, which is popularized by Samuel P Huntington, is used. This proble m deals with the conflict between two different cultures, and it is closely related to this theory which states that cultural and religious identities will be the primary source of conflict.
A. Object of the Study
The study deals with a short story which was written by a Pakistani writer named Hanif Kureishi. This short story consists of 12 pages which was published in the year 1997 by Scribner, New York. This short story is included in a collection of short stories book titled Love in blue Time.
“My son the Fanatic ” takes place in England where a cross cultures mixes in with the new lifestyles of a Pakistani family. The theme of immigrant children rejecting traditio nal values is a common one, but in the story of “My son the Fanatic” there is a twist. It tells about a Pakistani taxicab driver who with his son lives in England as immigrant, the conflict happens when his only son joins in Moslem Fundamentalism which leads to his father’s displeasure.
B. Approach of the Study
The approach that the writer uses in the analysis is the socio-cultural historical approach. This approach is used to see a literary work from its relation with the social history of certain place and time. According to Rohrberger and Woods, in their book Reading and Writing about Literature, the only way to locate the real work with socio-cultural historical approach is in reference to the civilization that produces it. In that book, Rohrberger and Woods defined civilization as the attitudes and actions of a specific group of people and pointed out that literature takes these attitudes and actions as its subject matter and they added that it is necessary to investigate the social milieu of the place and time when a creator creates the work (Rohrberger 1971:719).
C. Method of the Study
In order to complete the analysis, the writer used the library research method as the method of the study. This method tried to collect data from written source books which would be useful for the analysis. The primary data for the analysis was taken from the short story of “My son the Fanatic ”, while the secondary data was derived from other sources, such as books, article, internet, and other which could be fully supported the study, and were related to the problem.
The first step, the writer read the work by Hanif Kureishi entitled “My son the Fanatic ”. Collision of Islam Fundamentalism culture and Western culture was the topic chosen after reading it thoroughly. The writer thought that the topic would be much interesting if it is related to the same event in reality.
The second step is to give the complete understanding for the reader about Islam fundamentalism culture and Western culture, as the object of the analysis. Since the writer wants to reveal the factors that cause the collision so the writer thinks that she needed to understand about each of them. First, the writer describes about Islam Fundamentalism culture and also Islam in general as the addition. Then, Western culture is explained from the definition of Western culture to West’s way of thinking.
Islamic culture based on their own perception and that they represent the conflict which also happens in reality. So that the reader will understand that literature is a portrait of reality.
The final step is to give a clear description about the factors that cause the collision between Islam fundamentalism culture and Western culture. The writer would start by taking the reader to see how both of them are always in colliding situation. Afterwards, the writer would continue with depicting the factors that create the collision between Islam Fundamentalism Culture and Western culture.
In this part, the writer will examine the western culture and Islam Fundamentalism culture perceived by the characters in the story. In addition, since the character that represents Islam is described as an Islam Fundamentalist so the writer will depict the factor caused the collision two times, first based on Islam Fundamentalist’s view and second based on Islam Liberal’s. At the end, it will be studied the factors that cause the collision between Western Culture and Islam Fundamentalism culture as represented by two major characters of the story. In the first chapter the writer mentioned that the conflict in the story also happens in the real life, so it will be added also some proves of the conflict in the real life as the supporting idea.
A. The Western Culture and Islam Fundamentalism Culture perceived by the characters
1. Parvez
asleep while he studied, so if his head fell forward he would automatically awake. At first, Parvez decided to live in England to get a better life but then he also finds liberation. Parvez’s new way of life is heavily influenced by Western Culture, so that he becomes Materialist, Free, and Secular.
a. Parvez’s view on Materialism
Parvez adopts one of Western Culture’s concepts in his life that is materialism; materialism is a desire or tendency to be more interested in material possession and physical comforts rather than in spiritual values. It has been Parvez’s dream to have a better life in England because he does not want to live in poverty anymore.
Parvez regards that people will live happily if they have a lot of money and fulfill all the needs in their life. In other words, according to Parvez’s opinion, people are said to live in happiness is measured from their material possession. Parvez perceives the concept of materialism in this way; he works very hard only to get material things for him and, of course, his family because he wants to live like any other Western family who live in prosperity. It can be seen from the quotation:
Parvez had been a taxi-driver for twenty years. Half that time he’d worked for the same firm. Like him, most of the other drivers were Punjabis. They preferred to work at night, when the roads were clearer and the money better (Kureishi, 1997:101).
In his life, Parvez is only interested in material things and take aside spiritual needs such as having a recreation, doing hobbies, or thanking God. Therefore, he spends much of his time to work which means earning money.
Parvez had explained patiently that for years he had worked more than ten hours a day, had few enjoyments or hobbies, and never gone on holiday (Kureishi, 1997: 105)
Actually, Parvez has a good reason why he works so hard, that it is because his son Ali. Parvez works long hours for Ali because he wants to give the best things for his only son. He spends a lot of money for Ali’s education, which is majoring in accounting, in purpose that later his son can be an accountant and earn much money from that job. Parvez also buys many things for Ali such as good suits, computer, TV, video player, and stereo system in order he will not feel inferior than his English friends.
Parvez gives many physical things for Ali, which seems too much, and it is done based on his assumption that possessing all material things makes people live happily. It seems that Parvez does not realize that spiritual values are also needed by all people. Somehow, spiritual needs also needed to make a balance in living so besides fulfilling material things people also need to fulfill spiritual needs.
materialist is caused by his obsession and dream of doing well in England also his desire to live like Western family who in his perception always live in wealth. b. Parvez’s view on Individual Freedom
After we have understood one of Western Cultures, materialism, inside the main character we continue to seek Individual freedom inside the main character’s life. In here, the writer tries to know in what way Parvez applies the concept of Individual freedom.
Living in England as an immigrant, at first, Parvez was only obsessed to change his life to be better economically, but then Parvez also adopts Individual freedom which is very revered in Western society. The concept of individual freedom is really applied by Parvez in his life and it changes his way of thinking and viewing anything in his surrounding from his old tradition way. When Parvez was still in Pakistan he had to follow the Islamic rules which was very ‘strong’ in there, then after he lives in England he thinks that he has to fit in the British Legal Law that really reveres what is called as Individual Freedom. In applying Individual freedom based on his perception, the first thing he does is leaving his religion behind since Western people have a concept in their mind that each person is the master of their fate.
their parents” (Kureishi, 1997:109). Every people must respect one another especially children to their parents, that is what Parve z wants to say. He wants to show to his son, who is an Islam fundamentalist, that although he adopts Western Culture and worships Individual right he is still a good person.
Parvez assumes that every person has a right to get enjoyment in their life which cannot be limited by anything even religion. He argues that all people have freedom to enjoy themselves and it should be done in a good way without giving disadvantage to others, he says “For a start…you should enjoy yourself. Yes. Enjoy yourself without hurting others” (Kureishi, 1997:109). Parvez admits that all people have right to do something but they have to remember also that their rights should be done without hurting others.
Parvez wants everyone to appreciate his rights as the Individual right, as the consequence he should appreciate others’ right too and he does it. Parvez respects other people with any job they have, he does not differentiate people based on their job. He applies it also to Bettina, a prostitute who used to be Parvez’s taxi cus tomer and then after some time they become friends.
Bettina had known Parvez for three years. She lived outside the town and, on the long drives home, during which she sat not in the passenger seat but beside him, Parvez had talked to her about his life and hopes, just as she talked about hers. They saw each other most nights (Kureishi, 1997:102).
He could talk to her about things he’d never be able to discuss with his own wife. Bettina, in turn, always reported on her night’s activities. He liked to know where she had been and with whom (Kureishi, 1997: 102)
Parvez reveres Individual freedom and he feels comfortable with that concept, nevertheless he also respects other’s right. For this concept Parvez applies it in appropriate ways, he knows that Individual freedom should be respected and in doing our own right we should do without giving disadvantage and hurting others.
c. Parvez’s view on Secular life
The last Western Culture concept that is adopted in the life of Parvez is secularism. Secularism is a concept owned by most of Western countries. Secularism is a concept of separation between religion and politics in society, religion becomes a private affair of every person which is not being put on their actions in social life. Parvez adopts the concept of secularism in his life; he refuses the limitations and control from the religion.
His action which shows the application of the concept of secularism also appears in his activity with his friends. Parvez and his fellow taxi-drivers used to gather to have some funs in their office; they do anything only for their pleasure.
They slept during the day, avoiding their wives. They led almost a boy’s life together in their cabbies office, playing cards and setting up practical jokes, exchanging lewd stories, eating takeaways from local balti houses, and discussing politics and their own problems (Kureishi, 1997:101).
Parvez and his friends, who most of them are Punjabis which means Pakistani also, know that they live in England so they feel free to do anything including things which are considered uncommon to be done in their home country because they are not allowed by the religion such as avoiding their wives and exchanging lewd stories. In the story, there is no discussion about their marriage so the writer assumes about the reason why they avoid their wives is because they do not feel happy with their marriage since most marriages in Pakistan are arranged by parents and other respected family- members.
The Western concept of secularism really separates the activity in social life and politics, whereas, non-secular countries like Malaysia and Arab apply religion within the activity of every person in their society including about food and drink. In the West, people are free to eat and drink anything they want and happily Parvez does it which also creates a conflict with his son, it can be seen through his conversatio n with his son:
Surely it wasn’t a crime to have a drink when he wanted one? ‘But it is forbidden,’ the boy said.
Parvez shrugged. ‘I know.’ ‘And so is gambling, isn’t it?’
Another conversation with his son can also show that he does really apply the concept of secularism:
Ali then reminded Parvez that he had ordered his wife to cook pork sausages, saying to her,’ You’re not in the village now. This is England. We have to fit in’ (Kureishi, 1997:106).
Those quotations show that Parvez has left the tradition in his home country which is influenced by the religion. He really feels comfortable with the West’s way of life which gives pleasure to him, but it seems that Parvez uses the concept of secularism to justify his attitude that feels humiliated by the religion, such as drinking and gambling. So he does not really apply the right meaning of secularism but he deviate it into the justification of his pleasure
2. Ali
a. Ali’s view on Western Education
Ali’s hatred of the West cannot be negotiated in any ways, he regards that Western is drove of infidel. Western Culture is considered that it againsts Islam because it is not in accordance with Islam and anything which against the law of Islam will go to hell. As a Fundamentalist, Ali views that anything which has relation to the West must be burnt off because, in Ali’s perception, they are source of evil.
assumption since he has never entered into the world of accountant before, even he stops studying it.
Ali’s decision to quit from his study in accounting is opposed by his father, Parvez. Parvez says that he wants Ali to be an accountant later because it is a good job since it earns much money, he also argues that accountant is a job which has good prospect and if Ali continues his study in accounting he will have a bright future, Parvez says “But it’s well paid work,” Parvez argued” For years you’ve been preparing” (Kureishi, 1997:107). Parvez’s argument about accountant reflects his view on the concept of materialism, but Ali has the opposite opinion. Ali argues that accountant is the seed of Western materialism and it is really contradictory with the Islamic Law, as Ali says “The Western materialists hate us,” Ali said. “Papa, how can you love something which hates you?”(Kureishi, 1997:106). As a fundamentalist Ali thinks that anything related to the West must be avoided because he does not want to break the rule of Quran, so he prefers to work in prison with poor Muslims.
b. Ali’s view on Jihad
Being a fundamentalist also makes him becomes narrow- minded, he does not think deeper about anything which he considered is wrong because he feels that the truth is his own. This way of thinking also happens in the way he perceives Jihad; he sees tha t Jihad is a physical fight which will be done to fight against anything which he considers not in accordance with Islam.
Ali’s understanding about Jihad reflects his knowledge about Islam based on his Fundamentalism view, as it is stated that Ali regards that unbelievers must be eliminated from this earth and the way to eliminate them, according to Ali, is by doing Jihad. Ali considers that the Westerners are unbelievers, they persecute and oppress Muslims. He feels that it is his duty to stop the persecution and oppression by Jihad.
My people have taken enough. If the persecution doesn’t stop, there will be jihad. I, and million of others, will gladly give our lives for the cause (Kureishi, 1997:106).
From above quotation it seems that Ali has a misconception about Jihad (more analysis about Jihad will be discussed in the next subchapter). Ali regards that Jihad is a good thing so he assumes that he will be put into Paradise though no one knows where we will be after we died because it is God’s secret and we should not precede God because he has great might over us. Ali believes if people do good things God will give paradise and if people do bad things they will be put into the hell.
does not happen the condition that will happen is like in the West society because based on Ali’s view as a fundamentalist Western is a sink of hypocrites who does not recognize religion.
c. Ali’s view on Prostitute
Being a Fundamentalist does not make Ali think wisely, instead he thinks everything only based on whether it is right or wrong in his view. Ali limits his social life in society; he only socializes with people who he considers as a good person. He also differentiates people based on their job, if their jobs are good in his view he will befriend with them but if their jobs are bad he will not be willing to be friend even talk to them.
That Ali’s way of thinking is also used in the way he sees his father’s friend who is a prostitute named Bettina. Ali judges that Prostitute is a sinner and God will put them in hell. According to Ali, prostitute is seen as devil and he is not able to talk to her, though Bettina tries to be friendly to him but Ali responses it with sharp answers “A nd who are you to ask me these questions?” (Kureishi, 1997:110). Ali does not give respect to her though he knows that she is older than him who should be respected.
agree with Individual right because, based on Ali, people does not have individual right in their life since the autonomous right is in God’s hand. Ali also cannot bear to see when Bettina touches her father though she only tries to assure Ali that his father loves him much “You know he loves you more than his own life” (Kureishi, 1997:110). Ali treats Bettina badly because of her job and it is contrast to what Islam exactly teaches to respect others well whatever their jobs; moreover if it is needed we may help them to get other jobs.
B. The Factors causing the collision of Western Culture and Islam Fundamentalism culture.
The conflict between the West and Islam also appears in the real life, the conflict began many years ago. According to Dr. Muhammad ‘Imarah in his book Barat versus Islam: Kritik dibalik Hegemony Wacana Barat atas Islam, the
conflict was started by the rising of Islam which freed East countries from Rome hegemony. This conflict was worse after the fall of the Berlin Wall, with the breakdown of communism the West had lost its arch-enemy. So far, the West had been accused of being on the lookout for a substitute rival, and Islamic Fundamentalism seemed to have the right qualification. The underlying argument was that the West needed to identify a new enemy so as to ensure the continuity of its political and military unity and hegemony. That was the true event that happened between Islam and West. Moreover, there are many differences between Islam and West that is possible to cause a collision between them.
The writer has divided the discussion into four topics for the basic reasons of the conflict between Islam fundamentalism and the West.
1. Different concept of Individual Freedom
The first factor causing conflict between Islam fundamentalism culture and Western culture in the story is the difference in applying Individual freedom, it is broken into two terms, they are: Food and drink and Ideal of life.
a. Food and Drink
The rule related to food and drink also sets off the clash in scope of the difference in applying individual freedom. That night, Parvez and Ali go to a restaurant and then a waiter, whom Parvez knows, brings Parvez his usual whisky and water. Ali sees it and shows a dislike face, and then he speaks to his father harshly that drinking alcohol is prohibited, he states “Don’t you know it’s wrong to drink alcohol?” he had said (Kureishi, 1997:105). Ali tries to tell his father that drinking alcohol is wrong but he does it in a bad manner that makes him to be being insolent.
the West there is no law which rules about which food and drink are allowed and which are not.
Ali cannot accept his father’s reason, he still stands with his argument which is based on Islamic Law that he believed. He told that drinking alcohol was forbidden and it was not true to do something which is forbidden. Nevertheless, Parvez keeps drinking and every time he looks at his son’s fastidious face he drinks more quickly, he realizes that he is getting drunk but he cannot stop drinking. Parvez cannot accept the law of Islam which rules about food and drink; he feels more comfort with the West which separates religious and non-religious life so he could freely enjoy his individual freedom.
Ali keeps telling his father, Parvez, that he has not lived a good life; he has broken the rules of the Koran. Ali thinks that his father has been already influenced by Western Culture whereas in fact the individual Muslim is also expected to observe a series of food guidelines such as avoiding the eating of pork, drinking wine, and other intoxicants (extended to drugs), and gambling. In the other hand, Parvez cannot deny that he loves all of those things especially eating pork; even he used to eat it for breakfast.
Parvez couldn’t deny that he loved crispy bacon smothered with mushrooms and mustard and sandwiched between slices of fried bread. In fact, he ate this for breakfast every morning. (Kureishi, 1997:106)
prefers to Western’s life which assumes a distinction between religious and secular institutions.
Ali, whose life is walked based on Islam Fundamentalism, cannot understand about his father’s habit. Ali believes that individual freedom to do anything for Muslims should be done on Islam’s path and not allowed to break it because in the Koran there is already a law which rules about food and drink.
While Parvez, Ali’s father, thinks that they live in the West so they have to fit and obey the rules which are lawful in it, but since in the West there is no formal written law that rules people’s behavior so Parvez has an opinion that individual freedom is a right for everybody to do anything they want including what they want to eat or drink.
b. Ideal of life
The difference in determining ideals of life becomes the second factor of the clash in relation to individual freedom. For addition, Islam in general has never been rigorous or puritanical in its attitude toward life in the world, the world is a place of goodness to be enjoyed. For Islam Fundamentalist, the true lives are praying to Allah, no Muslims are oppressed, and the Law of Islam rules the entire world. They will never feel in peace if they have not happened yet.
1997:104). Ali is never absent to pray because he thinks that it is the most important thing for Muslims to be done to get God’s salvation in the world and when they are dead.
For Parvez, ideal of life can be achieved if someone can fulfill all the needs in his life in the world. A person has obtained ideal of life if he has a lot of money and he could enjoy from what he got, therefore ideal of life can be achieved if someone works hard even without a rest. However, Parvez experiences this idea, “ Parvez had been a taxi-driver for twenty years. Half that time he’d worked for the same firm” (Kureishi, 1997:101). “They preferred to work at night, when the roads were clearer and the money better” (Kureishi, 1997:101). From those quotations it can be said that Parvez adopts materialism, one of Western’s concept. He works for years to find money to give living for him and his family in purpose to have a good living. Parvez does not want his family live in poverty. He wants his family, especially his son, can live like any other Western family.
The conflict between Ali and Parvez happens when they argue about their philosophy of lives which later on lead to the ideal of life. At first, Parvez tries to affect his son by saying that people have to treat one another with respect particularly children to their parents, then Parvez starts to show his philosophy of life:
Parvez’s philosophy means that while people still live in this world they have to make their life happy because when they died they just rotted in the earth. Parvez thinks that his life must be meaningful while he is still alive and it can be achieved if he can enjoy himself, about it he says to Ali “For a start…you should enjoy yourself. Yes. Enjoy yourself without hurting others” (Kureishi, 1997:109). For Parvez, every people should have enjoyment because enjoyment is the beauty of living.
Ali has the opposite idea with Parvez’s philosophy, he does not agree with his father’s view. For Ali, living is conditio n where all Muslims are free since Ali argues that most Muslims in the world are still under pressure, he says “All over the world our people are oppressed,” was the boy’s reply (Kureishi, 1007:109). Ali against his father’s idea about how to live which suggests that every people should enjoy themselves, he argues how he can enjoy himself if many ‘people’ are still oppressed.
2. Monopoly of Truth
Monopoly of Truth appears as the next factor of the clash between Islam Fundamentalist and the West in the story. Monopoly of Truth is a kind of characteristic which one regards that only his view, idea, and faith are the truth and other’s are not. Monopoly of Truth emerges in the two major characters in the story, Ali and Parvez. They never have the same idea about anything and both of them always regard that their arguments are true, therefore whenever they share about something it must be ended with conflict because their feeling of domination of truth.
Ali also experiences what is called as Monopoly of Truth. Ali always thinks that his opinions are always true, he cannot accept other’s argument which are different or opposite to his. In the story it is told that Ali is an Islam Fundamentalist who hates Western very much. He hates everything which is related to the West, even he quits from his study in accounting because of his hatred to the west. It is proved in this quotation: “What had finished Parvez off was the boy’s saying he was giving up his studies in accounting” (Kureishi, 1997:107). “And in the world of accountants it was usual to meet women, drink alcohol, and practice usury” (Kureishi, 1997:107). Ali regards that meeting women, drinking alcohol, and usury are Western Cultures so if he does it, mean that he breaks the rule of Koran.
does not feel fit with the Western culture, in spite he hates it so much because in his view there are many Western Cultures that invite people to the evilness which mean that it is opposite to Islam’s teaching. His hatred is shown in this quotation: “The West was a sink of hypocrites, adulterers, homosexuals, drug users and prostitute” (Kureishi, 1997:106). From quotation above it clearly shows that Ali hates Western very much, his hatred as if makes him cannot think rationally. He does not accept the difference because that difference is opposite to his belief. Properly, we do not have right to judge other because of the difference because it could be just a prejudice and give disadvantage to our self. What we have to do is respect the differences.
again the writer wants to say that we do not have right to judge others. Therefore, his hatred is not only intended to Western culture but also to other religion, “The skin of the infidel would burn off again and again; the Jews and Christers would be routed” (Kureishi, 1997:106). Ali’s attitude toward other religion is extremely intolerable because he has no respect and appreciation anymore to others. Not all Muslims have the same opinion with Ali; it is just an idea of some people who has similar point of view with Ali. Though different, Ali should respect others because, in fact, Islam does not teach people to hurt and hate others.
As it was stated, Islam is a religion of peace which does not agree if people fight against other moreover if it is back grounded by the difference on religion. Islam teaches Muslim to respect people with different religion since there are many religions in this world with different concerns such as Judaism lays stress on Justice and Right, Christianity on Love and Charity, and Islam on brotherhood and Peace. Muslims need to appreciate these beliefs and what others believe with a real understanding which does not explain over the differences.
Monopoly of Truth like Ali does should not be done because it will create a bad image for Islam itself and above all it can lead to a clash between religions. Ali’s attitude is back grounded by his little knowledge about Islam, so he sees everything only from the surface but not go deeper than that. Ali and other people who have similar idea with him should know that people in this world need bridges, give and take between religions and that they should be fellows in a common task without regarding that the absolute truth only belongs to itself and the othe r are invaders. A Quotation from Sayyeda Fatima al- Yashrutiyya in a book titled The Muslim Mind can represent that idea:
The different religions are like a tree. There is one root and many branches. On each branch there is a light, and the lights are of differing colours. But they all draw their light from the one root. We all need to keep our own light bright (Waddy, 1976:116).
The conflict between Islam Fundamentalist and the West in the story is not caused only by one side but both sides. Parvez, Ali’s father, also experiences monopoly of truth. Parvez argues that The West is the most comfortable and proper place for all people because he feels it by himself.
1997:107). The argumentation between Parvez and Ali always happens when they talk about Islam and The West. Ali argues that everything regardless of Islam taught is considered as anti-religion while Parvez argues that Western culture is appropriate because it lets people to do anything what they want. Since both of Ali and Parvez are argumentative they never got a solution for the conflict they have.
Regarding Ali’s assumption about the West which is anti religion, some explanations might help to explain about the position of religion in the West. Religion also has an important place in the West although it plays only a fairly small role in the day to day of most citizens. In the West there is almost no critical national decisions are made on the basis of religion and religion tolerance is the rule in all. It is well worth to remember that religion was the central focus of both personal and national life. Although religion may fairly plays no greater role in the life of most westerners but they reflect to a remarkable fact that this was not always the case. If it is proved by that fact, so Ali’s judgment about the West is not completely true because it is only based on his prejudice.
Ali’s hatred to the West still cannot be accepted by Parvez because he thinks that it is unreasonable. Parvez wonders why Ali hates the West very much because in his opinion the West is a tolerant country which gives freedom for everybody to do anything and that is the reason why he adopts Western Culture.
can you love something which hates you?” (Kureishi, 1997: 106). Being told by his son about it Parvez does not change his mind, he still holds his opinion that the truth is that the Western is good because it is very understanding to everyone who lives in it.
Parvez plans to do something to his son because he cannot bear anymore to hear his son’s judgment, he plans to expel his son from the house though Parvez knows that it will be the hardest thing he has ever done.
“I’m going to tell him to pick up his prayer mat and get out of my `house. It will be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but tonight I’m going to do it” (Kureishi, 1997: 108).
Parvez knows that it is hard to do but he cannot stand with his son who, as if, judges him as a criminal because he fond of the West, though finally he cancels to do it.
Ali’s assumption about the West has not finished yet, he regards that the West always underestimates the non-westerners and it is back grounded by one occasion when Ali accused his father, Parvez, of groveling to the whites. It can be seen in this quotation:
…, he explained, he himself was not ‘inferior’; there was more to the world than the West, though the West always thought it was best (Kureishi, 1997: 108).
Implicitly Parvez denies Ali’s prejudice about the Western because he knows that Ali has never left England so he has no basic to prove his statement if it is really true.
Although Parvez still defends his argument that the West is a tolerant country and proper place for all, it does not change even a very little bit part of Ali’s faith instead it cultivates a little emotion in him. A little bit emotional Ali emphasizes to Parvez that Islam is the true belief because it is the only one which brings up morality and leads people to the true path and this fact cannot be denied by anyone even though by his own father. It can be seen in this quotation:
Ali said, ‘Real morality has existed for hundreds of years. Around the world millions and millions of people share my beliefs. Are you saying you are right and they are all wrong?’ (Kureishi, 1997: 109).
On one occasion, Parvez cannot be able to control his emotion anymore. He cannot bear with his son’s attitude toward him who does not show any respect like a child to his parent. One night, Parvez feels that the accumulation of his anger and disappointment to his son’s refusal reach its peak so Parvez kicks Ali over. Parvez hits Ali until the boy’s face is bloody but it does not stop his action nonetheless Parvez struck him, Ali shows no fear in his eyes also he neither covered himself but he only said “ So who’s the fanatic now?” (Kureishi, 1997:111).
3. Attitude toward women
The factor mentioned above is experienced by Parvez and Ali. They have different way in treating a woman and the woman meant here is Bettina, a prostitute who also Parvez’s taxi costumer. Parvez has known Bettina for three years, he used to ferry her ho me after her “night’s activities”. Those regular meetings make them become closer and that make Parvez feels free to talk about everything than to his own wife and so does with Bettina.
He could talk to her about things he’d never able to discuss with his own wife. Bettina, in turn, always reported on her night’s activities (Kureishi, 1997:102).
Parvez feels more comfortable to talk and to share about anything to Bettina include about the change of his son, Ali.
Bettina has never met Ali but it seems that she knows him much since Parvez tells about his son continually also when he suspects that Ali is a drug user. That is the relationship between Parvez and Bettina. Both of them feel comfortable with their relationship because they know each other about their position, neither of them feels upper or lower. Bettina is a prostitute, she earns enough money to make living for herself and Parvez is a taxi driver who earns money for him and, of course, his family. Parvez treats Bettina as a good friend who is willing to hear when he shares about his son; he does not care about Bettina’s profession as a prostitute which is seen as a lower rank and underestimated by most people.
