Discovering Worlds Past and Present
“We all do it the same/We all do it the same way . . . ” says Dave Matthews in his song Ants Marching.
Moshin Hamid understands America; he sees what Americans have understood about themselves from the very beginning: that hard work and determination define how we see ourselves. This allows him to create several motifs throughout his novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist. For us, though, his observations may hurt a little bit because Changez, a politically charged Muslim, rejects them.
Here is Dave Matthews song (sorry, I’m sure there are better ones out there, but I stopped listening to popular music around 1997), Ants Marching. Click it and read the lyrics. Then listen to the song below — hear the tone, here the voice inflections, and gather an overall impression (a tone word) — like we did with the bubble graph a few weeks ago.
In response, using your Literary Composition Notes, write a scene (using textual and subtextual elements) that answers the question:
“What are these guys saying, and who should we listen to: Matthews or Changez?”
Hint: this involves creativity — it’s not just an answer to the prompt; it’s as if it comes from a novel itself.
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© Jeff Thomas, uw_thomas@icloud.com
