Plot+-+My+Son+the+Fanatic

//Writing Assignment:// //Summarize the main events in the story. Include any cultural background information you feel is relevant and necessary for the reader to fully understand the events. Be sure to use connectors to indicate sequence, contrast, cause, and result.//

// In the beginning of the story we are introduced to Parvez, a first generation Pakistani immigrant to Britain, and hard working taxi driver. He searches his son's room for clues because his son Ali, who was born in the UK, has recently changed. He is worried about his son's behaviour and is searching for clues to explain it. // // With the encouragement of his friend Bettina, a prostitute, he suspects that the boy is taking drugs. As Ali's room gets emptier and emptier, he becomes increasingly distant, changes his friends, appearance, and habits, and gets colder and colder towards his father. When Parvez discovers Ali praying, at first he is relieved. Ali prays five times a day and is growing a traditional beard. That’s also the reason why he has emptied his room, because he has given his things to charity. // // After a few days, Parvez invites his son to a restaurant. Ali does not want to come, but it is his duty and so he has to. In the restaurant they have a conversation about what has happened. But Ali rejects his father because he drinks alcohol, eats pork, does not live the Pakistani lifestyle, and does not have a traditional beard. Ali expresses his hate for Western society and speaks positively of jihad. He also accuses his father of being implicated in Western civilization. Parvez cannot believe that his son has become a religious fanatic. //

// Parvez tries to share his philosophy of life with his son, but Ali is totally closed. At the end of the story, when Parvez is giving Bettina a ride in his Taxi one evening, they pass Ali and pick him up. Bettina explains to Ali that his father loves him, but Ali is peeved with his father for letting such a woman ride in his car. He does not like her smell, her clothes or her character. //

// Upon arriving at home, Parvez gets drunk and hits his son while he is praying. But Ali only asks: “So who‘s the fanatic now?” //