Phuthita Dokput

5840761622

Similarities and differences between the immigrant experiences of Ali

(“My Son the Fanatic”) and Berman (“Natasha”)

Movements of people across the planet occur all the time. Highly varied backgrounds of each

people combine and plant wonders of diversity everywhere they settled. Nevertheless, underlying

the diversity, is the struggle of the immigrants. From short stories “My Son the Fanatic” by Hanif

Kureishi and “Natasha” by David Bezmozgis, different perspectives of immigrants are neatly

depicted. Ali, a muslim boy from “My Son the Fanatic” and Berman, a jew from “Natasha”, both

have the same status as immigrants, they do share some experiences like their hidden world,

however some distinct differences in the acceptance of the new environment and family experience

are present.

First of all, both of the boys hide some parts of their lives from their parents. It can be noticed that

Parvez, Ali’s father, did not understand the unusual behaviours of his own son since he complained

to his colleagues that “Everything is gone from his room. And I can’t talk to him anymore. We were

not father and son - we were brothers! Where has he gone? Why is he torturing me?” The fact that

Ali’s favourite toys and stuff in his room was removed, also his silence and harsh replies to Parvez,

illustrate that there exists an area of Ali’s mind that his father cannot comprehend. Similarly,

Berman also holds secrets from his mother about the activities he did in the basement, for example

when he “smoked hash”, “masturbated” or had sex with Natasha. Moreover, from this line, “With

the house to ourselves and no threat of being disturbed, we did everything I had ever dreamed of

doing …” it is obvious that countless things are secretly done by him and Natasha. As far as one can

see, there are gaps that isolate some pieces of these boys from their parents.

1! of !3
 Phuthita Dokput
5840761622

Despite the similarity mentioned, one of the differences between them is the acceptance of the new

surroundings or cultures. According to his father, “Ali excelled in cricket, swimming, and football,

and what an attentive scholar he was, getting A’s in most subject.” Obviously, Ali used to enjoy

living and socialising in the host country. Until later, “Ali had parted from the English girlfriend”,

“his old friends stopped ringing”, and he was even “giving up his studies in accounting”, due to the

belief that “Western education cultivates an anti-religious attitude.” At this point, the denial of the

new culture is evident in Ali’s case. Inversely, Berman seems to have no problem with the host

country at all. He lives a usual, though very unproductive, Canadian life, has a friend like Rufus

who “Aside from providing me[Berman] with drugs … also recommended books”, and shows no

sign of refusing the new environment. In the end, he would even want to “… avenge

myself[himself] with beautiful women, learn martial arts and cultivate exotic experiences”, this can

be understood that he does not negatively perceive Canadian life and wants to explore other

perspectives of it as well. In short, while Ali turns out to disapprove the way of life in England,

Berman is accustomed to the Canadian society and able blend in smoothly.

In addition, another distinction is their family structure that alter their immigrant experiences. Ali’s

family is the nuclear type which only contains himself, his father, Parvez ,and his mother who is

rarely mentioned. Ali certainly does not have any more relatives, for the reason that his father does

not have anyone other than his wife, friends and Bettina to discuss his problem with. The fact that

there are a few people in the family and each of them has their own obligation, for example, Parvez

who “had worked more than ten hours a day” to feed his family, creates independence among the

members. Hence, Ali is easily isolated from his father. However, Berman’s family is extended, as

can be noticed when the “… entire family went to greet her[Zina] …” that his uncle, aunt and

2! of !3
 Phuthita Dokput
5840761622

grandparents were also there. Apparently, members of this family always interfere with each other,

therefore dependent on one another. It is likely that Berman was spoiled by his family because he

was often left home alone to do whatever he wanted, this makes Berman’s life pointlessly adrift. In

brief, due to opposite family formats, Ali and Berman react to certain situations distinctively and

acquire different immigrant experience.

To sum up, it is undeniable that both of the young immigrants have similar experiences like the

parts of their worlds that are kept unreachable from their parents, but some contrasts can also be

seen, for in stance their attitudes toward the new country and the size of their families which affects

their struggle. All in all, these two characters are great examples of how immigrants’ backgrounds

and other factors like religion and family shaped their lives variously. Imagine if you were to be an

immigrant, what would you be experiencing other than those that Ali and Berman have faced?

3! of !3