Beware The Dark Side, Young Skywalker

For the final essay question my term and quote of choice are Janissary and “Beware the dark side, Young Skywalker”. The choice of this term and quote combination was made because I feel that they represent the core messages showcased by Mohsin Hamid. The Reluctant Fundamentalist’s protagonist is a prodigal Princeton graduate named Changez, who, like Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars, is engaged in an internal battle of self-identity and place of loyalty throughout the story. Both Anakin Skywalker and Changez are discovered by masters in their field, “invited into the ranks of meritocracy” and heralded as gifted prodigies in their calling. In my opinion, the academic hierarchy at Princeton, Changez’s unbounded capital benefits at Underwood Sampson and his high-class Americanized
One of the greatest temptations presented to Changez was the seemingly unlimited monetary gains provided to him through Underwood Sampson. It was at one of the companies “new hire cultivation” outings that one of Changez’s colleagues named Wainwright, makes the statement, “Beware the dark side, young Skywalker”. This statement forewarns of the dangers that can come from selling one’s soul to the power of an Empire. In this case I would argue that the Empire would be America who has used their power of globalization to infiltrate the political and economic platforms of numerous countries.
During the height of his career at Underwood Sampson, Changez is sent to value a publishing company in Chile. There he is acquainted with the chief of the publishing company named Juan-Bautista. At this point in the story, Changez is in the depths of his uncertainty towards his identity and place of loyalty. In one of their conversations, Juan-Bautista tells Changez