Beyond the Cataclysm: Cultural Nationalism in McCarthy’s The Road and Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Abstract

Despite the realization that cultures are essentially “hybrid and heterogeneous,” the aftermath of 9/11 saw the bulk of literature re-instating the cultural divide between East and West. This paper compares the futuristic vision in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road and Mohsen Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist to reveal humanity’s regression into a ‘survival of the fittest’ state from a dual Western and Eastern view. This reading therefore provides a cultural perspective involving a methodology that includes theorists and researchers in the field in order to illustrate the extent to which one can validate the culture to which one belongs. It also contributes to the debate over the role of religion and culture in acquiring a sense of nationalism..