The Making of a Terrorist: The Study of Stimulants in Kamila Shamsie’s Home Fire

Abstract

This study investigates how Pervez, a tolerant Muslim boy in Kamila Shamsie’s novel Home Fire, changes into a fundamentalist. It will further examine whether its faith which opiates a man, making him myopic by limiting his rationality and promises a life full of milk and honey in the hereafter, thereby making him vulnerable to be manipulated by some opportunist or there are some societal, monetary, and ancestral conditions which may push a man to deviate from a normal life. Marx’s philosophy from Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right is used as a theoretical framework to analyze the character of Pervez with a qualitative approach to research. The research shows that Pervez’s conversion is a result of a confluence of factors including orphanhood, isolation from society, financial challenges, and misinterpretation of religion. Marx’s theory clarifies how these factors interact to shape his worldview and way of thinking. Relational psychoanalysis could be considered in further studies to better comprehend the psychological aspects of radicalization of Pervez in Home Fire. Furthermore, the concept of marginality, abrogation and alienation can also be touched for further researches.